Ars Antiqua Austria - Festive Baroque Music for Trumpets & Strings (2020)

Im Jahre 1661 konnte sich Europa so langsam von den Zerstörungen durch den 30jährigen Krieg erholen, auch im Osten des Kontinents versuchten die Fürstenhäuser ihre alte Pracht zu erneuern. In diesem Jahr bewarb sich Pavel Josef Vejvanovsky als Trompeter am Hofe des Fürstbischofs von Ölmütz, wo eine prachtvolle Residenz entstehen sollte, in der das musikalische Leben besonders gepflegt wurde. Gunar Letzbor stellt Auswahl der herausragendsten Werke für Trompete und Streicher des Komponisten auf CD zusammen. Heraus kam ein Kaleidoskop an majestätischer, festlicher, aber auch galanter Musik, die die Einzigartigkeit Vejvanovskys illustriert.

Pavel Josef Vejvanovsky was born in Moravia circa 1633 or 1639. Little is known of his musical education except that he studied in Opava at the Jesuit College (also attended by Heinrich Biber and others). He spent most of his life working as trumpeter and Kapellmeister for the Bishop Princes of Olmuz (res. in Kromeriz). Vejvanovsky was a colleague of Biber when the latter was himself briefly in the employ of Bishop Prince Karl Liechtenstein-Kastelkorn. The two remained in contact with each other throughout their lives and it is understood that they exchanged musical ideas and material with one another. Much of the music presented here includes opulent writing for the trumpet. He wrote in a style similar to the Canzone da Sonar of the early Italians as well as mixing styles of the Viennese, Germans and French. 'The string parts are just as demanding, and there are baroque contrasts, weird juxtapositions and mordant harmonic inflexions aplenty. As the booklet says, 'imaginative, rich, ornate, full and airy' and played with real panache. This is a real find: do try it.' Gramophone, February 1998.