From the region. A musical diary.

 

Sunday, March 15th 2026, 19:00, Zunftsaal zum Schmiedenhof, Rümeliplatz 4, 4001 Basel

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Programm

• Franz Xaver Richter (1709–1789): Trio Sonatas op. 3 and op. 4 (selected)

• Gaspard Fritz: Sonata for Violin and Basso Continuo op. 2 (from the manuscript held by the Zurich Central Library)

• Jean-Baptiste Loeillet de Gant (1688–c.1720): Trio Sonatas and a Sonata for Flute and Basso Continuo

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Ensemble Ad Fontes: Anne Simone Aeberhard (recorders) – Bruno Hurtado Gosalvez (viola da gamba) – Mojca Gal (violin) – Thys Grobelnik (fortepiano)

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The musical past of the Basel region remains little known to this day. The original plan to create a programme made up exclusively of Swiss 18th-century compositions had to be revised due to the limited number of surviving works. Instead, we turn our focus to neighboring regions such as Alsace, Lyon, and Geneva—following in the footsteps of Charles Burney’s journey in 1770.

In Geneva, Burney met the violinist and composer Gaspard Fritz, who had performed at the Concert Spirituel in Paris and impressed him with his expressiveness and virtuosity. Several of Fritz’s violin sonatas in the classical-galant style have survived and are now preserved in the Zurich Central Library. The programme is rounded out with works by Jean-Baptiste Loeillet, who spent time in Lyon, and by Franz Xaver Richter, Kapellmeister at Strasbourg Cathedral and a representative of the Mannheim School.