Pantaleon
A New Psaltery for Baroque Europe
A. Caldara, G. P. Telemann, M. Marais
ECHO DU DANUBE (Germany)
Elisabeth Seitz – psaltery (Pantaleon-Hackbrett)
Martin Jopp – violin
Thomas Boysen – theorbo, baroque guitar
Masako Art – tripple harp
Christian Zincke – viola da gamba, artistic director
Monday 14. 7. 2014, 8.00 p.m.
Zámek Troja, U Trojského zámku 1, Praha 7
With the support of the Deutsch-Tscheschischer Zukunftsfonds and in collaboration with Prague Municipal Gallery.
Pantaleon, a large psaltery (or dulcimer) named after its inventor Pantaleon Hebenstreit (1668-1750), was extremely popular across Europe in the first three decades of the 18th century. Admired by the French King Louis XIV and the Elector of Saxony August II the Strong, its exceptional dynamic range made composers like Telemann and Caldara keen to write for the instrument. Unfortunately, neither the pantaleon itself, nor Hebenstreit’s own compositions for the instrument have survived till our time. Still, the programme based on in-depth musicological research comprised period pieces for this mysterious phenomenon of late-baroque music. Psaltery, in a mellifluous combination with the tripple harp, viola da gamba, baroque violin, and theorbo, was the main protagonist of the opening night of this year’s festival on 14 July in the Troja Chateau, featuring the renowned German ensemble Echo du Danube.
Concert programme
Antonio Caldara (1671–1736)
Chiaconna B-Dur
Johann Philipp Krieger (1649–1725)
Sonata seconda d-moll, Op. 2
Robert de Visee (ca. 1655–1732)
Suite C-Dur
Johann Jacob Froberger (1616–1667)
Lamento
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681–1767)
Pariser Quartett Nr 6, e-moll (Nouveaux Quatuors, 1738)
Marin Marais (1656–1723)
Sonnerie de Ste. Geneviève du Mont de Paris
Suite in C-Dur (Pieces en Trio, 1692)
Johann Georg Pisendel (1687–1755)
Sonate e-moll
Francesco Corbetta (1615–1681)
Prelude & Caprice de chacone (La Guitarre Royalle, Paris 1670)
Michele Corrette (1707–1795)
La Furstemberg (Les amusemens du Parnasse, 1749)
Praise for the Summer Festivities of Early Music
Lidové noviny, 16. 7. 2014, Jana Machalická
The opening concert of the festival in Troja Chateau featured the foremost German ensemble Echo du Danube. The mysterious instrument, pantaleon, was played brilliantly by Elisabeth Seitz who virtually danced to its rhythm and sound which resembled at times that of gentle and soft chimes.
Delight and Grace
Harmonie 9/2014, Michaela Freemanová
Baroque music for the aristocratic home meant an ideal start of the festival. The music fit perfectly the atmosphere of a Roman villa which Václav Vojtěch of Sternberk had built on the outskirts of Prague in the late 17th century.
