Johann Kaspar Mertz - Capriccio from Barden-Klänge

Johann Kaspar Mertz established himself as a composer and performer in Vienna in 1840 and, although popular enthusiasm for the guitar was declining, he forged a new repertoire which differed significantly from the classical and ’bel canto’ styles of the composers that preceded him, instead making use of harmonic and melodic devices charecteristic of the piano music of the era. The title of this collection of virtuosic solo pieces, ’Barden-Klänge’, is a reference to the controvercial but beloved poetry of