Schaffrath - Orchestral Works - Arman, Handelfestspielorchester

 

Release Date: September 29, 2009 Label: NCA Number of discs: 1 Composer: Christoph Schaffrath Performer: Arman, Händelfestspielorchester cd info/ buy

Review:

Christoph Schaffrath (1709, Hohnstein - 1763, Berlin) is best known as a musician and composer of the late Baroque. He applied to become organist at the Sophienkirche in Dresden, but did not receive this position as Wilhelm Friedemann Bach was favored for it . He did serve at the court of the Crown Prince Frederick the Great as a harpsichordist in the orchestra. From 1741, however, he was strictly the musician to the King's sister, Amalia. As a composer Schaffrath limited himself to instrumental music including symphonies, keyboard pieces, sonatas and concertos. The harpsichord sonatas were almost all fast-slow-fast settings and the opening movements were most often scored in ABA form. Many of the keyboard compositions were simple two-part formulations with the left hand playing the lesser role. Schaffrath's music can be considered transitional pieces which are stylistically galant between the Baroque and the Classical, characteristically melodious and composed of short phrases using triplets and steady rhythms. The majority of his works may now be found in the state library in Berlin.

 

flac, scans

Schaffrath - Sonates - Guido Balestracci, gamba

Schaffrath - Sonates - Guido Balestracci, gamba
Chamber | single flac, no cue | no log, cover | 1 CD, 379 MB
December 31, 2007 | Zig-Zag | RapidShare

The spring of 2007 saw the issue of a programme devoted to the Berlin composer Christoph Schaffrath. This was rated R9 in Classica magazine, whose reviewer Serge Grégory wrote:

‘The sonatas with continuo or concertante harpsichord are teeming with happy invention, singing melodies (the superb Adagio of the sonata in A major, a fine example of Empfindsamkeit in a sombre, despairing affect, almost worthy of C. P. E. Bach) and lively rhythms, which Guido Balestracci handles with supreme elegance and highly expressive bowing".


CD Content
Duetto pour 2 violes de gambe en ré mineur
Sonate pour viole de gambe & bc en si bémol majeur
Sonate pour viole de gambe et clavecin obligé en la majeur
Sonate pour viole de gambe, violon, violoncelle & clavecin en la majeur

Schaffrath - Trios & Sonata - Epoca Barocca

Schaffrath, Christoph - Trios & Sonata - Epoca Barocca
Chamber | Eac, flac, cue | log, cover | 1 CD, 392 MB
October 31, 2006 | CPO | RapidShare

The shadow that Bach casts over modern perceptions of music of the eighteenth century's first half has resulted in a perception of an unwarranted duality: there was the "conservative" Bach, contrasted with the "galant" Telemann and his successors. Of course there were transitional figures whose music mixed conservative and progressive elements, and this disc by the German-Italian historical-instrument group Epoca Barocca unearths one who has received very little attention. Christoph Schaffrath (1709-1763) was a Dresden court composer whose name was several times mentioned in the same breath as that of the greats. This is an attractive disc of chamber music that will be of interest to students and aficionados of the Classical style and its roots. Of primary interest here is the shifting relationship between the melody instrument and its keyboard accompaniment, which may or may not be a continuo -- and even when it is, seems to be trying to escape the role. Schaffrath sometimes doesn't seem to be sure of where he is going next with the new possibilities on his plate; in the Sonata in C major for cello and harpsichord (tracks 4-6) he luxuriates in solo keyboard passages that seem to arise without any structural mandate. But the treatment of the bassoon in the opening Poco andante movement of the Trio in B flat major for violin, bassoon, and continuo (track 13-15) is delightful -- it is silent at the beginning, and then, when it is allowed to enter, it creeps in as if it were part of the continuo ensemble, gradually establishing its independence. As if to confirm that independence, Schaffrath opens the subsequent Allegro assai with a sprightly bassoon solo. Some of the music here has the combination of cheeriness and imagination characteristic of Vivaldi, certainly a major influence. Epoca Barocca has a bright, rather metallic sound, and plays with full awareness of the stylistic issues involved. Definitely recommended for large collections of late Baroque music, for this recording fills a historical hole.--James Manheim


CD Content

Trio for violin, oboe & continuo in G minor
Sonata for violoncello & harpsichord in C major
Sonata for oboe & continuo in D minor
Sonata for viola da gamba & harpsichord in G major
Trio for violin, bassoon & continuo in B flat major