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Suonate per violino e violone o cimbalo Op. 7 - Vol. 2
Johannes Schenck

Ensemble Castor

Suonate per violino e violone o cimbalo Op. 7 - Vol. 2

Price: € 19.95
Format: CD
Label: Challenge Classics
UPC: 0608917200492
Catnr: CC 720049
Release date: 05 June 2026
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1 CD
€ 19.95
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Label
Challenge Classics
UPC
0608917200492
Catalogue number
CC 720049
Release date
05 June 2026
Album
Artist(s)
Composer(s)
EN
DE

About the album

Ensemble Castor continues its acclaimed journey into the sound world of Johannes Schenck with the second volume of Suonate per violino e violone o cimbalo, Op. 7 presented here as a complete world premiere recording. Published in 1699, Opus 7 stands as a dazzling compendium of Schenck’s compositional imagination, blending Italian sonata form, French dance suites, and the expressive freedom of the Stylus phantasticus into a richly varied musical tapestry. Far from the modest claim that these works were written “quickly for beginners,” the collection reveals profound artistry, virtuosic interplay, and an almost inexhaustible delight in experimentation from inventive Capriccios to the radiant Aria XVIII with its six variations crowning the cycle.

With their deep commitment to historical performance practice and their refined chamber music dialogue, the Austrian musicians of Ensemble Castor bring this extraordinary repertoire vividly to life. Following the international success of the first volume, praised worldwide for its brilliance and stylistic authority, this new release further illuminates Schenck’s genius a composer-virtuoso whose music transcends borders and fashions. In the hands of Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi, and Erich Traxler, Opus 7 unfolds as a living conversation across centuries: bold, elegant, and irresistibly expressive.

Ensemble Castor setzt seine gefeierte Reise in die Klangwelt von Johannes Schenck mit dem hier vollständig als Weltersteinspielung vorgelegten zweiten Band der Suonate per violino e violone o cimbalo, Op. 7, fort. Das 1699 veröffentlichte Opus 7 erweist sich als schillerndes Kompendium von Schencks kompositorischer Vorstellungskraft, in dem sich italienische Sonatenform, französische Tanzsuite und die expressive Freiheit des Stylus phantasticus zu einem reich nuancierten musikalischen Gewebe verbinden. Weit entfernt von der bescheidenen Behauptung, diese Werke seien „schnell für Anfänger“ geschrieben worden, offenbart die Sammlung tiefes künstlerisches Niveau, virtuoses Zusammenspiel und eine beinahe unerschöpfliche Freude am Experimentieren von erfinderischen Capriccios bis hin zur strahlenden Aria XVIII, die mit ihren sechs Variationen den Zyklus krönt.

Mit ihrer tiefen Verpflichtung gegenüber der historischen Aufführungspraxis und ihrem feinsinnigen kammermusikalischen Dialog erwecken die österreichischen Musikerinnen und Musiker des Ensemble Castor dieses außergewöhnliche Repertoire auf eindrucksvolle Weise zum Leben. Nach dem internationalen Erfolg des ersten Bandes, der weltweit für seine Brillanz und stilistische Autorität gerühmt wurde, rückt diese neue Veröffentlichung Schencks Genie umso stärker ins Licht ein komponierender Virtuose, dessen Musik Grenzen und Moden übersteigt. In den Händen von Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi und Erich Traxler entfaltet sich Opus 7 als lebendiges Gespräch über die Jahrhunderte hinweg: kühn, elegant und von unwiderstehlicher Ausdruckskraft.

Artist(s)

Ensemble Castor

The Austrian Ensemble Castor, which has been founded by internationally successful musicians in 2010, has already established itself as an highly valued early music group beyond the Austrian border. The musical director of Castor is the Austrian violinist Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt. Castor works together with internationally renowned singers as Alois Mühlbacher, Johanna Falkinger, and Silvia Frigato and has regular projects with Enrico Onofri, Dorothee Oberlinger, and Jana Semerádová. Ensemble Castor is performing at international festivals and in concert halls like Carinthischer Sommer, Boston Early Music Festival, Early Music Vancouver, Festival St. Gallen, Fränkischer Sommer, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, HändelFestspiele Halle, Internationale Barocktage Stift Melk and various outstanding reviews give evidence of its high quality.  
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The Austrian Ensemble Castor, which has been founded by internationally successful musicians in 2010, has already established itself as an highly valued early music group beyond the Austrian border. The musical director of Castor is the Austrian violinist Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt. Castor works together with internationally renowned singers as Alois Mühlbacher, Johanna Falkinger, and Silvia Frigato and has regular projects with Enrico Onofri, Dorothee Oberlinger, and Jana Semerádová. Ensemble Castor is performing at international festivals and in concert halls like Carinthischer Sommer, Boston Early Music Festival, Early Music Vancouver, Festival St. Gallen, Fränkischer Sommer, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, HändelFestspiele Halle, Internationale Barocktage Stift Melk and various outstanding reviews give evidence of its high quality.

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Erich Traxler (harpsichord)

As a harpsichordist and organist Erich Traxler mainly deals with music between around 1600 and 1800. His main focus in the interpretation is on the exploration of the 'musical craft' as a basis for music in the Baroque age as well as the immediate linguistic in the music into the 19th century. His concert career includes performances as soloist on harpsichord and organ as well as chamber musician with various formations (eg L'Orfeo Baroque Orchestra, Ars Antiqua Austria, Accentus Austria, Bach Consort Vienna, Venice Baroque Orchestra, Ensemble saitsiing, musica novantica vienna, Ensemble Castor) , Previous tours have taken him to most European countries as well as to the USA, South America, South Africa and Japan. Numerous CD and radio recordings (ORF,...
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As a harpsichordist and organist Erich Traxler mainly deals with music between around 1600 and 1800. His main focus in the interpretation is on the exploration of the "musical craft" as a basis for music in the Baroque age as well as the immediate linguistic in the music into the 19th century.

His concert career includes performances as soloist on harpsichord and organ as well as chamber musician with various formations (eg L'Orfeo Baroque Orchestra, Ars Antiqua Austria, Accentus Austria, Bach Consort Vienna, Venice Baroque Orchestra, Ensemble saitsiing, musica novantica vienna, Ensemble Castor) , Previous tours have taken him to most European countries as well as to the USA, South America, South Africa and Japan. Numerous CD and radio recordings (ORF, Gramola, WDR, Upper Austria organ organ) document his activity.

Erich Traxler received his musical education in Linz and Vienna u. a. Michael Radulescu, August Humer, Wolfgang Glüxam, Gordon Murray, Brett Leighton and Augusta Campagne. A postgraduate degree led him to Basel to the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, where he got important impulses from musicians such as Andrea Marcon, Wolfgang Zerer, Jean-Claude Zehnder and Jesper Christensen. As organist he won 1st prizes at international competitions for organ (Goldrain / I 2003, Bochum / D 2005).

From 2013 to 2018 Erich Traxler worked as a professor for harpsichord at the Music and Art University of Vienna (MUK). Since 2018 he is at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (mdw). He also taught at masterclasses in Belgrade, Notre Dame University, USA, and Stellenbosch University in South Africa.


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Philipp Comploi (violoncello)

Composer(s)

Johannes Schenck

Johannes Schenck (or Johan Schenk 3 June 1660–after 1712) was a Dutch musician and composer. Schenck was born in Amsterdam and baptized in a Catholic hidden church. He became a renowned virtuoso viola da gamba player. His compositions included music for a Dutch Singspiel, Bacchus, Ceres en Venus, which can claim to be the first opera in Dutch, and from which songs were published in 1687, as well as works for the viola da gamba. Around 1696 he accepted an appointment to the court of Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine in Düsseldorf. After Johann Wilhelm's death in 1716, the electoral court moved to Mannheim. There is some uncertainty about the date of Schenck's death as there is no mention found in the Düsseldorf Protestant church records or parish and cemetery records in Amsterdam. His last known published work...
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Johannes Schenck (or Johan Schenk 3 June 1660–after 1712) was a Dutch musician and composer.

Schenck was born in Amsterdam and baptized in a Catholic hidden church. He became a renowned virtuoso viola da gamba player.

His compositions included music for a Dutch Singspiel, Bacchus, Ceres en Venus, which can claim to be the first opera in Dutch, and from which songs were published in 1687, as well as works for the viola da gamba. Around 1696 he accepted an appointment to the court of Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine in Düsseldorf. After Johann Wilhelm's death in 1716, the electoral court moved to Mannheim.

There is some uncertainty about the date of Schenck's death as there is no mention found in the Düsseldorf Protestant church records or parish and cemetery records in Amsterdam. His last known published work appeared in 1712. He is no longer mentioned in the list of court musicians compiled in 1717.


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01.
Fantasia I: I. Adagio
01:38
(Johannes Schenck) Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi, Erich Traxler, Ensemble Castor
02.
Fantasia I: II. Allegro – Adagio
00:45
(Johannes Schenck) Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi, Erich Traxler, Ensemble Castor
03.
Fantasia I: III. Vivace – Adagio – Presto – Adagio
01:38
(Johannes Schenck) Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi, Erich Traxler, Ensemble Castor
04.
Fantasia I: IV. Adagio – Allegro
01:20
(Johannes Schenck) Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi, Erich Traxler, Ensemble Castor
05.
Fantasia I: V. Allemande
02:21
(Johannes Schenck) Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi, Erich Traxler, Ensemble Castor
06.
Fantasia I: VI. Courante
01:32
(Johannes Schenck) Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi, Erich Traxler, Ensemble Castor
07.
Fantasia I: VII. Sarabande. Adagio
02:40
(Johannes Schenck) Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi, Erich Traxler, Ensemble Castor
08.
Fantasia I: VIII. Gigue
01:43
(Johannes Schenck) Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi, Erich Traxler, Ensemble Castor
09.
Sonatina V: I. Adagio
02:09
(Johannes Schenck) Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi, Erich Traxler, Ensemble Castor
10.
Sonatina V: II. Allemande – Variatio
02:19
(Johannes Schenck) Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi, Erich Traxler, Ensemble Castor
11.
Sonatina V: III. Courante – Variatio
01:18
(Johannes Schenck) Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi, Erich Traxler, Ensemble Castor
12.
Sonatina V: IV. Sarabande – Variatio
02:02
(Johannes Schenck) Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi, Erich Traxler, Ensemble Castor
13.
Sonatina V: V. Gigue
02:05
(Johannes Schenck) Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi, Erich Traxler, Ensemble Castor
14.
Capriccio VII: I. Vivace
01:05
(Johannes Schenck) Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi, Erich Traxler, Ensemble Castor
15.
Capriccio VII: II. Aria. Grave
02:29
(Johannes Schenck) Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi, Erich Traxler, Ensemble Castor
16.
Capriccio VII: III. Adagio
01:10
(Johannes Schenck) Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi, Erich Traxler, Ensemble Castor
17.
Capriccio VII: IV. Gigue
02:18
(Johannes Schenck) Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi, Erich Traxler, Ensemble Castor
18.
Sonatina VIII: I. Adagio
01:32
(Johannes Schenck) Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi, Erich Traxler, Ensemble Castor
19.
Sonatina VIII: II. Allegro – Adagio
01:54
(Johannes Schenck) Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi, Erich Traxler, Ensemble Castor
20.
Sonatina VIII: III. Adagio
01:24
(Johannes Schenck) Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi, Erich Traxler, Ensemble Castor
21.
Sonatina VIII: IV. Allemande
02:20
(Johannes Schenck) Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi, Erich Traxler, Ensemble Castor
22.
Sonatina VIII: V. Courante
01:38
(Johannes Schenck) Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi, Erich Traxler, Ensemble Castor
23.
Sonatina VIII: VI. Sarabande. Adagio
02:43
(Johannes Schenck) Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi, Erich Traxler, Ensemble Castor
24.
Sonatina VIII: VII. Gigue
02:12
(Johannes Schenck) Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi, Erich Traxler, Ensemble Castor
25.
Capriccio X: I. Vivace
00:39
(Johannes Schenck) Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi, Erich Traxler, Ensemble Castor
26.
Capriccio X: II. Adagio
02:33
(Johannes Schenck) Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi, Erich Traxler, Ensemble Castor
27.
Sinfonia XI: I. Adagio
01:44
(Johannes Schenck) Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi, Erich Traxler, Ensemble Castor
28.
Sinfonia XI: II. Allemande
02:16
(Johannes Schenck) Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi, Erich Traxler, Ensemble Castor
29.
Sinfonia XI: III. Courante
01:31
(Johannes Schenck) Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi, Erich Traxler, Ensemble Castor
30.
Sinfonia XI: IV. Sarabande – Variatio
01:46
(Johannes Schenck) Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi, Erich Traxler, Ensemble Castor
31.
Sinfonia XI: V. Gigue
01:13
(Johannes Schenck) Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi, Erich Traxler, Ensemble Castor
32.
Sinfonia XI: VI. Gigue
02:25
(Johannes Schenck) Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi, Erich Traxler, Ensemble Castor
33.
Capriccio XII: I. Adagio – Allegro – Adagio
03:19
(Johannes Schenck) Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi, Erich Traxler, Ensemble Castor
34.
Sonatina XVI: I. Adagio
01:17
(Johannes Schenck) Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi, Erich Traxler, Ensemble Castor
35.
Sonatina XVI: II. Allegro – Adagio
01:06
(Johannes Schenck) Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi, Erich Traxler, Ensemble Castor
36.
Sonatina XVI: III. Allemande
02:07
(Johannes Schenck) Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi, Erich Traxler, Ensemble Castor
37.
Sonatina XVI: IV. Courante
01:14
(Johannes Schenck) Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi, Erich Traxler, Ensemble Castor
38.
Sonatina XVI: V. Sarabande
02:20
(Johannes Schenck) Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi, Erich Traxler, Ensemble Castor
39.
Sonatina XVI: VI. Gigue
01:53
(Johannes Schenck) Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi, Erich Traxler, Ensemble Castor
40.
Aria XVIII: I. Adagio
01:25
(Johannes Schenck) Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi, Erich Traxler, Ensemble Castor
41.
Aria XVIII: I. Variatio
01:17
(Johannes Schenck) Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi, Erich Traxler, Ensemble Castor
42.
Aria XVIII: II. Variatio
01:11
(Johannes Schenck) Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi, Erich Traxler, Ensemble Castor
43.
Aria XVIII: III. Variatio
01:11
(Johannes Schenck) Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi, Erich Traxler, Ensemble Castor
44.
Aria XVIII: IV. Variatio
01:08
(Johannes Schenck) Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi, Erich Traxler, Ensemble Castor
45.
Aria XVIII: V. Variatio
01:17
(Johannes Schenck) Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi, Erich Traxler, Ensemble Castor
46.
Aria XVIII: VI. Variatio
00:46
(Johannes Schenck) Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt, Philipp Comploi, Erich Traxler, Ensemble Castor
show all tracks

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