Swiss Rococo Concerts

The library of Engelberg Abbey holds a printed part from 1764, written by Franz Joseph Leonti Meyer von Schauensee (1720-1789) from Lucerne, who composed the four concerti for harpsichord or organ and orchestra. His life, which ended in the year of the French Revolution, was shaped by his patrician lineage. His parents inherited Schauensee Castle above Kriens and henceforth called themselves Meyer von Schauensee. (This castle, painted by Mara Meier, is emblazoned on the cover pictures of the scores).

Joseph's musical family gave him singing and organ lessons from the age of five, so that the precocious boy was soon able to substitute for his teacher at the organs of the Hofkirche St. Leodegar in Lucerne. He learned to play the violin and cello at monastery schools in St. Gallen. Back in Lucerne, he taught himself the basics of composition and created music for the Jesuit school theater as early as 1738. The young man spent 1740-41 in Milan. Impressed by the glittering musical life and the works of the Neapolitan school (Feo, Leo, Pergolesi), he acquired further virtuosity on the violin and harpsichord, which made him a popular composer. Chamber Sonatas for the Clavecin which have unfortunately been lost.

After his return, his father organized an officer's position for him with the King of Sardinia-Piedmont. But despite his military duties, he found time to compose. The cold and wet weather in the mountains and the storms on the Mediterranean inspired him to write future works. His later positions in Lucerne as Grand Councillor and supervisor of the Reis-Waage left him enough time for music; he conducted and played the organ in Engelberg, Muri, St. Gallen, Beromünster and was called in as an organ expert in Rheinau. From the age of 32, he retired from secular offices and concentrated on spiritual and musical tasks at St. Leodegar Abbey. In 1760 he founded the first public Collegium musicum and in 1775 he founded the Helvetic Concorde Society, an association that propagated the national unity of the Old Swiss Confederacy. His music was highly regarded during his lifetime - even father and son Mozart performed his church music - and his virtuosity and imagination were praised. However, with the political and cultural upheavals following Meyer's death, his music sank into oblivion.

Now the Solothurn organist Hans-Rudolf Binz has carefully re-edited the four concerti mentioned above to mark the 300th anniversary of the composer's birth. Each of the three-movement works has a special character. The first concludes virtuosically with a prestissimo ed alla breve, the second calls for martellato and sospirando, the third is a Christmas concerto with piverone (bagpipe) pedal tones and allegretto ed amoroso lullaby, the fourth Il Molino rapid apeggios imitate the rattling of a mill. Concerti II and III require two horns ad lib in addition to the strings. The editor has included printed solutions for the cadenzas requested by the composer in I and IV.

The introduction and revision report in German, French and English provide detailed information about the composer and his contemporary history (the biographical details given here are based on this), performance and editorial practice. The works were recorded as early as 1949 on Radio Bern by Eugen Huber, who also carefully added missing parts (a pity that these additions are missing in the new edition!), and in 1975 with Philippe Laubscher and François Pantillon on record. The beautiful new material inspires new performances!

Franz Joseph Leonti Meyer von Schauensee: Quattro Concerti armonici d'Organo o di Cembalo op. 8, parte 1ma.
Concerto I in C major, M&S 2367
Concderto II in D major, M&S 2368
Concerto III in G major, M&S 2369
Concerto IV in A major "il molino", M&S 2370
Score I, II, IV/III: Fr. 38.00/22.00, piano reduction Fr. 28.00/18.00, parts Fr. 8.00/5.00 each;
Müller & Schade, Berne