Moritz Landgraf of Hessen, often know as Moritz der Gelehrte (Moritz the learned) was more than an aristocratic patron: he composed a large number of pieces, some of which are really rather good. Assuming that they were actually written by him (always questionable with royals) he was a good musician.
This work is taken from Ms 20 mus. 59s of the Landesbibliothek in Kassel. It is an attempt at composition in a North Italian style, though we doubt if many people would mistake it for a genuine Italian work. It has a certain attractive naiveté, a quality found in many of the pieces composed by Moritz Langraf of Hessen, who was sometimes known as “Moritz Der Gelehrter” (Moritz the scholar). An interesting feature of his music is that it often calls for specific instrumentation: there is an intrada for eight cornetti and eight “dolzani” (curtals), and the Kassel pavan collection (RB 11 ↣) contains pieces for four cornetti and five trombones and several interesting mixed combinations.
(Bernard Thomas)
