8.557716 4

Duo Ahlert & Schwab

Daniel Ahlert and Birgit Schwab have establishedthemselves in the musical world with lively interpretationsand an unusual combination of instruments. Their repertoirefor mandolin, lute and guitar comprises music from the earlybaroque to the present. They rediscover forgotten works ofold masters and inspire contemporaries to compose for them.

Besides chamber music, working with orchestrasoccupies a major portion of the duos time. They perform allthe existing double concertos for mandolin and guitar, andthe most important solo concertos for these instruments aswell. For years, Daniel Ahlert and Birgit Schwab havedelighted audiences with their vivid performances, with CDsthat set new standards, and with a style of playing thatalways puts the music first.

The two artists studied at the Musikhochschule inWuppertal, Germany, with Dieter Kreidler (guitar), Hans-Michael Koch (lutes), and Marga Wilden-Hsgen(mandolin/baroque mandolin). In addition to theirperforming experience, both can look back on years ofsuccessful teaching at music schools, universities, and inmaster-classes.

Silvius Leopold

WEISSSonatas Nos. 14 and 20 for Lute and Mandolin

Johann

HOFFMANNSonatas in G major and D minor forMandolin and Archlute

Duo Ahlert & SchwabBirgit Schwab, BaroqueLute, Archlute Daniel Ahlert, Mandolin

557716bk Weiss US 16/1/07 10:56 am Page 4

Little is known about the life and works of the Viennesemandolin player and composer Johann Hoffmann. Hisworks were only re-disseminated in the mid-twentiethcentury; the originals are still to be found in Vienneselibraries. They all involve the mandolin, and requiregreat virtuosity. Their treatment of the instrument, itsarpeggios and multiple stops is highly idiomatic.

The Mandolin in ViennaAround 1800, the six-course mandolin experienced arenaissance in cultivated Viennese circles, andnumerous now-forgotten composers left a largerepertoire for the instrument. It includes sonatas formandolin and bass instrument, concertos, and especiallyduos, trios and quartets with various combinations ofstrings. This music was well-adapted to the taste of theperiod, and can be quite impressive in its melodious,

elegant simplicity.Hoffmann can be counted among the most

important of this generation of composers. The extremedifficulty of his sonatas shows that he must have been anoutstanding instrumentalist. Those recorded here are formandolin and bass. The writing of the bass-linespoints to the cello as first choice for the accompaniment.There are other similar works, however, that name abass instrument; in the quartets of Giovanni FrancescoGiuliani (ca. 1760- ca. 1818) a lute can be substituted forthe cello, and Giuliani specifically requires the archlutefor some pieces. Indeed, this music best unfolds itsparticular charm with accompaniment by the archlute.

Birgit Schwab and Daniel AhlertEnglish version by Glen Wilson

8.557716 2

Born in Breslau in 1687, Weiss was taught the lute byhis father, as were his younger brother JohannSigismund and his youngest sister Juliana Margaretha.After holding various court appointments, he was namedChamber Musician to Augustus the Strong, Elector ofSaxony (and king of Poland since 1697) on 23rd August,1718. He was the highest-paid musican at the Dresdencourt, where he counted the flautist Johann JoachimQuantz and the violinists Francesco Veracini, FranzBenda and Johann Georg Pisendel among hiscolleagues.

Weiss was also acquainted with Johann SebastianBach. It is thought that some of Bachs lute pieces werecomposed for Weiss. J.F. Reichardt (1805) documents ameeting of the two great musicians: Anyone whoknows the difficulty on the lute of harmonic twists andcounterpoint must be amazed, even incredulous, whenthose who were present and heard with their own earsassure us that the great Dresden lutenist Weisse

competed in improvisation and elaborated fugue themeswith Sebastian Bach, who was also a great master of thekeyboard and the organ.

Silvius Leopold Weiss and Chamber MusicThe sonatas and suites from Weisss pen are now anestablished part of the lute repertoire. His chambermusic is less well-known, on account of its mostlyincomplete state. Sometimes the intended scorings areclear, but only the lute parts survive. The piecesrecorded here (from a manuscript in the British Library)do not even have indications of scoring. The idea ofperforming them with mandolin was inspired by Weisssfree treatment of some of his own works; one existed,for example, in versions for two lutes and for lute andflute. It is also very probable that Weiss would haveencountered mandolin players among his many Italiancolleagues in Dresden.

Silvius Leopold Weiss (16871750)Sonatas for Lute

Johann Hoffmann (1770c.1814)Sonatas for Mandolin

8.5577163

557716bk Weiss US 16/1/07 10:56 am Page 2

Little is known about the life and works of the Viennesemandolin player and composer Johann Hoffmann. Hisworks were only re-disseminated in the mid-twentiethcentury; the originals are still to be found in Vienneselibraries. They all involve the mandolin, and requiregreat virtuosity. Their treatment of the instrument, itsarpeggios and multiple stops is highly idiomatic.

The Mandolin in ViennaAround 1800, the six-course mandolin experienced arenaissance in cultivated Viennese circles, andnumerous now-forgotten composers left a largerepertoire for the instrument. It includes sonatas formandolin and bass instrument, concertos, and especiallyduos, trios and quartets with various combinations ofstrings. This music was well-adapted to the taste of theperiod, and can be quite impressive in its melodious,

elegant simplicity.Hoffmann can be counted among the most

important of this generation of composers. The extremedifficulty of his sonatas shows that he must have been anoutstanding instrumentalist. Those recorded here are formandolin and bass. The writing of the bass-linespoints to the cello as first choice for the accompaniment.There are other similar works, however, that name abass instrument; in the quartets of Giovanni FrancescoGiuliani (ca. 1760- ca. 1818) a lute can be substituted forthe cello, and Giuliani specifically requires the archlutefor some pieces. Indeed, this music best unfolds itsparticular charm with accompaniment by the archlute.

Birgit Schwab and Daniel AhlertEnglish version by Glen Wilson

8.557716 2

Born in Breslau in 1687, Weiss was taught the lute byhis father, as were his younger brother JohannSigismund and his youngest sister Juliana Margaretha.After holding various court appointments, he was namedChamber Musician to Augustus the Strong, Elector ofSaxony (and king of Poland since 1697) on 23rd August,1718. He was the highest-paid musican at the Dresdencourt, where he counted the flautist Johann JoachimQuantz and the violinists Francesco Veracini, FranzBenda and Johann Georg Pisendel among hiscolleagues.

Weiss was also acquainted with Johann SebastianBach. It is thought that some of Bachs lute pieces werecomposed for Weiss. J.F. Reichardt (1805) documents ameeting of the two great musicians: Anyone whoknows the difficulty on the lute of harmonic twists andcounterpoint must be amazed, even incredulous, whenthose who were present and heard with their own earsassure us that the great Dresden lutenist Weisse

competed in improvisation and elaborated fugue themeswith Sebastian Bach, who was also a great master of thekeyboard and the organ.

Silvius Leopold Weiss and Chamber MusicThe sonatas and suites from Weisss pen are now anestablished part of the lute repertoire. His chambermusic is less well-known, on account of its mostlyincomplete state. Sometimes the intended scorings areclear, but only the lute parts survive. The piecesrecorded here (from a manuscript in the British Library)do not even have indications of scoring. The idea ofperforming them with mandolin was inspired by Weisssfree treatment of some of his own works; one existed,for example, in versions for two lutes and for lute andflute. It is also very probable that Weiss would haveencountered mandolin players among his many Italiancolleagues in Dresden.

Silvius Leopold Weiss (16871750)Sonatas for Lute

Johann Hoffmann (1770c.1814)Sonatas for Mandolin

8.5577163

557716bk Weiss US 16/1/07 10:56 am Page 2

8.557716 4

Duo Ahlert & Schwab

Daniel Ahlert and Birgit Schwab have establishedthemselves in the musical world with lively interpretationsand an unusual combination of instruments. Their repertoirefor mandolin, lute and guitar comprises music from the earlybaroque to the present. They rediscover forgotten works ofold masters and inspire contemporaries to compose for them.

Besides chamber music, working with orchestrasoccupies a major portion of the duos time. They perform allthe existing double concertos for mandolin and guitar, andthe most important solo concertos for these instruments aswell. For years, Daniel Ahlert and Birgit Schwab havedelighted audiences with their vivid performances, with CDsthat set new standards, and with a style of playing thatalways puts the music first.

The two artists studied at the Musikhochschule inWuppertal, Germany, with Dieter Kreidler (guitar), Hans-Michael Koch (lutes), and Marga Wilden-Hsgen(mandolin/baroque mandolin). In addition to theirperforming experience, both can look back on years ofsuccessful teaching at music schools, universities, and inmaster-classes.

Silvius Leopold

WEISSSonatas Nos. 14 and 20 for Lute and Mandolin

Johann

HOFFMANNSonatas in G major and D minor forMandolin and Archlute

Duo Ahlert & SchwabBirgit Schwab, BaroqueLute, Archlute Daniel Ahlert, Mandolin

557716bk Weiss US 16/1/07 10:56 am Page 4

CMYK

W

E

I

S

S

H

O

F

F

M

A

N

N

:

S

o

n

a

t

a

s

N

A

X

O

S

W

E

I

S

S

H

O

F

F

M

A

N

N

:

S

o

n

a

t

a

s

N

A

X

O

S

8

.

5

5

7

7

1

6

8

.

5

5

7

7

1

6

DDD

8.557716

&

2

0

0

7

N

a

x

o

s

R

i

g

h

t

s

I

n

t

e

r

n

a

t

i

o

n

a

l

L

t

d

.

B

o

o

k

l

e

t

n

o

t

e

s

i

n

E

n

g

l

i

s

h

M

a

d

e

i

n

C

a

n

a

d

a

w

w

w

.

n

a

x

o

s

.

c

o

m

Playing Time65:55

The German lutenist Silvius Leopold Weiss and the Viennese mandolinist Johann Hoffmannwere considered the greatest virtuosos of their day in their respective fields. Inspired by thecomposers free treatment of some of his own works, the two virtuosic Sonatas by Weiss arehere performed in versions for lute and mandolin, while the two melodious sonatas formandolin and bass (here performed on a lute) by Hoffmann reflect the renaissance of the six-course mandolin experienced in cultivated Viennese circles at the turn of the 19th century.

Silvius LeopoldWEISS

(16871750)

Birgit Schwab, Baroque Lute 1, Archlute 2 Daniel Ahlert, Mandolin 3

This recording is sponsored by GWK: Gesellschaft zur Frderung der Westflischen Kulturarbeit E. V.Recorded at the Museum Huelsmann, Bielefeld, from 28th to 30th September 2005

Wachtmann Musikporidction Producer: Hans-Ulrich WachtmannBooklet Notes: Daniel Ahlert and Birgit Schwab (English version by Glen Wilson)

Cover Picture: Saint Cecilia and the Angel by Carlo Saraceni (1580-1620)(Palazzo Barberini, Rome, Italy / Bridgeman Art Library)

Sonata No. 20 in D minor 1, 3 18:171 Prelude 1:492 Un poco Andante 3:433 La Bandinage 3:094 Le Sicilien 4:355 Menuett 2:306 Gigue 2:32

Sonata No. 14 in G minor 1, 3 16:457 Adagio 2:278 Gavotte 1:519 Sarabande 2:530 Menuett 2:04! Bourre 3:18@ Chaconne 4:11

JohannHOFFMANN

(1770c.1814)

Sonata in G major 3, 2 17:24# Allegro 5:38$ Adagio 7:29% Rondeau 4:17

Sonata in D minor 3, 2 13:29^ Allegro 5:06& Andante con Variazione 4:54* Allegro 3:29

557716rear Weiss US 16/1/07 10:55 am Page 1

/ColorImageDict > /JPEG2000ColorACSImageDict > /JPEG2000ColorImageDict > /AntiAliasGrayImages false /CropGrayImages true /GrayImageMinResolution 300 /GrayImageMinResolutionPolicy /OK /DownsampleGrayImages true /GrayImageDownsampleType /Bicubic /GrayImageResolution 300 /GrayImageDepth -1 /GrayImageMinDownsampleDepth 2 /GrayImageDownsampleThreshold 1.50000 /EncodeGrayImages true /GrayImageFilter /DCTEncode /AutoFilterGrayImages true /GrayImageAutoFilterStrategy /JPEG /GrayACSImageDict > /GrayImageDict > /JPEG2000GrayACSImageDict > /JPEG2000GrayImageDict > /AntiAliasMonoImages false /CropMonoImages true /MonoImageMinResolution 1200 /MonoImageMinResolutionPolicy /OK /DownsampleMonoImages true /MonoImageDownsampleType /Bicubic /MonoImageResolution 1200 /MonoImageDepth -1 /MonoImageDownsampleThreshold 1.50000 /EncodeMonoImages true /MonoImageFilter /CCITTFaxEncode /MonoImageDict > /AllowPSXObjects false /CheckCompliance [ /None ] /PDFX1aCheck false /PDFX3Check false /PDFXCompliantPDFOnly false /PDFXNoTrimBoxError true /PDFXTrimBoxToMediaBoxOffset [ 0.00000 0.00000 0.00000 0.00000 ] /PDFXSetBleedBoxToMediaBox true /PDFXBleedBoxToTrimBoxOffset [ 0.00000 0.00000 0.00000 0.00000 ] /PDFXOutputIntentProfile () /PDFXOutputConditionIdentifier () /PDFXOutputCondition () /PDFXRegistryName () /PDFXTrapped /False

/Description > /Namespace [ (Adobe) (Common) (1.0) ] /OtherNamespaces [ > /FormElements false /GenerateStructure true /IncludeBookmarks false /IncludeHyperlinks false /IncludeInteractive false /IncludeLayers false /IncludeProfiles true /MultimediaHandling /UseObjectSettings /Namespace [ (Adobe) (CreativeSuite) (2.0) ] /PDFXOutputIntentProfileSelector /NA /PreserveEditing true /UntaggedCMYKHandling /LeaveUntagged /UntaggedRGBHandling /LeaveUntagged /UseDocumentBleed false >> ]>> setdistillerparams> setpagedevice