Baroque/High#
Gregor Josef Werner: Musicalischer Instrumental-Calender#
Gregor Joseph Werner (1693 Ybbs/Danube - 1766 Eisenstadt/Burgenland) was the predecessor and, for a short time, supervisor of Joseph Haydn as the chapelmaster to the Esterházy Princes.Werner's Musicalischen Instrumental-Calender (Musical Instrument Calendar) is part of a tradition that Haydn's Tageszeiten-Sinfonien and his Oratorium Die vier Jahreszeiten shares - in the 18th century, the musical expression of the events of the calendar was obviously quite popular. With these 12 Concerts, Werner characterizes events having to do with the weather, nature, work and popular diversions; of course, the age-old imitation of natural sounds in music plays an important role. The musical example is number 20 of the second part of Werner's composition. Its text "Es lebe Ihro Maj. die Kaiserin Theresia" (Long live her majesty Maria Theresia) probably refers to the date of this empress' accession to the throne (her father, Charles VI died on 20 October 1740). The illustration shows the index of the original publication. (E. Stadler)