Finger: Music for European Courts and Concerts The Harmonious Society of Tickle-Fiddle Gentlemen & Robert Rawson

• Gottfried Finger (1660 - 1730): "Come All, with Moving Songs Prepare" (From the Loves of Mars and Venus):
• 1"Come All, with Moving Songs Prepare" (From the Loves of Mars and Venus)00:55
• Sonata a tre chori in C Major:
• 2Sonata a tre chori in C Major06:22
• Sonata a 5 in B-Flat Major:
• 3Sonata a 5 in B-Flat Major: I. Grave02:54
• 4Sonata a 5 in B-Flat Major: II. Presto01:38
• 5Sonata a 5 in B-Flat Major: III. Adagio02:21
• 6Sonata a 5 in B-Flat Major: IV. Allegro01:07
• Chaconne a 4 in G Major:
• 7Chaconne a 4 in G Major03:43
• The Mourning Bride:
• 8The Mourning Bride: I. Overture03:24
• 9The Mourning Bride: II. Air02:30
• 10The Mourning Bride: III. Gavotte00:52
• 11The Mourning Bride: IV. Air01:36
• Sonata a 6 in C Major:
• 12Sonata a 6 in C Major04:51
• Chaconne a 5 in G Major:
• 13Chaconne a 5 in G Major02:38
• Concerto a 6 in F Major:
• 14Concerto a 6 in F Major: I. Allegro01:18
• 15Concerto a 6 in F Major: II. March01:24
• 16Concerto a 6 in F Major: III. Aria (Adagio)04:01
• 17Concerto a 6 in F Major: IV. Aria (Allegro)03:00
• Fantasia in G Minor:
• 18Fantasia in G Minor: I. Allegro01:13
• 19Fantasia in G Minor: II. Adagio00:21
• 20Fantasia in G Minor: III. Passepied (Allegro)01:18
• 21Fantasia in G Minor: IV. Largo02:09
• 22Fantasia in G Minor: V. Adagio00:24
• 23Fantasia in G Minor: VI. Allegro01:22
• 24Fantasia in G Minor: VII. Aria (Menuet Grave)01:30
• Sonata a 6 in D Major:
• 25Sonata a 6 in D Major03:56
• Sonata 9 in G Minor:
• 26Sonata 9 in G Minor04:08
• "Morpheus, Gentle God" (From "Alexander the Great"):
• 27"Morpheus, Gentle God" (From "Alexander the Great")05:53
• Total Runtime01:06:48

Info for Finger: Music for European Courts and Concerts

The Moravian-born multi-instrumentalist and composer Gottfried Finger is often found in the footnotes in modern music histories, yet during his lifetime few other composers could boast of the number of firsts and career milestones. In a varied and active career spanning more than half a century, he crossed paths with some of the leading composers of his day (Biber, Purcell, Telemann, Silvius Leopold Weiss and perhaps François Couperin, to name just a few). Finger could switch with great ease between faithful versions of the dominant French and Italian styles, but thanks to his experiences across such wide geographies, variety of musical styles, languages and cultures, his primary style is a truly pan-European phenomenon. Although Italian music was his main inspiration, it is difficult to assign Finger consistently to any kind of national style or regional school. This CD presents premieres of 12 pieces from the second half of his career show-casing some of the breathtaking scope and scale of his output and his particular strength in deft handling of ear-tickling instrumental sonorities and virtuosity.

The Harmonious Society of Tickle-Fiddle Gentlemen
Robert Rawson, direction

The Harmonious Society of Tickle-Fiddle Gentlemen
Taking its name from the description by the poet Ned Ward of the musicians who played at one of the world’s first series of public concerts, in London, The Harmonious Society of Tickle-Fiddle Gentlemen was founded in 2006 to explore the neglected repertoire of public concert life in England in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Described on BBC Radio 3 as ‘purveyors of exhilarating and uplifting music’, the ensemble also maintains a broader interest in early eighteenth-century music for public concerts from across Europe. Its first CD, Concertos and Overtures for London, devoted to works by Johann Christoph Pepusch, won accolades around the world and became a bestseller in Germany, reaching No. 1 in the German classical charts in 2012. Its follow-up CD, of Pepusch’s 1715 masque Venus and Adonis, also received critical acclaim around the globe and was nominated in the ‘Opera 1’ category for the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik in 2016. The group continues to perform in concerts and festivals across Europe.

Booklet for Finger: Music for European Courts and Concerts