6 Concerti Armonici

The set of Six Concerti Armonici for strings and basso continuo, published without ascription in the Hague in 1749, is such good music that it has seldom been out of circulation since, through it's authorship has been a mystery until recently. The Italian violinist Ricciotti, Handel, Birkenstock, and even Pergolesi became candidates for authorship, but it wasn't until 1980 - when Dutch musicologist Alfred Dunning carried out research in the library of the Dutch aristocratic van Wassenaer family - that he found an actual MS of the Concerti with a preface by the composer, the distinguished Dutch diplomat Count Wilhelm van Wassenaer, known and admired as much for his musical as his political talents. The Concertos' range of expression and technique is remarkable, and the variations in style between movements mark him as a gifted and original musician. Above all, it is the beauty of these works and the composer's uniquely individual voice that continue to earn them a high place among the instrumental music of the early 18th century.