CD 16
Tyrolean Musical Treasures 14
Johann Georg Plazer, Musical Entertainment (detail), about 1740
In 1707 Duke Karl Philipp von der Pfalz-Neuburg, previously residing in Silesia, made his entry in Innsbruck as the new governor of the Tyrol. The art-minded and music-loving lord was accompanied by a small domestic orchestra of instrumentalists, which he expanded into a handsome ensemble in Innsbruck. Also in the retinue of the new governor was the composer and musician Gottfried Finger of Olomouc. The Innsbruck court orchestra was under the direction of Jakob Greber, and Finger was the concertmaster. Like his director of music, he had formerly been in the service of the English court. Contemporary reports describe the Innsbruck court ensemble of singers and instrumentalists as one of the best orchestras of the day. When Karl Philipp became the regent of the Palatine dominions after the death of his brother and left Innsbruck in 1717, his domestic orchestra also followed him to Mannheim – an event of prime importance for the history of music. The Innsbruck orchestra, including a substantial number of Tyrolean musicians, comprised the foundation of the very Mannheim orchestra that attained international repute under Johann Stamitz and his successors. Gottfried Finger died in Mannheim in 1730. In 1688, when he was a member of the English court ensemble, he had published his opus 1 in both London and Amsterdam. These 12 Sonatas for Strings scored for various instruments are dedicated to his lord at the time, King James II of England. We presented the complete series of these splendid sonatas meant for a king for the fi rst time at our summer concerts in 2000 under the auspices of the 2nd Baroque Festival at the Tiroler Landesmuseum Ferdinandeum and documented them on this CD.
Track 7, 6:26
Sonate Nr. 8
Gottfried Finger
(ca. 1660-1730)