Musical Discovery

In April the CEO of the German CD label "cpo", Burkhard Schmilgun, asked Douglas Bostock to look into music by little known British composers from the late 18th and early 19th Centuries. A treasure trove was unlocked. Douglas was particularly attracted by the music of William Smethergell (1751-1836), of whom he had previously not heard. It turned out that the original parts of the "Six Overtures in 8 Parts" (1790) were in the Henry Watson Music Library in Manchester, where Douglas had spent many hours as a teenager. They were scanned and scores made up in record time. Douglas edited the music, where necessary, during his time in Japan (see previous post). the parts were produced, bowed up and distributed. A week after returning from Japan Douglas was with the Southwest German Chamber Orchestra in Pforzheim, recording the "Six Overtures" (short symphonies, in fact), just two months after Burkhard Schmilgun's proposition!

The music was recorded in a happy and relaxed atmosphere, and in the esprit of the era, with fortepiano as continuo instrument. William Smethergell turns out to be quite a discovery - wonderful music of great originality. The CD will be released in the autumn. An album to really look forward to!