THE COURT of BAYREUTH: Lute Music of Hagen and Falckenhagen [CD de audio] Miguel Yisreal (lute) and Hagen, Falckenhagen, Scheid

Frederick the Great (1712-86) resided in Potsdam in a replica of the French palace of Versailles, as he had a penchant for all things French. It was he who established the music of the baroque instrument developed in France at his court. The king himself was a gifted flutist who was tutored in composition and flute by the composer Johann Joseph Quantz. Princess Wilhelmine, Frederick's sister, was famous as a lute player, having studied with the great lute virtuoso Silvius Weiss. Together with her husband, the Margrave of Bayreuth, they also built a court according to the French architectural model in the small Bavarian town of Bayreuth, with a beautiful theater that still exists today. Wilhelmine brought the lute composers Adam Falckhagen and Joachim Bernhard Hagen to her court. The latter was actually a violinist, who had studied with the Italian virtuoso Geminiani. For the court of Bayreuth, Hagen created his lute concertos and sonatas. The third composer of this CD is Christian Gottlieb Scheidler, one of the last great representatives of the lute in Germany. His twelve compositions on a theme by Mozart are the last known works that were not notated for lute. This recording is a successful insight into the history of German lute music. More information - Fascinating repertoire of the flowering of lute music in the German courts