Johann Heinrich Schmelzer: Sonata Quarta; Elizabeth Blumenstock, baroque violin; Voices of Music

Hey everyone~! Please consider a donation, and we will make more videos like this one :) Johann Schmelzer’s Sonata Quarta in D Major from Sonatae Unarum Fidium (1664). Live video from the Voices of Music Great Artists Series in San Francisco. Featuring Elizabeth Blumenstock, baroque violin; William Skeen, viola da gamba; Hanneke van Proosdij, baroque organ, and David Tayler, theorbo. Voices of Music FAQ Q. How can I support Voices of Music? A. Donate here: and we will make more videos like this one :) These videos cost thousands of dollars to make, and the money comes from individual donors. Q. Where can I learn more about this music? A. You can visit our website, Also, subscribe to our video channel! Just click on the logo on our videos. Q. Where can we hear you play in concert? A. We perform in the San Francisco Bay Area. For a concert schedule, visit our website or join our mailing list Q. Where can I buy CDs? Our CDs are available on iTunes, Google, Amazon, CD Baby and just about everywhere; you can also buy a CD in a jewel case from Kunaki: Q. What is Early Music performance, or historical performance? A. We play on instruments from the time of the composers, and we use the original music and playing techniques: it’s a special sound. Q. Why are there no conductors? A. Conductors weren’t invented until the 19th century; since we seek to recreate a historical performance, the music is led from the keyboard or violin, or the music is played as chamber music~or both  Q. What are period instruments or original instruments; how are they different from modern instruments? A. As instruments became modernized in the 19th century, builders and players tended to focus on the volume of sound and the stability of tuning. Modern steel strings replaced the older materials, and instruments were often machine made. Historical instruments, built individually by hand and with overall lighter construction, have extremely complex overtones—which we find delightful. Modern instruments are of course perfectly suited to more modern music. Q. Why is the pitch lower, or higher? A. Early Music performance uses many different pitches, and these pitches create different tone colors on the instruments. See One of the finest examples of the early baroque German sonatas for violin and continuo, the Sonata Quarta of Johann Schmelzer combines florid passagework with harmonic and contrapuntal ingenuity. A ground bass connects each of the varied movements, and the work concludes with a virtuosic cadenza over a pedal point. Considered one of the finest violinists in world in 1660, Schmelzer published a collection of his solo sonatas of 1664; these are some of the most important works for the violin in the 17th century. The sonatas are Italianate in style, and set the stage for subsequent works of Biber and Bach. #Schmelzer #Sonata