Georg Muffat was born in Megève, Duchy of Savoy, in 1653. We learn about his early training in the preface to his Florilegium primum (Augsburg, 1695), where he states that “for six years, alongside other musical studies” he acquired the French style before “returning to Alsace from France”: he lived in France from 1663 until 1669, studying not only string instruments, but also organ and composition. In his Florilegium secundum (Passau, 1698), he provides detailed instructions regarding performance practice in the French style as it was observed at the court of Louis XIV under Jean-Baptiste Lully. Muffat surmises that he is probably the first composer to have brought the French “ballet compositions and their flowing and natural gait, entirely shunning all other art, intemperate runs as well as frequent and ill-sounding jumps” to Austria and Bohemia, Salzburg and Passau. Transferring from Salzburg to Passau had evidently not been a long-intended aspiration. In the preface to Florilegium primum, a sense of disappointment regarding his Salzburg employer becomes apparent: he expresses his gratitude towards the Passau Prince-Bishop all the more.
Muffat issued the preface to his Florilegium primum in four languages, reflecting his Alsatian origins, the different stages of his life (in Paris, Salzburg, Passau and Rome), as well as his education at the Jesuit Latin schools. The multilingualism, however, also expresses Muffat’s personal avowal to unite the nations with his music: “The weapons of war and their causes are far away from me: notes, strings and lovely musical sounds are my exercise, and since I combine the French manner with the German and Italian styles, I do not incite war, but perhaps help to achieve a desirable concord between with these peoples, playing for dear peace.”
Florilegium primum consists of fifty individual flowers (mostly dance movements), making up seven flower bushes (fascicles, suites), combining into one bouquet (florilegium). Muffat probably composed the suites, possibly even the individual dance movements, independently of each other, combining them only for the printed edition.
The Latin titles of course attract attention. The learnedness of a Jesuit-taught composer provokes thought about their significance. Muffat delivers his music to the listener not only for “amusement” but also for “judgement”: apart from its function as entertainment in the chamber and at the table, as well as providing rhythm for dancing, his music was also intended – on another level – to inspire peace.
The three major key fascicles provide the key to a possible interpretation. With regard to both form and content, Eusebia and Constantia (consistency) constitute a bracket. Emperor Constantius II (337-361) and his second wife, Flavia Eusebia (d.360 AD), were followers of Arianism, a Christian theological teaching which, in contrast to the catholic doctrine of the trinity, only recognised the father as God. Accordingly, Jesus Christ was considered as similar, but not equivalent, to God. Impatientia can be considered a central concept of Greek Stoicism. Thus, alongside the purely secular character of ballet music, theological and philosophical layers are also included. The remaining titles, Sperantis Gaudia [expecting pleasure], Gratitudo, Sollicitudo and Blanditiae [indulgence] broaden the spectrum of a human “frame of mind” and demonstrate that music, of course, is much more than mere diversion. It remains open as to what consequences considering these titles may have for interpreters and listeners. However, ignoring them would be wrong and would not do justice to the universal thinking of the modern era, or to Georg Muffat’s intentions.

Een boeket van dansen uitgevoerd door een entousiast ensemble
Dit debuutalbum van Ensemble Salzbürg Barock bevat een opname van Florilegium Primum van Georg Muffat. Daarnaast heeft het ensemble in samenwerking met Salzburg Universität een nieuwe editie van dit werk uitgebracht.

Georg Muffat (1653-1704) was een barokcomponist, die vooral bekend stond om zijn informatieve richtlijnen voor de uitvoering van zijn collecties met werken voor strijkers, Florilegium Primum uit 1695 en Florilegium Secundum uit 1698. Florilegium Primum bestaat uit vijftig individuele bloemen (voornamelijk dansstukken), die samen zeven bossen (suites) vormen. De bossen worden op hun beurt weer gecombineerd in één boeket, ofwel florilegium. Muffat heeft de suites waarschijnlijk los van elkaar gecomponeerd. Ze werden pas in de uitgave van Florilegium Primum met elkaar gecombineerd. De Latijnse titels van de stukken trekken de aandacht, ook al heeft Muffat zelf aangegeven dat hij ze toevallig had gekozen. Er zou een diepere betekenis achter de titels kunnen zitten. Niet alleen omdat hij onderwijs volgde op scholen van de Jezuïeten, maar ook omdat hij met zijn muziek de luisteraar zowel wilde vermaken als laten oordelen.

Ensemble Salzbürg Barock bestaat uit zes ervaren musici, die graag met muziek experimenten. Het ensemble heeft als doel om de prachtige muziek uit de Zuid-Duitse hoog-barok uit te voeren. Kennis van de theoretische en praktische context van de werken wordt gecombineerd met gepassioneerd spel en onbedwingbaar enthousiasme. Het ensemble heeft de aandacht getrokken met programma’s zoals Violinisssimo en Salzburger Nachtmusik, en met ongewone projecten zoals Marimba/Bach Concertos.

Die MusikerInnen von Salzburg Barock wecken großartige Musik aus ihrem Dornröschenschlaf. Im Reichtum weltlicher und kirchlicher Fürsten sind im Süddeutschen Hochbarock Ende des 17. Jahrhunderts prächtige Werke entstanden. Fundiertes Wissen um praktische und theoretische Zusammenhänge dieser Musik gepaart mit glühender Spielfreude und unbändigem Enthusiasmus, werden dieser affektgeladenen Musik zum treuen und aussagekräftigen Partner.

In ihrer ersten Aufnahme für Challenge Classics widmen sie sich dem Florilegium Primum von Georg Muffat. Das Florilegium primum besteht aus fünfzig einzelnen Blumen (überwiegend Tanzsätze), die in sieben Blumenbüschen (Faszikel, Suiten) einen Blumenbund (Florilegium) ergeben. Eine gewisse Aufmerksamkeit erwecken natürlich die lateinischen Titel, auch wenn Muffat selbst sagt, dass diese eher zufällig „nach gehabter Gemüths-Verfassung“ gewählt wurden. Die Gelehrtheit eines jesuitisch gebildeten Komponisten fordert allerdings gerade deshalb zum Nachdenken über deren Bedeutung auf.

Georg Muffat pubblicò la prefazione del suo Florilegium primum in quattro lingue, un riflesso delle sue origini alsaziane, delle diverse fasi della sua vita (tra Parigi, Salisburgo, Passau e Roma) nonché della sua educazione alla scuola di latino dei Gesuiti. Il multilinguismo, tuttavia, esprime anche la sua personale ambizione di unire le nazioni attraverso la musica: «Le armi delle guerre e le loro ragioni sono lontane da me: le note, gli archi e le belle sonorità musicali rappresentano il mio esercizio quotidiano, e siccome combino la maniera francese con gli stili tedesco e italiano, io non incito alla guerra, ma forse contribuisco al raggiungimento di un’auspicabile concordia tra questi popoli, suonando per la pace.»
Florilegium primum consiste in 50 singoli fiori (perlopiù movimenti di danza), che compongono 7 mazzi di fiori (suites) che a sua volta si combinano in un florilegium. È probabile che Muffat abbia composto le suites, probabilmente anche i singoli movimenti di danza, indipendentemente gli uni dagli altri, combinandoli appositamente per l’edizione a stampa.