Release Date: 20 October 2023
Label: Accent
Packaging Type: Jewel Case
No of Units: 1
Barcode: 4015023243941
Genres: Classical Orchestral
Description
Carl Friedrich Abel (1723-1787) has his place in music history above all as the last great virtuoso of the time-honoured viola da gamba and as the organiser of the so-called Bach-Abel concerts in London, which marked the beginning of modern public subscription concerts.
What is less well known is that Abel not only performed there as a soloist, but also enriched the concerts with a large number of his own orchestral works.
A total of 46 symphonies by him have survived, 40 of which appeared in print during his lifetime. Six - five "real" symphonies and one Sinfonia Concertante for oboe, violin and violoncello - were not printed during his lifetime; they have been preserved in manuscript in the Royal Court Library in Berlin.
Abel had them in his luggage on his last visit to Germany in 1782 and apparently presented them in Berlin to the Prussian heir to the throne, Friedrich Wilhelm.
On the occasion of Abel's 300th birthday, the Main Baroque Orchestra, conducted by Martin Jopp, presents four of these symphonies (WKO 37, 38, 39, 41) as world premiere recordings as well as the Sinfonia Concertante on this recording.
"these are five beautiful pieces which are given fine performances" – MusicWeb International
Tracklisting
Soloists; Les Traversees Baroques; Meyer
Luigi De Donato; Collegium 1704; Vaclav Luks
Ars Antiqua Austria; Gunar Letzbor
Sigiswald Kuijken; La Petite Band
Sigiswald Kuijken
Il Gardellino
Jean-Francois Madeuf; Julian Zimmermann; Barbara Konrad; The Rossetti Players
The Harmonious Society of Tickle-Fiddle Gentlemen
Hannah Morrison, Main-Barockorchester
