New Classics

German Baroque composer, keyboard virtuoso and organist Johann Jakob Froberger was born in 1616 in Stuttgart, where his father was court Kapellmeister. His family later moved to Vienna, where Johan became a singer in the imperial chapel court organist. He studied in Rome with Athanasius Kircher and travelled to Paris, where he became acquainted with composers such as Couperin and Gaultier. Froberger went in to become one of the most famous composers of the era, even though only two of his many compositions were published during his lifetime. He is often credited as being the creator of the Baroque dance suite and he was among the first composers to focus equally on both harpsichord/clavichord and organ, blending Italian and French genres and techniques with quintessentially ‘German’ style music. He paved the way for J S Bach’s elaborate contributions to the genre and influenced almost every major composer in Europe, including Pachelbel, Buxtehude, Handel and Beethoven.

This two-CD set on the Athene label is the first volume in a projected complete survey of J J Froberger’s Harpsichord Suites (more are still being discovered). Most consist of four parts: allemande, courante, sarabande and gigue, the order that became standard after Froberger’s death. There are 12 Suites in this collection, played brilliantly by veteran harpsichordist Gilbert Rowland on a 2 manual French style harpsichord made by Andrew Wooderson after an instrument by Goemans (Paris 1750). This is a welcome exploration of the work of a composer who has been called the Chopin of the seventeenth century – a ‘romantic’ composer before the term was invented.

—John Pitt