ICE founding cellist Kivie Cahn-Lipman releases this first recording of the complete consort music of little known 17th century composer David Funck, as part of a launch of a new early music division of New Focus Recordings, Olde Focus Recordings.
The 1677 publication Stricturæ Viola-di Gambicæ is the only surviving music by David Funck (1648-?1699). Very little is known of his life. He was born in Bohemia and spent some time in Italy before returning to Germany. Funck was an accomplished writer, theorist, and composer. Stricturæ Viola-di Gambicæ is a collection of dance suites for four viols. The forty-three numbered pieces —some of which would have seemed quite old-fashioned in character by 1677—are generally straightforward dances with sweet simple melodies, regular phrase structures, and narrow ranges for the viols. The ranges are low enough that the suites can be performed entirely on bass viols (indeed, this scoring is necessary for the “Fugue” movement). A note in the original print suggests that with the exception of this fugue, the pieces could be performed with a “violetta” playing the top line (we have used a tenor viol for the top line in the G major and G minor suites as these have a higher tessitura than the two D major suites).
Though a keyboard is not called for in the publication, Funck himself was an accomplished keyboardist. He might have accompanied the viols as was a common practice in his day. For this recording, we chose three different keyboard instruments (harpsichord, organ, and gut-strung clavicytherium) to vary the texture and color of the suites.
Johann Jakob Froberger's Meditation sur ma mort future and Toccata prima for solo keyboard round out the recording. This recording features performances by influential performers in the early music scene, hailing from Oberlin, Julliard, Yale, McGill and Boston University.
{David Funck (1648-99?) is a little-known Bohemian composer who spent time in Italy and Germany, was accused of sodomy, and later was discovered frozen to death on the road to Arnstadt. This collection of music for viol consort is his only publication. There are 43 pieces, 33 of them played here. They are generally simple in structure and easy to play, perhaps composed for teaching purposes. The somewhat unvaried sonority of the four suites, two in D, one in G minor, one in G is broken up by Sauerwald playing two harpsichord pieces by Froberger.
The Funck pieces have been investigated before, but this is the first time an entire CD has been devoted to his music. I found the music and the playing enjoyable. They might be used by cello groups looking for chamber music, perhaps with viola on top. Ahrendt plays tenor viol in the suite in G.
The disc is in a convenient paper cover that takes up much less room than a jewel case. No individual timings.
New Focus Recordings is an artist led collective label featuring releases in contemporary creative music of many stripes, as well as new approaches to older repertoire. The label was founded by guitarist Dan Lippel, composer Peter Gilbert in 2004, and composer/engineer Ryan Streber in 2004, formed …Read More …
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