George: A Lifelong Journey

When the progressive monarchs of the Russian Empire decided to emulate the culture of Western Europe, they chose to import the talent rather than nurture native artists. Case in point, Sebastian George, a German composer who was hired by Catherine the Great to establish the musical styles of Moscow and St. Petersburg in the late 18th century. Apparently, he thrived there, teaching, writing and even operating a wine shop. This collection of six chamber music compositions can be characterized as uncomplicated work of the early classical era, and more Italian in flavor than German. He writes especially fluently for the flute (heard in four of the works), which in this case is a lovely sounding period wooden instrument. George’s music is firmly in the gallant style of his time, which is to say that it is well-crafted but lacking in original melody or harmonic complexity. A good comparison is the lively, popular music of Luigi Boccherini, although the chamber music innovations of Haydn must have been an influence as well. There is nothing revelatory here, but the music is certainly enjoyable, and the period instrument Ensemble Altera Pars squeeze as much joy out of it as they can.