E.T.A. Hoffmann - Miserere - Chamber Works

From the notes - Miserere in B flat minor:

"The Miserere in B flat minor for soloists, chorus and orchestra, here recorded for the first time, shows the unique position occupied by E.T.A. Hoffmann (1776-1822) in musical history. Of all the composers of the Romantic period it was Hoffmann who thought most deeply and wrote most perceptively about the aesthetics of his art and in particular about the true nature of church music. It is therefore no coincidence that the first of his writings to appear in print (in 1803) bears the title 'Epistle of a Monastic Brother to his Friend in the Capital City'.

During the next two decades Hoffmann wrote many more essays on musical problems and works, most of them appearing in three installments in 1814 under the title Church Music Ancient and Modern. As the date of his Miserere falls almost half-way between the dates of the first essay and this comprehensive collection of writings, posterity has the comparatively rare advantage of being informed by the composer exactly what aims and ideals were influencing him at the time of composition. [...]

Hoffmann's Miserere is the work of a man well acquainted with tradition and confident in handling it, as the fugal sections clearly show - but one who openly admitted to being a romantic innovator in the realm of large-scale church music. Being a Protestant, Hoffmann had not grown up with this tradition, unlike Haydn and Schubert. Mentally and technically, he had to acquire it before he could use it as a medium for his own personal feelings. He had already partially achieved this in an earlier composition, the Mass in D minor; in the Miserere he finally made the style his own. This is why Hoffmann's Miserere can undoubtedly be ranked among the relatively few masterpieces of church music written at the beginning of the Romantic era."

From the notes - E.T.A. Hoffmann - Chamber Works:

"Wien, den 23. März 1820

Ich ergreife die Gelegenheit durch Herrn N. mich einem so geistreichen Mann wie Sie zu nähren. Auch über meine Wenigkeit habe Sie geschrieben, auch unser Herr N. N. zeigte mir in seinem Stammbuche einige Zeilen von Ihnen über mich. Sie nehmen also, wie Ich glauben muß, einigen Anteil an mir. Erlauben Sie mir zu sagen, daß dieses von einem mit so augezeichneten Eigenschaften begabten Manne Ihresgleichen mir sehr wohl tut. Ich wünsche Ihnen Alles Schöne und Gute und bin


... Hatte der Komponist den Verfasser der berühmten 'Phantasiestücke' nicht für einen ganz außerordentlichen Musiksachverständigen gehalten, so hätte diese Zeilen nie geschrieben."

"Vienna, March 23, 1820

Through Herr N., I seize this opportunity of approaching a man of your intellectual attainments. You have even written about my humble self, and our Herr N. N. showed me in his album some lines of yours about me. I must assume, then, that you take a certain interest in me. Permit me to say that, from a man like yourself, gifted with such distinguished qualities, this is very gratifying to me. I wish you the best of everything and remain



... If the composer had not held the author of the famous 'Fantasy Pieces' for a very outstanding musical expert, these lines would never have been written. "

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E.T.A. Hoffmann

Miserere in B flat minor
for soloists, chorus and orchestra

Krisztina Laki, Soprano 1
Hildegard Laurich, Soprano 2
Gwendolyn Killebrew, Alto
Aldo Baldwin, Tenor
Nikolaus Hillebrand, Bass

Kölner Rundfunkchor
Kölner Rundfunk-Sinfonie
Roland Bader

(Schwann, 1979)

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Quintet for Harp and String Quartet
in C minor

Grande Trio for Piano, Violin and Cello
in E major

Marielle Nordmann, Harp
Martine Joste, Piano
Trio à cordes français:
Gérard Jarry, Violin
Serge Collet, Viola
Jacques Ghestem, Cello

(Schwann, 1965)

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LP transfers from above material.
Includes covers, labels and notes
(German, English and French).