CD 90
Trio Sonatas
Van Pitties, View of Innsbruck (detail), 1817
Johann Elias de Sylva’s compositions have been preserved mainly in the music archive of Stams Monastery. Most of them are works of sacred music (see CD 44) but there are also symphonies that number among the fi rst works in this genre documented in the Tyrol (see CD 39). Six string trios by this composer, who was born in Innsbruck in 1716, are in the music collection of the Bavarian State Library in Munich, another string trio is in the Royal Library in Brussels. Some compositions by de Sylva are also documented in Switzerland. This probably only fragmentary collection of surviving works indicates the considerably widespread influence of de Sylva’s compositions. Elias de Sylva was a cleric and choirmaster, responsible for conducting the multi-part voices and orchestra at the Innsbruck parish church, and hence naturally mainly active as a church musician. In purpose even his symphonies belong to this genre because they were probably used as instrumental interludes during festive high masses. De Sylva also composed elegant chamber music, as demonstrated by these seven string trios on this premiere CD recording. They are certainly a mere fraction of what the Innsbruck composer produced for this genre of high-ranking musical entertainment. His model was probably the Italian trio sonata form with its preference for an imitative setting of the upper parts. The Baroque variety of possible instrumentations for occasional pieces of this kind is very effective in our production because we added tonal color to the stringed instruments with an additional harpsichord, organ, and occasionally also a dulcimer, harp, pianoforte and lute. Johann Elias de Sylva (1716-1798) Triosonaten
Track 19, 2:18
Trio Nr.7 in Bb-major
Presto