The Harmonious Society of Tickle-Fiddle Gentlemen - Guretzky: Concertos (2017/2022) [Official Digital Download]

The Harmonious Society of Tickle-Fiddle Gentlemen takes its name from the original ensemble that gave London's first public concerts, from 1678, and which continued to meet well into the middle of the eighteenth century. The members of the group are leading figures on the period instrument scene in the UK and Europe, offering programmes that draw on recent and original research. They have been described on BBC Radio 3 as 'purveyors of exhilarating and uplifting music'.

The baroque ensemble here commits to record unjustly neglected concertos by Josef Guretzky, rich in Italian-influenced virtuosity and dynamism, yet highly innovative in the contrast of rhythms and forms. The album features the premiere recording of four of Guretzky’s nine cello concertos as well as Guretzky’s only surviving Violin Concerto.

They are complemented by a contemporaneous keyboard fugue by another Czech master of the baroque era, Bohuslav Matej Cernohorský.

“…This music certainly brings out good things in the Tickle-Fiddlers, who fully justify their name. There is real joy in the music-making. The ensemble-playing, under the artistic direction of Robert Rawson, is crisp and buoyant. And even the soloists – cellist Kinga Gáborjáni, violinist Rodolfo Richter and harpsichordist David Wright, who contributes a delicate fugue by Bohuslav Matej Cernohorský – wear their virtuosity lightly.” (Hanna Nepil, Gramophone magazine)

"…Magnificently named, The Harmonious Society of Tickle-Fiddle Gentlemen play these works with a single player per part with a harpsichord continuo, the selection of instruments including a double bass and following documented practice for the period. The resulting sound is both crisp and attractively full, and with a plethora of premières on this disc there can be no complaints in terms of freshness. If you are looking to expand your experience of 18th century music from an unexplored mid-European source then this is a highly enjoyable place to find such delights."

Tracklist
01. Guretzky: Cello Concerto in A Minor, D-WD 573: I. Allegro
02. Guretzky: Cello Concerto in A Minor, D-WD 573: II. Adagio
03. Guretzky: Cello Concerto in A Minor, D-WD 573: III. Presto
04. Guretzky: Cello Concerto in G Major, D-WD 574: I. Allegro
05. Guretzky: Cello Concerto in G Major, D-WD 574: II. Largo
06. Guretzky: Cello Concerto in G Major, D-WD 574: III. Vivace
07. Guretzky: Violin Concerto in D Major: I. Allegro moderato
08. Guretzky: Violin Concerto in D Major: II. Grave
09. Guretzky: Violin Concerto in D Major: III. Vivace
10. Cernohorsky: Fugue in A Minor
11. Guretzky: Cello Concerto in F Major, D-WD 577: I. Allegro
12. Guretzky: Cello Concerto in F Major, D-WD 577: II. Largo
13. Guretzky: Cello Concerto in F Major, D-WD 577: III. Allegro
14. Guretzky: Cello Concerto in D Major, D-WD 575: I. Allegro
15. Guretzky: Cello Concerto in D Major, D-WD 575: II. Adagio
16. Guretzky: Cello Concerto in D Major, D-WD 575: III. Vivace