Franz Kotzwara & William B. Krifft: “The Siege of Quebec”

World Première Recording (?) Franz Kotzwara (ca.1750-1791): 1) A favorite Song of General Wolfe: 00:00 2) Introduction: 1:39 3) Slow March: 2:20 4) Trumpets & Drums, Signal for the Attack: 4:04 5) National Air to animate the soldiers: 4:21 6) The Attack: 5:43 William B. Krifft (ca.1765 - ?): 6a) Ascending of the heavy Artillery up the Rocks: 6:18 6b) Cannonade: 6:34 6c) Fighting with Swords: 6:56 6d) Lamenting of the Wounded: 7:47 6e) A Party of the Enemy retire: 7:54 6f) A heavy Cannonade: 8:04 6g) A Skirmish: 8:36 6h) Trumpets, with a Flag of Truce for a Capitulation: 10:26 7) The Capitulation: 10:39 8) Allegro: 11:27 9) Lamenting the Death of General Wolfe, Officers & Men kill’d: 11:51 10) March of Victory: 13:57 11) General Rejoicing: 15:39 Every student of 18th century history has read of the famous “Battle of Quebec”. The British, fighting against the French in the Seven Year’s War (what Americans generally call the “French and Indian War”) had laid siege to the city of Quebec. Then, on September 13, 1759, they scaled the cliffs near the city, and on the “Plains of Abraham” engaged in battle against the French, led by the distinguished officer Louis-Joseph de Montcalm. The British commander is also well-known, even today: General James Wolfe. The British were victorious, although Wolfe (and Montcalm as well) died of the wounds he received in battle. (Back then, generals actually fought on the “fields of honor”, preferring to take the risks involved instead of remaining many miles away from the “action”, as they almost always do today). This major victory paved the way to a general British victory in that war, though the “Peace of Paris wasn’t signed until 1763. By 1760, however, the year after the battle of Quebec, French power had been broken in Canada. This little sojourn into military history sheds light on the composition presented here. It is one of those typical “battle pieces” that many composers wrote after some notable victory of their king. This piece is a fine example of the type of “popular” harpsichord (or piano) work that had war as its theme, and was no doubt appreciated by players who wished to receive a “musical impression” of the events, and possibly the greater meaning, of a certain conflict. (...as if any music could ever reflect the horrors of war!) Franz Kotzwara (František Kočvara in Czech; he was born in Prague) had written a similar piece in 1788, entitled “The Battle of Prague”. It gained immediate popularity, which is no doubt why he decided to create a similar composition, this time based on the Siege of Quebec. Unfortunately, however, Kotzwara died after writing the first few movements. This is where William B. Krifft enters the picture: he decided to complete the work, starting where Kotzwara left off (at a section entitled “Ascending of the heavy Artillery up the Rocks”). William B. Krifft, though practically totally forgotten today, must have been quite talented. He had been a student of the eminent Muzio Clementi; thus, he was well-equipped to give recitals and concerts, in which he often presented his own compositions. Though certainly not a truly “great” piece, the “Siege of Quebec” was quite popular in its time, and is a most interesting example of the “battle” genre of keyboard music. – David Bolton, “The Digital Harpsichordist” Really? You still haven’t seen my books? Please do check them out at Amazon! 1) How to Memorize Music – A Practical Approach for Non-Geniuses https://amzn.to/2ElbmKp 2) How to overcome Stage Fright − The ultimate Guide for performing Musicians https://amzn.to/2ScII1J 3) Play it with Feeling! - Expressing Emotion in Musical Performance https://amzn.to/2Sf61bc All available at Amazon.com Please subscribe to my channel! P.S. You might want to join my Facebook Group: "The Digital Harpsichordist": https://www.facebook.com/groups/338047326812441/