Austrian Baroque music is at the centre of the repertoire of this unusual Baroque ensemble. The music cultivated at the Viennese imperial court at this time initially showed strong influences from Italy, later from France, whereby the Spanish court ceremonial also had an impact on artistic creation. The typical Austrian sound of this period was characterised by the influence of the many crown lands. The political and social boundaries in Austria during the Baroque period were much wider than they are today. Elements of folk music from Slavic, Hungarian and Alpine music had a lasting influence on art music at that time and gave it its specific sound. The Austrian sound also reflects the temperament and character of the Austrian of the time, a person at the melting point of many different cultures. It combines the joie de vivre of the southerners, the melancholy of the Slavs, the formalism of the French, the court ceremonial of the Spanish and the original Alpine flavour of the German-speaking world. This mixture of court music and folk music with a dance-like flavour makes up the typical Austrian sound.
In 1993, Hallstatt-born violinist Gunar Letzbor founded the ensemble Ars Antiqua Austria with the aim of exploring the “Austrian baroque sound”. Since then, this extraordinary ensemble has been searching for influences from Belgium, Bohemia, Burgundy, France, England, Spain, Italy, Galicia, Hungary and Transylvania.
Gunar Letzbor – violin/Nina Pohn – violin/Mira Letzbor – viola/Erich Traxler – harpsichord/Hubert Hoffmann – theorbo/Jan Krigovsky – violone 8′
