I've found Kropfgans's chamber music to be of much higher quality than his solo lute music. The chamber works are not exactly C.P.E. Bach or Haydn, but they have moments of beauty and passion that make for interesting listening beyond whatever appeal they have for our group simply by virtue of having a lute in them. Kropfgans, by the way, was the lutenist who went with Weiss when he visited J.S. Bach and "extra special music was heard". We automatically tend to assume that was because of the interaction between Bach and Weiss, but maybe Kropfgans was more than a slack-jawed yokel at that happening.
I've played a few of these from a modern edition found online. I can't recall where I downloaded it, but I wouldn't recommend it anyway because the music was riddled with tons of errors. It took a lot of our rehearsal time finding and correcting them. When you've convinced some bowed string players to indulge your desire to explore an obscure lute composer's music, that's especially bad; they could easily be sawing away on any number of the Big Name Masterworks, which is no doubt more rewarding for them than playing sempre sotto voce with a lute. John Schneiderman and company have recorded an album of Kropfgans trios. The recorded balance regarding the lute is very good. Chris [1]Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone On Wednesday, May 16, 2018, 10:09 AM, Richard Brook <[email protected]> wrote: Can one get sheet music for the trios? Dick Brook > On May 16, 2018, at 6:04 AM, Markus Lutz <[2][email protected]> wrote: > > Dear Roland, > probably you missed the mail of Stephan Olbertz, who posted to the lute list only: > > "Think of the galant lute trio like a piano trio... You get the idea" > > That really is the point: > In that times lute trio meant lute, violin (or flute) and basso, very often in a way, that the two added instruments play the melody and the bass of the lute part, but in later times > - and that for sure is the case with Kropfgans - with different voices for violin and lute, and also the bass often plays a extended line (sometimes even another voice: Philipp Martin(o), Daube etc.) > > I don't think we have testimonies of a trio of 3 lutes at that time, though such music probably existed (e.g. v. Radolt used 3 differently tuned lutes in one of his ensemble works)! > > The works of Kropfgans are mentioned in Gerber 1st edition 1792, vol. 1, 759f: > Kropfgans (Johann) geb. 14.10.1708 - nach 1769: > "Von seinen Kompositionen sind nur 3 Lautensolos zu Nürnberg gestochen worden. In Mspt. hingegen hat man von ihm 36 Solos, 6 Duos für 2 Lauten, 32 Trios für Laute, Violin und Violonzell, 1 Quartett für Laute, Fr. Viol. und Violonz. Auch hat er einige Hillerische Operetten auf die Laute gesetzt." > > i.e. > - 3 Solos had been published in Nürnberg by Haffner > In manuscript we have: > - 36 Solos > - 6 Duos > - 32 Trios for lute, violin and cello > - 1 Quartett for lute, flute, violine and cello > - Operetts by Hiller set to the lute > > Best regards > Markus > > > > > > Am 16.05.2018 um 03:03 schrieb Roland Hayes: >> Apologies. I meant trio for lute violin and cello. r >> ----------------------------------------------------------------------- - >> *From:* [3][email protected] <[4][email protected]> on behalf of Markus Lutz <[5][email protected]> >> *Sent:* Tuesday, May 15, 2018 7:11:22 PM >> *To:* [6][email protected]; Roland Hayes >> *Subject:* [LUTE] Re: Johann Kropfgans >> In one of the lexika of the end of the 18th or beginning of the 19th >> century there is a remark, that Johann Kropfgans wrote 32 lute trios, >> but I cannot say at the moment, in which one it is written. >> We only have some complete trios in Brusseles and in Berlin. >> In Brusseles there probably are some even written by himself. >> Best regards >> Markus >> Am 15.05.2018 um 23:43 schrieb Arthur Ness: >>> Hi Stephen, >>> You got it ! ! ! >>> ---------------------------------------------------- >>> 12 Trios lute, violin âcello in B-Br Ms II 4088. Also the Pichler >>> piece in Ms II 4087 (viii) according to Tim Crawford. >>> Meyer, Christian. "Les Manuscrits De Luth Du Fonds Fà ©tis (Bruxelles, >>> Bibliothà ¨que Royale Albert Ier, Mss II [7]4086-4089)." Revue Belge De >>> Musicologie / Belgisch Tijdschrift Voor Muziekwetenschap, vol. 50, >>> 1996, pp. 197â216. JSTOR, JSTOR, [1]www.jstor.org/stable/3687046. >>> Also listed with complete titles in Boetticher's RISM VII inventory, >>> pp. 62-4. These were from the Fà ©tis collection and may have been >>> acquired from the Breitkopf auction of 1832 (can't find my notes). The >>> catalogue is extremely rare, but is about 1 ½ inches thick.*** >>> Breitkopf decided to empty their warehouse of outmoded music. What a >>> treasure!! Unique copies of some of the Bach lute pieces were among >>> the offering. >>> Stephan Olbertz, "An Unknown Lute Piece in a Keyboard Manuscript with >>> Works by Wilhelm Friedemann Bach," JLSA 44 (2012): 1-22. >>> ***Copy in the University Library, Amsterdam (NO Longer in the >>> Amsterdam public library). >>> Enjoy, Roland! >>> Arthur Ness >>> [8][email protected] >>> -----Original Message----- >>> From: Stephan Olbertz <[9][email protected]> >>> To: 'Lute Net' <[10][email protected]> >>> Sent: Tue, May 15, 2018 4:24 pm >>> Subject: [LUTE] Re: Johann Kropfgans >>> Think of the galant lute trio like a piano trio... You get the idea ;-) >>> Best >>> Stephan >>> -----Ursprà ¼ngliche Nachricht----- >>> Von: lute-[2][11][email protected] [[3]mailto:[12][email protected]] >>> Im Auftrag von Stewart McCoy >>> Gesendet: Dienstag, 15. Mai 2018 21:05 >>> An: Lute Net >>> Betreff: [LUTE] Johann Kropfgans >>> Dear Roland, >>> Ià ¢Ã¢ ¬Ã¢ ¢m afraid I donà ¢Ã¢ ¬Ã¢ ¢t know about these trios by Johann >>> Kropfgans, but I >>> would very much like to know more about them. I see from a quick search >>> on the internet that Kropfgans wrote chamber music for the lute, violin >>> and cello, including one in C minor, but I see no evidence of lute >>> trios. It is possible that Lutz Kirchhof made his own lute trio >>> arrangements from those chamber music pieces, but Ià ¢Ã¢ ¬Ã¢ ¢m only >>> guessing. >>> Hopefully youà ¢Ã¢ ¬Ã¢ ¢ll be able to find out more. >>> Best wishes, >>> Stewart. >>> From: [1]Roland Hayes >>> Sent: Tuesday, May 15, 2018 7:10 PM >>> To: [2]Wayne ; [3]Stewart McCoy >>> Cc: [4]lute net >>> Subject: Johann Kropfgans >>> He wrote 32 lute trios? What are the sources? I just heard one in c >>> minor w/ Lutz Kerchoff. Outstanding!! r >>> -- >>> References >>> 1. [4]mailto:[13][email protected] >>> 2. [5]mailto:[14][email protected] >>> 3. [6]mailto:[15][email protected] >>> 4. [7]mailto:[16][email protected] >>> To get on or off this list see list information at >>> [8][17]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html >>> -- >>> References >>> 1. [18]http://www.jstor.org/stable/3687046 >>> 2. mailto:[19][email protected] >>> 3. mailto:[20][email protected]? >>> 4. mailto:[21][email protected]? >>> 5. mailto:[22][email protected]? >>> 6. mailto:[23][email protected]? >>> 7. mailto:[24][email protected]? >>> 8. [25]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html >> -- >> Markus Lutz >> SchulstraÃe 11 >> 88422 Bad Buchau >> Tel [26]0 75 82 / 92 62 89 >> Fax [27]0 75 82 / 92 62 90 >> Mail [28][email protected] >> This message is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed, and may contain information that is privileged, confidential and exempt from disclosure under applicable law. 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If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately by telephone and return the original message to us at [29][email protected] > > > -- > > Markus Lutz > SchulstraÃe 11 > > 88422 Bad Buchau > > Tel [30]0 75 82 / 92 62 89 > Fax [31]0 75 82 / 92 62 90 > Mail [32][email protected] > > -- References 1. https://overview.mail.yahoo.com/?.src=iOS 2. mailto:[email protected] 3. mailto:[email protected] 4. mailto:[email protected] 5. mailto:[email protected] 6. mailto:[email protected] 7. tel:4086-4089 8. mailto:[email protected] 9. mailto:[email protected] 10. mailto:[email protected] 11. mailto:[email protected] 12. mailto:[email protected] 13. mailto:[email protected] 14. mailto:[email protected] 15. mailto:[email protected] 16. mailto:[email protected] 17. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html 18. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3687046 19. mailto:[email protected] 20. mailto:[email protected] 21. mailto:[email protected] 22. mailto:[email protected] 23. mailto:[email protected] 24. mailto:[email protected] 25. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html 26. tel:0 75 82 / 92 62 89 27. tel:0 75 82 / 92 62 90 28. mailto:[email protected] 29. mailto:[email protected] 30. tel:0 75 82 / 92 62 89 31. tel:0 75 82 / 92 62 90 32. mailto:[email protected]
