Album Notes

Joseph Haydn: Divertimenti for String Trio (Vol. I) Trios in G (Hob. V:20), C (Hob. V:16), E flat (Hob. V:4), B minor (Hob. V:3) and D (Hob. V:21) for 2 Violins and Cello Johannes Gebauer and Fiona Stevens, Violins Ulrike Rüben, Violoncello Total Time: 73'31 Excerpts from the booklet: Only a relatively small number of Haydn's works are regularly performed in today's concert world. Whilst in the case of many other composers even the most insignificant composition studies have been explored, it is difficult even to establish an overview of the father of Viennese Classicism's enormous output. This is certainly partly due to Haydn's longevity: born in the High Baroque, during the course of his life he witnessed classicism's zenith and progression to the beginning of the romantic era. His early compositions in particular are rarely performed today. The Divertimenti for string trio have also suffered the fate of being almost completely forgotten, possibly because of the unusual scoring for two violins instead of the more common scoring for violin and viola, leaving a nearly completely unknown collection of particularly attractive chamber music works (those works for string trio which have been released on record or CD are almost all arrangements of the later trios with Baryton). ... ...Unfortunately Haydn's string trios have been unjustly marked as practice pieces and precursors of the string quartets - a prejudice which is certainly chronologically unfounded, as at least some of the trios must have been written after the early string quartets, and musically hardly justifiable. In many ways the trios go far beyond the entertaining serenade style of the early string quartets, and show forward-looking intellectual ambitions which place them high above the 'Gebrauchsmusik' of Haydn's contemporaries. ... (The complete text by Johannes Gebauer in English and German in the CD booklet.) The Ensemble Camerata Berolinensis specializes in music from the late 17th and 18th century on period instruments. This not only means the use of historical instruments, the Camerata also tries to satisfy the scholarly demands of true historical performance practice. We believe that "Early Music" should be more than merely a fashionable accessory or commercial selling point. We hope to revive and rediscover through in-depth knowledge of historical sources and practice. This includes for example the performance of Bach's works with small and smallest ensembles, just as the uncompromising use of historical instrumental technique, which is by no means self-evident in today's Early Music world.