Josef Schelb: Chamber Music, Volume Two

The Karlsruhe-based Josef Schelb (1894–1977) is one of the better-kept secrets of twentieth-century German music. His output was substantial: he lost most of his early music in a bombing raid in 1942, but – as if to make up for lost time – wrote some 150 more works after that. In the four chamber works recorded here Schelb’s contrapuntal mastery is given a bucolic twist under the influence of French Impressionism, the two traditions combining to invest these pieces with a freewheeling energy and downright sense of fun.

Stéphane Réty, flute (Tracks 1-9)
Nicolas Cock-Vassiliou, oboe (Tracks 10–12)
Isabelle Moretti, harp (Tracks 1–3)
Alexander Knaak, violin (Tracks 10–12)
Jean-Eric Soucy, viola (Tracks 1–3, 10–12)
Denis Zhdanov, cello (Tracks 7–12)
Roglit Ishay, piano (Tracks 4–9)