JOHANN GOTTFRIED MÜTHEL (1728-1788): Harpsichord Sonatas Nos. 1-3, Duets in E Flat and in C.

Description: Müthel was the last pupil of the Johann Sebastian Bach. He was present at the master’s deathbed, and he performed the funeral services, taking over the duties of the deceased Cantor. Mühtel’s music (“full of novelty, taste and grace” according to the great art historian and traveller Charles Burney) is of a wide variety, and written mainly for the keyboard (organ and harpsichord). Müthel’s music can be traced stylistically to the empfindsamer Stil or ‘sentimental style’, which blended passages rich in emotional nuance and strong harmonic contrasts with use of rhetoric and counterpoint and sparkling improvisational techniques. This new recording presents solo sonatas and duets for two keyboards by Müthel, highly original works which show that Müthel was an excellent keyboard player and improviser. 3 CDs. Anna Clementi, Giacomo Benedetti (harpsichord and duets).