Music at the Habsburg Court - Official Trailer

In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, any European musician in search of success would have been drawn to the imperial capital, Vienna. During the reign of the Habsburg Emperor Charles VI (1711–40), many well-known composers were, or attempted to become, members of the Hofkapelle – the prestigious court chapel – not least among them the four who feature on this album, namely Antonio Vivaldi, Angelo Ragazzi, Joseph Umstatt and Joseph Ferdinand Timmer. While they and others were irresistibly attracted by the Hofkapelle’s high level of musicianship and the opportunity of serving the most powerful ruler in Europe (himself a composer and devotee of counterpoint), for his part, Charles could take pride in the cosmopolitan nature of his court chapel: what better way to demonstrate to the rest of Europe the political and cultural hegemony of the Holy Roman Empire? Applications for posts in the Hofkapelle came in from every outpost of empire, o en accompanied by musical o erings (details of some of which survive) – generally speaking, complete collections of concertos or vocal works. In presenting these gi s, candidates always made sure to pay homage to the ruling dynasty, and o en used them to showcase their knowledge and mastery of current court trends (most of the works recorded here come from tributes of this kind). Regardless of the renown of the virtuoso in question and the quality of his work, however, acceptance at court meant treading an o en di cult path.