Indeed, with the great pool of piano-playing talent in the city at this time, perhaps it was wise of Matiegka to focus his considerable talent on the less famed of his instruments. For some years, it became famous as 'Schubert's Guitar Quartet' but is clearly listed in Deutsch's catalog as 'D.96, Wenzel Matiekga's Notturno'. The young composer made other additions, but this recording reverts to the original score, of which only a single copy remains. It is a Nocturne only in name, being a chamber work for evening performance, and not a descriptive piece in the style of later piano works. They use authentic instruments, not modern copies, and have carefully researched the musical texts which have not survived well in the hands of the 20th century publisher they name in their sleeve notes.
Sound quality is first class, too.
When the army documents and his letters are finally combed thoroughly, perhaps an exciting paper will be written about this man. He died in Paris in 1849. The disc's notes inform us that, until now, his greatest claim to fame was that he aided the survival of several of Boccherini's works, and translated from Spanish to French a guitar method by the famed player Dionisio Aguado. We are told, however, that his work as an arranger led to his being called 'The Haydn of the guitar'. The scope and history of de Fossa's output again reveal much about the musical practices of Europe at the start of the 19th century.