Mannheim: The Creation of Style
The Mannheim court in the 18th century represents one of those pinnacles of enlightened vision, endeavour and achievement in the arts. Between 1748 and 1778 under the rule of Elector Carl Theodor the German court reached its zenith.

Carl Theodor himself was the very personification and embodiment of the new ideal of the enlightened prince. Upon coming to power in 1743, he began assembling a group of musical talents that would become an unrivalled powerhouse of musical energy, endeavour, activity and influence that would light up the cultural skies of Europe for the next half century. In the mid-18th century, the composers and performers at Mannheim, such as J. Stamitz ("the father of the symphony"), Richter, Wendling, Fränzl, Cannabich, Toeschi, Holzbauer and Filtz, were seen as the leading protagonists of the new symphonic language and the Mannheim orchestra was regarded as the defining and ultimate performing vehicle in this style. As a whole, Mannheim was the most famous and influential musical court of the 18th century. Starting at the beginning, this disc explores the emergence and formation of the classical language at Mannheim in the period c. 1740 – 1750, and the importance of the leading role that the Mannheim composers played in the formation of the medium of that western phenomenon, the symphony. The influence of the Mannheim School on subsequent generations of composers cannot be overestimated, nor can the esteem in which they were held in the 18th century, as both performers and composers.

Burney, 1772: The Mannheim Orchestra "is an army of Generals, equally fit to plan a battle, as to fight it."
Stylistically, the early symphonic works of the Mannheim school take their inspiration from elements of the concerto grosso, orchestrated forms of the trio sonata or sonata a quattro, and the Italian opera "overture" or "sinfonia". From this basis, the musicians at Mannheim formulated a codified, highly articulate musical language, which is full of rhetorical musical gestures and effects borrowed from these earlier musical languages. In its classic form, the Mannheim symphonic language typically combines energetic and exciting Italianate string figurations with driving bass lines, and soothing cantabile Italian opera style melody writing. [For our younger audience, these are a kind of 18th century equivalent of "block-rockin’ " beats and chill-out/ambient.] Like the enlightened court atmosphere which it represents, the Mannheim musical style possesses an overwhelming energy, exuberance and almost uncontainable excitement, all presented with a great sense of structure, clarity, coherence and unity.

Within this aesthetic of unity through variety, the Mannheim language constantly exudes a masterly sense of style, balance, elegance and poise.
The incredible variety of expression in the Mannheim language is achieved through, amongst other things, a large repertoire of emotive "melodic" figures. Also, any given musical figure will also sound different (through articulation, dynamic, rhythm and tone colour) in a different key because each key is representing a different emotional state. It is this variety in performance which makes the Mannheim language so rich, communicative and compelling. In this language, the function of the continuo (bass line) is critical in providing the structure and continuity for this exploration and representation of emotive figures in the upper lines (violins). In many ways then, the importance of the continuo is similar to the importance of the rhythm section in jazz, providing the framework, structure and groove which allows and supports the melodic possibilities and freedoms of the upper lines. According to mid-18th century sources, the keys appearing here represent the following emotional states: A major - mirth and rejoicing; brilliant and uplifting, B flat major - cheerful love, masculine energy, hope, aspiration for a better world, C minor – lovely but sad, languishing, the longing and sighing of the lovesick soul, D major – noisy, joyful, warlike and rousing; martial, grand and majestic.

The New Dutch Academy Mannheim Project is an immense project involving original material from dozens of libraries throughout the world, the analysis of manuscripts, the preparation of working scores, the consultation of treatises and other sources; thought about aesthetical schools, flows, changes and in relation to instruments, playing techniques and musical realisation; and the combination of all this with performance, learning the Mannheim language, and bringing the music to life. Through this disc we are very proud to launch our Mannheim Project, and to set the tone for the resulting series of recordings which will present newly discovered works, many of which will appear here for the first time in recorded form.

L. Mozart, 1777: Mannheim: "that famous court whose rays, like those of the sun, illuminate the whole of Germany, nay even the whole of Europe."
Even in these early stages, the Mannheim Project has already been a mammoth undertaking, but, to, somewhat loosely, borrow a phrase from a very different kind of music for a moment, Unwritten Law’s recent hit "Up all night":

Yeah. It’s on again. Yeah. We’re all right.
We don’t need a rest. We’ve been up all night.
Just to see the sun come up again.

The New Dutch Academy
The New Dutch Academy (NDA) is a unique initiative created by the leading members of the new generation of early music performance specialists in the Netherlands.
Inspired by the visionary and enlightened ideals of both the eighteenth century and the legendary early music pioneers in the Netherlands, the NDA aims to stimulate the combination of research and performance resulting in exciting international concert programmes and multidisciplinary projects, and in doing so to provide a platform for the exploration of eighteenth century aesthetics and the exchange of ideas thereof. Through its international activities and its role as cultural ambassador, the NDA works independently but in close association with other international cultural institutions.
Launched in March 2002, through its own festival in the Netherlands’ oldest concert hall, the Felix Meritis in Amsterdam, broadcast on Dutch Radio 4 (NCRV), The New Dutch Academy has risen quickly to assume a very exciting position in the international cultural scene. The first NDA festival established several themes of interest and involved lecture recitals dealing with connections between art, music, cultural theory and aesthetics, as well as chamber and orchestral concerts which introduced the two NDA ensembles – The Chamber Orchestra and The Chamber Soloists. The arrival of The New Dutch Academy has been further confirmed by subsequent concert appearances which have included the Holland Festival of Early Music, Utrecht 2002 and the recent sold-out NDA Concertgebouw debut success.

Simon Murphy -
Artistic Director of The New Dutch Academy
Simon Murphy (1973) studied the Viola with Leonid Volovelsky, Performance, Musicology, and Fine Arts/Art Theory at The University of Sydney, and, after arriving in the Netherlands in 1996, Baroque and Classical Viola with Alda Stuurop at the Utrecht Conservatorium. For his studies he received support from The Ian Potter Foundation, Fonds voor de Podiumkunsten and the Voorzieningfonds voor Kunstenaars. He appears regularly as a chamber soloist at various international festivals, has played with orchestras such as The Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century and De Nederlandse Bachvereniging, and is founder of the initiative that is "The New Dutch Academy". He also gives guest lectures and workshops at various educational institutions including The Royal Conservatorium of The Hague and is lecturer in Music History and Culture Theory at Webster University in Leiden. Together with Alida Schat, John Wilson Meyer and Thomas Pitt, he is also a member of The Amsterdam String Quartet.

“The excitement that its concertgoers must have experienced is certainly generated here, probably because Murphy and his Dutchmen have extensively researched Mannheim performing practices. You'll find lots of fireworks in these fabulous sounding, spirited works by two of Mannheim's greatest composers.”Bob McQuiston, (Tower Washington, DC)

“Although the authentic instrument ensemble The New Dutch Academy was launched in 2002, it has quickly secured an international reputation, formed as it is of a number of well established early music performance specialists in the Netherlands…. Vibrant, energetic and wonderfully secure playing is supported by a sumptuous recording which fairly wallows in the fulsome acoustic, yet there is no loss of detail in the fast music.”
---Ivor Humphreys, Gramophone (awards issue 2003)

“Murphy deliberately follows in the steps of pioneers such as Brüggen and Koopman. Not so much with respect to repertoire but as to own research and élan….Put your amplifier louder than usually and enjoy this rock-‘n-roll from the mid 18th century!”
---Luister (August 2003)

“The performances on this SACD by the Netherlands-based New Dutch Academy under musical director Simon Murphy are bold and persuasive. Tuned to A=415, their string tone is bright, in keeping with the style of the music. They play on authentic instruments of the period, but without the pedantic fussiness we have too often encountered in period ensembles. Here, scholarship serves the needs of music-making admirably. This young ensemble will bear watching.

By the way, "Mannheim Steamroller," long before the present-day band adopted it, was an expression used to describe the way the Manheim composers built their crescendos. Just thought you'd like to know.
---Phil Muse, Atlanta Audiophile Society (July 2003)

“The performance is nothing less than brilliant. Technically the orchestral playing is of the highest standard. We certainly find the “uniformity” the orchestra of Mannheim was famous for.”
---Johan van Veen,Musica Dei Donum