"Who is not familiar with the abundantly tuneful composer?" is a quotation from the review of Sterkel's Piano Fantasy op. 45 in the German fashion magazine Journal des Luxus und der Mode dated August 1817. But today the name Franz Xaver Sterkel is little known. Julla von Landsberg and Jan Kobow thought it was time to change this and put together an enchanting selection from the composer's rich collection of almost four hundred songs. Together with tangent piano and guitar, they bring the hidden treasures back to light and re-introduce Sterkel's charming and deeply emotional music full of melodic inventiveness and sophistication to a wider audience. Bavarian-born soprano Julla von Landsberg began her studies at the Munich Conservatory. Later, she continued her education at the Institute for Early Music Trossingen, where she founded the Ensemble Santenay- Music of the Middle Ages in 2004 with fellow students. She lives and works as a freelance singer in Berlin. German tenor Jan Kobow began his education with the State and Cathedral Choir. He studied at the Schola Cantorum in Paris, and then at the Hochschule fur Musik in Hannover and the Hamburg College of Music. Since 1992, he has been in regular demand as a Lieder and oratorio singer, and as a performer of early music.

Tracklist:

Sammlung, Stwv 57: No. 1, Lied Im Freien
Sammlung, Stwv 52: No. 9, Phylis An Ihren Damis
Sammlung, Stwv 57: No. 5, Ermunterung
Sammlung, Stwv 69: No. 1, Liebesbothen
Sechs Gedichte Von Goethe, Stwv 70: No. 1, An Lina
Sammlung, Stwv 64: No. 4, Elise
Sammlung, Stwv 67: No. 1, Des Jägers Abendlied
Sammlung, Stwv 52: No. 11, Philint An Suschen
Sechs Gedichte Von Goethe, Stwv 70: No. 4, Die Spröde
Sammlung, Stwv 54: No. 4, Die Biene
Sammlung, Stwv 61: No. 5, Der Geist Der Harmonie
Sammlung, Stwv 54: No. 7, Abendlied
Erinnerung Des 15ten May 1793, Stwv 80
Sammlung, Stwv 56: No. 6, Die Vollendung
Fantasie Pour Le Pianoforte, Op. 45, Stwv 226
7 Lieder, Stwv 110: No. 5, Misero Tu Non Sei
Arietta Con Accompagnamento Di Pianoforte O Chitarra, Stwv 29: M‘hanno Detto, Che Il Marito
Trois Duos Italiens, Quatrième Livraison, Stwv 11: No. 3, Ad Onta Del Fato Mio Bene Adorato

UPC: 4039956918097
Label: Coviello Classics
Release Date: 9.21.18
Format: CD

Sterkel - Messengers of Love (CD)