Bradford Tracey am Cembalo von Christian Zell (1728) im Museum fúr Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg.
Released 1978 by Harmonia Mundi 1C 065-99 788, Aufnahmeort: Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg.
Aufnahme: P. Dery, Technik: Sonart.
Titelbild: Cembalo von Zell 1728
Gestaltung: B&M Wiesinger, Photo: Beatrice Frehn

Thanks to Daniël, who let me browse the famous Daniël Beuman harpsichord collection.

SEITE 1
Ouverture in g
00:00 Lento-Allegro-Lento
05:09 Larghetto e scherzando
08:26 Allegro

Solo C-dur aus “Essercizii Musici”
11:25 Largo
13:49 Allemanda
18:51 Lura
21:59 Corrente
24:45 Minuet I – Minuet II
27:55 Giga

SEITE 2
Ouverture in Es
30:50 Lento-Allegro-Lento
36:08 Souave e scherzando
39:19 Allegro

Solo F-dur aus “Essercizii Musici”
42:25 Cantabile
47:46 Bourree
49:35 Sarabande
51:53 Gavotte I – Gavotte II
54:07 Passepied
55:25 Gigue

The music of the rococo excelled in the intimate art of the miniature.
In order to find ” recreation at the Clavier for the spirit
wearied by other studies” the bourgeois dilettante or the lady
with musical tastes resorted to the character-pieces and dances
which, since the end of the 17th century, had been appearing on
the market, either singly or in cycles, in ever greater numbers.
Franyois Couperin published his Pieces de Clavecin in fairly
informal Ordres, while Domenico Scarlatti preferred Essercizii
in one movement. The Clavier-collections of the German composers
presented a colourful assortment of pieces with the most flowery
titles. Numerous were the composers of such music ;
Johann Kuhnau, J. S. Bach ‘s official predecessor in Leipzig ; the
Bach sons and pupils ; Johann Joseph Fux, court director of
music in Vienna, together with his pupils Gottlieb Muffat and
Georg Christoph Wagenseil; Christoph Graupner from Darmstadt
and Johann Mattheson and Georg Philipp Telemann from
Hamburg; all of these prepared for print collections with such
titles as: “Componimenti Musicali, Monthly Fruits for the Clavier,
Bouquet, Musical Leisure Hours for the Heart’s Delight” or, in a
more schoolmasterly tone, plainly and simply “Clavier-Übung ”
(Exercises for the Keyboard). Even a great master like J. S. Bach
did not compose exclusively fugues and other ” pieces of pro- –
found art” for the organists, but deigned also to favour the
“heart’s delight” of the dilettante with dances and “other pieces
in the gallant style “. Part I of the Clavier-Ubung illustrates this.
Around the year 1740, Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767),
who as director of the music in Hamburg from 1721 on had a
whole variety of tasks to perform, still found time to have published
in his own firm a collection of Essercizii MusicL These
contained not only Trios for different instruments but also two
Soli for Clavier. About the year 1755 Telemann, now over
seventy, had published by the Nuremberg publisher Balthasar
Schmid ” VI Overtures, each provided with two following movements,
trifles in the French, Polish and Italian manner, for the
Clavier”. As the titles indicates, this music contained elements of
the French, Polish and Italian styles. With these Telemann will
have gained aquaintance in a variety of ways; as a student in
Leipzig, celebrated for its trade fair; at the courts of Sorau and
Eisenach where he was musical director (Kapellmeister) and as
director of music in the free imperial town of Frankfurt. In comparison
with the baroque gravity of some of Bach’s suite movements,
the style of Telemann’s composition is rather more
“trifling”, in spite of its smoothness and finish . In his largely twopart
ant three-part writing – the harmony may be further filled
out at will – Simple harmony, catchy melodies and dance-like
rhythms are the rule . In the Soli from the Essercizii the basic
plan of the baroque suite is still recognisable; but in the groups
of thirds, in the ‘sighing ‘ figures, in the triplets and bizarre suspensions
we see typical characteristics of the empfindsamer Stil
(‘sensitive’ or ‘affected’ style) such as it began to appear in the
years directly after 1740. In the overtures the French model
retains formal importance, while the “two following movements”
come close to the two-part sonata-form of Scarlatti. Form, however,
provides here little more than a frame-work for graceful ‘
figuration, charming melodies and cheerful, carefree rhythms.
This is ” light” music of the most nobre kind , unique Creation of
an epoch in which galanterie was a principle.

#ChristianZell #BradfordTracey