In many ways the life
of Johann Melchior Molter was characteristic
of a German composer of the 17th or
18th century. Like many of his colleagues
he received his first musical education
from his father, Valentin Molter, who
was church music director and schoolmaster
at the village of Tiefenort an der Werra
in what is now Thuringia. He then went
to Eisenach, where he attended the Gymnasium
and was a member of the local choir.
In 1717 he entered the service of the
Margrave Carl Wilhelm of Baden-Durlach
in Karlsruhe. In 1722, just returned
from a journey to Italy, Molter was
appointed Kapellmeister at the young
age of 26. It was often politics which
could make or break a composer's career.
In 1733 August the Strong, Polish King
and Prince Elector of Saxony, died.
This led to the outbreak of the Polish
War of Succession. Margrave Carl Wilhelm,
expecting an attack by the French army,
disbanded his court and fled to Basle.
As a result Molter lost his job, although
he held the title of Kapellmeister.
This could easily have
been the end of a promising career.
But Molter was lucky. The next year
he was appointed Kapellmeister at Eisenach,
where his duties were about the same
as those in Karlsruhe. But it was a
political event again, which brought
his activities in Eisenach to an end.
In 1741 Duke Wilhelm Heinrich died,
and since he had no children Saxe-Eisenach
passed to the Duke of Saxe-Weimar, who
dissolved the chapel of Eisenach. Molter
returned to Karlsruhe again, where the
Margrave had returned in 1735, and regained
his old position as Kapellmeister in
1743.
Like many German composers
at the time Molter was influenced by
both the Italian and the French styles.
He had become acquainted with the French
taste during his time at the Gymnasium
at Eisenach. The court orchestra contained
several players from France, and it
was directed by Georg Philipp Telemann,
well-known for his admiration of the
French style. In order to be educated
in the newest developments in Italian
music Molter travelled to Italy twice:
first from 1719 to 1721, when he was
a member of the court orchestra in Karlsruhe,
and then, after being appointed in Eisenach,
in 1738.
One could say that
Molter was lucky: not only was he able
to find appropriate positions, but the
conditions under which he worked were
ideal. In his first period in Karlsruhe
he had an ensemble of 25 singers and
instrumentalists at his disposal, with
which he was able to perform the many
kinds of music he was expected to compose:
vocal and instrumental, sacred and secular.
In Eisenach, the next stage in his career,
the conditions were hardly less favourable.
Only the first years of his second period
in Karlsruhe were an exception: the
financial conditions were such that
Molter had only a small number of players
to work with. As a result he mainly
composed chamber music. Things changed
for the better in 1747, when the grandson
of Carl Wilhelm, Carl Friedrich, came
of age. He asked Molter to develop a
plan to reorganize the chapel. This
resulted in an ensemble of about 25
singers and players with additional
forces if necessary. A number of players
were virtuosos on their instruments
and some played more than one instrument,
including then less common ones like
the clarinet and the viola da gamba.
But Molter wasn't just
lucky: he was held in high esteem and
rated highly as a composer. A contemporary
writer put him on one level with the
likes of Fux, Telemann and Mattheson.
The fact that he was sent to Italy twice
- at the cost of his employers - is
another indication of his standing,
as is the fact that he was appointed
Kapellmeister in Karlsruhe at a relatively
young age.
Molter composed in
almost any genre then in vogue. Unfortunately
most of his vocal music has been lost.
Therefore this disc only contains instrumental
works. Compositions from all stages
of his career are represented here.
The two Overtures are written in French
style - scored for two oboes, bassoon,
strings and b.c., with two additional
horns in the Overture in F; they date
from the period in Eisenach. It is interesting
to note that both overtures contain
only one French dance movement, whereas
all other movements are either Italian
(allegro) or character pieces. The oboe
concerto is an entirely Italian piece,
which reminds me of the concertos by
Albinoni.
The solo sonatas date
from the first and last stages of Molter's
career. The violin sonata is the last
of six, which were published before
1723 in Amsterdam as opus 1, and dedicated
to the Margrave Carl Wilhelm. Molter
was a virtuosic violin player himself,
whose skills were even praised in Italy.
One may assume these sonatas, which
are technically very demanding and show
a mixture of the Italian style and German
polyphonic writing, were written to
be played by himself.
The flute sonata, on
the other hand, shows a strong affinity
with the sonatas by Carl Philipp Emanuel
Bach. It starts with an expressive adagio,
which is followed by an allegro and
a minuet with variations. Originally
is was written also for the violin,
but arranged for the flute, probably
for Margrave Carl Wilhelm, who was an
avid flute player.
Molter is generally
considered a 'minor master'. One may
ask whether this does justice to his
role in German music history. It is
interesting that, whereas most writers
tend to think Molter was influenced
by the Mannheim school in his later
period, Siegbert Rampe, in the liner
notes to this recording, suggests it
was just the other way round: "It is
considerably more probable, however,
that Johann Stamitz (1717-57), who was
almost one generation younger and also
a virtuoso violinist, in fact made borrowings
from his Karlsruhe colleague".
Whoever is right, this
recording gives ample evidence that
Molter is more than a 'minor master'.
After paying attention to the music
of Graupner with two discs and a third
in prospect, Siegbert Rampe has again
put a German composer on the map, which
so far has only been represented in
the catalogue with some of his clarinet
and trumpet concertos. It is a shame
most of his vocal compositions have
been lost. This disc suggests that at
least his remaining instrumental music
is well worth exploring.
The performances are
excellent: the orchestral playing is
energetic and lively, and the wind parts
- oboes and horns - in the solo concerto
and the two overtures are brilliantly
executed. Ildikó Kertész
and Siegbert Rampe give a particularly
fine performance of the flute sonata,
which is of high quality and should
be part of the repertoire of any flute
player. Rampe adds an improvised prelude
to this sonata - "as was then the custom,
in order to prepare the soloists and
listeners for the particular key", as
Rampe states in the booklet - as well
as to the violin sonata, the only piece
on the disc whose performance I am not
entirely happy with. Franc Polman produces
a sound which is a little thin and lacks
colour and depth. The qualities of this
piece are not fully expressed here.
This one sonata makes eager to hear
the whole set, though.
Johan van Veen
Nova Stravaganza/Siegbert Rampe 
