EUROPADISC RES10344 Volume 4 Johann Ludwig Krebs Keyboard Works Owner’s Manual
- August 7, 2024
- EUROPADISC
Table of Contents
EUROPADISC RES10344 Volume 4 Johann Ludwig Krebs Keyboard Works
Product Information
Specifications
- Product : Johann Ludwig Krebs Keyboard Works Volume 4
- Performer : Steven Devine
- Instrument : Harpsichord
- Harpsichord Type: Double-manual harpsichord by Colin Booth (2000) after a single-manual by Johann Christof Fleischer (Hamburg, 1710)
- Tuning : Pitch a=415Hz, Temperament based on Werckmeister III (1691)
- Performing editions by Steven Devine
Product Usage Instructions
Playing the Keyboard Works
- Sonatina Prima Krebs-WV 801
- Allegro – Duration: 1:44
- Siciliana – Duration: 2:52
- Allegro assai – Duration: 3:49
Musical Style
The compositional style of Johann Ludwig Krebs is closer to that of W. F. Bach
or C. P. E. Bach.
About Steven Devine
Steven Devine is a conductor, director of orchestral, choral, and opera
repertoire, and a solo harpsichordist and fortepianist. He has an extensive
opera repertoire and recordings with renowned orchestras.
Contact Information
- Email : info@resonusclassics.com
- Website : www.resonusclassics.com
Steven Devine harpsichord
Double-manual harpsichord by Colin Booth (2000) after a single-manual by
Johann Christof Fleischer (Hamburg, 1710). Tuned and maintained by Steven
Devine.
Pitch a =415Hz
Temperament based on Werckmeister III (1691) Performing editions by Steven Devine
Johann Ludwig Krebs – Keyboard Works Volume 4
- Krebs’ eleven years in the immediate musical circles of Johann Sebastian Bach instilled in him an understanding of the musical process which is prevalent in all his compositions – particularly those for the organ and harpsichord. In 1726 Krebs became a member of the Thomasschule in Leipzig and, nine years later, he continued as harpsichordist for the Collegium Musicum whilst studying at Leipzig University. During this period, Wilhelm Friedemann and Carl
- Philipp Emmanuel, Bach’s eldest sons, were very much part of the Bach household, and Krebs – three years younger than W. F. Bach and one year older than C. P. E.
- Bach – must have been very much a brotherly figure, involved, as he was, in the everyday workload of score and part-preparation, rehearsals, performances, and services that made up the extensive musical life of the City. The compositions featured on this disc superficially show the parallels between Krebs and his master and teacher: the Suite in C and the Six Sonatinas form parts two and three respectively of the Clavier-Übung (keyboard exercises): a four-part publication published in Nurenberg around 1744. Bach’s similarly titled collection was published between 1731 and 1741, also in four parts. Like Bach, Krebs writes one volume for organ (Part 1, published in 1744, contains thirteen ‘Different Preludes and varied Church Songs (Chorales)’ which, though clearly conceived with organ in mind are actually manuals only) and the remaining three for the harpsichord.
- Krebs’ fourth volume contains six suites –very much cast in the mould of Bach’s Partitas. Even the wording of the various title pages shows similarities with Bach’s thinking with mentions of ‘lovers of music’ and emphasizing the educational aspects of the publications.
- Musically, however, the compositional style is much closer to that of W. F. Bach or, most especially, C. P. E. Bach.
- The brilliant, bravura opening of the Suite in C (Krebs-WV 800) very much channels the energy and mindset of the start of C. P. E.
- Bach’s Sonata in C Major (Wq 55/1) that opens his collection entitled für Kenner und Liebhaber (’for connoisseur and amateur’ – amateur here really means the music lover, rather than the non-professional and, indeed the word Liebhaber features in both Krebs’ and C. P. E. Bach’s title pages).
- After the breathless energy of the ‘Prelude’ is another wonderful example of Kreb’s slightly eccentric fugues, this one in three parts.
- There is a very Galant feel to the harmonic language used in this movement. The use of double-third writing at the end invokes Variation 23 of J. S. Bach’s ‘Goldberg’Variations – published in 1741. Surprisingamongst the following movements are the ‘Scherzo’, the ‘Polonaise’ (actually, ‘Polonoise’) which is very similar to dances written by the young C. P. E. Bach in Anna Magdalena’s Notebook of 1725 and the very beautiful ‘Cantabile’. A more traditional ‘Gigue’ in 3/8 concludes the Suite.
- The third part of the Clavier-Übung is, in many ways, even more up-to-date. The organist and Krebs expert Felix Friedrich points out that the undated title page of these pieces describes Krebs as organist at the castle in Zeitz, a town in Saxony- Anhalt, a job Krebs held between 1744 and 1755. Firstly there is the type of piece: the sonatina. These three-movement compositions (with a contrasting slower movement between two quicker outer movements) are very often in two or occasionally three parts. However, there are almost no other collections with this designation from this period to compare them with. Georg Philipp Telemann published a few collections using the title ‘Sonatina’ but they seem to have very little difference from a ‘Sonata’. The opening movement of Bach’s Cantata Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit, BWV 106 (also known as Actus Tragicus) is designated Sonatina but this is really in the sense of short instrumental composition in the seventeenth Century style. We have to look to the 1760s to see ‘Sonatina’ start to be used frequently: C. P. E. Bach’s sonatinas are squarely aimed at a wide public market with undemanding writing, much of it re-used from earlier material. Does this mean that Krebs was one of the first composers to use the term ‘Sonatina’ in its later and now commonly accepted meaning of shorter and less demanding Sonata-like piece?
- Texturally the writing throughout these sonatinas owes much to C. P. E. Bach and there are many instances of a cantabile melody accompanied by a flowing bass line. This is very Galant in its outlook. There are a few dynamic contrasts marked – calling for an instrument capable of such things.
- This could imply a clavichord or fortepiano but I have chosen a double-manual harpsichord for this recording which to my ear suits the texture better throughout the collection.
© 2024 Steven Devine
The opening of the Prelude from the Suite in C (“Clavier-Übung Part II”) Krebs-WV 800 – first edition c.1744
Steven Devine (harpsichord)
- Steven Devine combines a career as a conductor and director of orchestral, choral and opera repertoire with that of a solo harpsichordist and fortepianist. He is Conductor and Artistic Advisor of The English Haydn Festival; Music
- Director of New Chamber Opera, Oxford and Director of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment’s Bach the Universe & Everything series.
- On the concert platform he has directedPurcell, Blow, Bach, Handel and Mozart with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment; Bach Easter Oratorio with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales; Haydn, Handel, CPE Bach, JC Bach, Dittersdorf and Viotti with the English Haydn Orchestra; Handel, Vivaldi and Porpora with Ann Hallenberg and Trondheim Barokk; Bach Christmas Oratorio with the Norwegian Wind Ensemble; Handel Solomon with Victoria Baroque Players, British Columbia and Handel Music for the Royal Fireworks with Arion Baroque Ensemble, Montreal; He has also directed programmes with the Academy of Ancient Music, Academie d’Ambronay, the Mozart Festival Orchestra and St Paul’s Chamber Orchestra Devine’s opera repertoire includes works by Purcell, Cavalli, Handel, Haydn and Mozart as well as rarities by Galuppi, Salieri and Cimarosa. His recordings include Dido & Aeneas with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Sarah Connolly in the title role. As a keyboard player, he is the Principal Keyboard Player with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and also the principal keyboard player for The Gonzaga Band, The Mozartists and performs regularly with many other groups around Europe. He has recorded over thirty discs with other artists and ensembles and made many solo recordings. His recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations (Chandos Records) has received critical acclaim – including Gramophone magazine describing it as ‘among the best’.
- The complete harpsichord works of Rameau (Resonus) has received five-star reviews from BBC Music Magazine. Steven has recently released Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier. He is currently engaged in recording the complete harpsichord works of Johann Ludwig Krebs, Bach’s favourite student. Steven Devine was educated at Chetham’s School of Music before reading Music at St Peter’s College, Oxford. He was Director of Opera Restor’d from 2002–2010 and Kurator and Conductor of the Norwegian Wind Ensemble from 2016–2018.
More titles from Resonus Classics
Johann Ludwig Krebs: Keyboard Works, Volume 1 Steven Devine (harpsichord) RES10287
‘[…] a felicitous program, meticulously realised, that sheds light on Bach’s talented pupil.’ BBC Music Magazine (Five stars)
J.S. Bach: Harpsichord Concertos, BWV 1052, 1054, 1055 & 1059 Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Steven Devine (harpsichord & director) RES10318
‘The quintet of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment offers responsive, delicate and unfettered readings around Devine’s glittering fingerwork.’ Gramophone
2024 Resonus Limited
Recorded in Alpheton New Maltings, Suffolk on 26–27 May 2022
Producer, engineer & editor: Adam Binks
Recorded at 24-bit/96 kHz resolution
Cover Image: Detail of Pieter Claesz’s ‘Still life with rummer, wine glass,
crab and bread on a platter, with a violin and a flute on a table’
RESONUS LIMITED – UK
FAQ
Q: Where can I find more recordings of Johann Ludwig Krebs’ Keyboard
Works?
A: More titles are available from Resonus Classics, including Volume 1
performed by Steven Devine (harpsichord).
Q: What is the feedback on J.S. Bach’s Harpsichord Concertos performed by
Steven Devine?
A: The recordings have received positive reviews, with praise for the
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment’s performances and Steven Devine’s
harpsichord work.