Hertel's detailed biography: [ Ссылка ]
"As he approached his native Eisenach, and his eyes fell upon the Wartburg, his heart filled to overflowing with the tenderest of emotions; and it was with genuine rapture, that he at last greeted the hills and dales where, as a stripling with the blissful sentiments of youth, he had so often witnessed the errant flocks climbing in harmonious tintinnabulation; and where, in the company of his playmates, his soul, in its full innocence, was infused with freedom and merriment, in a fullness never to return."
This is how Johann Wilhelm Hertel, writing 30 years later in his autobiography (referring to yourself in the third person), recalled the spring of 1753. This was quite obviously the Age of Sentiment, and nothing could better characterise this age than his own concertos written at that time, shown in this video.
Johann Wilhelm Hertel (1727-1789), one of the substantial number of composers of the pre-classical generation, played a major role during the transitional era frequently referred to as the “late Baroque”, was a fascinating character whose acquaintances ranged from C.P.E. Bach and Telemann, to Voltaire and Gotthold Lessing. Although Hertel is not a widely known figure (in English speaking world only), he was highly regarded by his contemporaries, both as a keyboard player and as a composer.
Ernst Ludwig Gerber, in his Historische Biographische Lexicon der Tonkunstler, called him a virtuoso of the keyboard and placed him among the best German composers of the third quarter of the eighteenth century, a link between the baroque and classical periods. This was the period marked by cultural changes and the coexistence of different trends, that should be measured not only by the importance given it in its own time, but also by its ability to reveal transitional stages in structural and stylistic changes.
Concertos in this video are very virtuosic and undoubtfully they were written for Hertel's musician-friends:
Concerto No.5 for Oboe, in g minor
00:00:00 I Allegro - No.5
00:06:55 II Arioso con affetto - No.5
00:11:08 III Presto - No.5
Concerto for Violin, in d minor
00:16:01 I Allegro e spiccato - Violin
00:22:13 II Andante e piano - Violin
00:26:54 III Presto - Violin
Concerto for Oboe, in g minor
00:32:57 I Allegro - Oboe
00:41:30 II Largo - Oboe
00:47:07 III Allegro - Oboe
Concerto for Bassoon, in a minor
00:53:42 I Allegro con spirito - Bassoon
00:59:53 II Grave - Bassoon
01:07:16 III Allegro di molto - Bassoon
Concerto for Cello, in a minor
01:11:42 I Allegro con spirito - Cello
01:19:08 II Adagio poco andante - Cello
01:24:39 III Allegro - Cello
At the age of seventeen, Hertel was hired as violinist and harpsichordist for the court chapel of Mecklenburg-Strelitz house. Thanks to the frequent journeys with his father the famous viola da gamba and violin virtuoso and composer J. Christian Hertel, he became acquainted with the lively cultural life and exciting atmosphere at the court of Berlin. There he began to appreciate the instrumental music of C.P.E. Bach, and the numerous vocal talents from Italy with their unforgettable performances of works by Jommelli, Pergolesi, and Porpora, composers who were very much in fashion at the German courts.
The years of residence in Neustrelitz, were certainly the most important for the development of his compositional style: he was so greatly influenced by the sensitive and gallant style of the Italian composers, that he deeply internalized their characteristics and specific features. First four concertos in this video were composed during this period and Hertel was about twenty one years old.
The last concerto in this video (for cello) was composed by Hertel in 1759 during economic difficulties and the Seven Years’ War, while being appointed as Court Chapel Composer in Schwerin. After changing positions as Organist and than as a Court Chapel Composer in the service of Princess Ulrike Sophie, in 1770 she promoted him to privy councillor, which gave him the freedom to pursue his activities as composer, music theorist, and music critic until the end of his life.
Hertel’s Concertos displays the typical sequence of fast–slow–fast movements borrowed from the Baroque solo concerto in Italian style. The a ritornello structure employed, which is characterized by the alternation between the orchestra and the soloist, spread to German-speaking regions via Antonio Vivaldi’s works and enjoyed great popularity, in the cultural atmosphere of Berlin and Dresden. His musical language displays traits of the gallant style, which was influenced by J. J. Quantz’s vast oeuvre for flute, and has the expressive power of C.P.E. Bach’s sensitive instrumental pieces.
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Русский: [ Ссылка ]
