O Seligkeit

The period between 1815 and 1828 is known in Austria as the Biedermeierzeit. It was characterised by relative quiet on the political level and coincided almost totally with Franz Schubert’s most productive years. We can imagine that Schubert’s life, at least until 1822, was a reasonably exuberant and busy bachelor’s existence despite his poverty and insecurity. Composing, playing music, parties, passionate love affairs and numerous trips away were all part of this. Schubert and his literary and artistic friends would make music at their gatherings; they sang songs made from their own texts and often these settings were by Schubert. These Schubertiads were part of the spirit of the time, for this was a period when the well-educated middle class was characterised by its cultivation of music and poetry. All this is reflected in the repertoire on this CD, wonderfully performed by Europe’s finest vocalists and musicians. The Egidius Kwartet (1995) aims to perform Renaissance and contemporary music from the Low Countries and to continue a tradition in which singers are ambassadors of new music from their country.