Search - Thomas Baltazar, Nicolaus Bleyer, William Brade :: Johann Schop and his contemporaries: The Hanseatic Violin School in the 17th Century / Siedel

Rarities Beautifully Played

Arne Spohr | Troisdorf, GERMANY | 02/08/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Even those well acquainted with baroque composers might wonder who Johann Schop is. Another minor master who benefits from the current vogue for Early Music? - In his own time, Schop (ca. 1590-1667) was a widely famous violinist (one of the earliest in the history of violin playing) and the leader of the municipal musicians of his native town Hamburg. Not very much of Schop's repertoire for violin and continuo survives in sources, since this kind of music used to be mostly improvised. Annegret Siedel's playing brings this improvisatory character back to life, and this makes this recording so fascinating: With her both warm and expressive tone, she lets the music speak and shows its passionate, virtuoso and sometimes pretty eccentric character. Apart from Schop, Siedel plays also pieces by his contemporaries such as his teacher, the Englishman William Brade (represented by his truly moving "Choral"), showing the musical "circle" in which Schop played and composed. A true dicovery and a remarkable recording!"