The Musical Treasures of Leufsta Bruk I

In the 18th century, Leufsta Bruk � some 140 kilometres northwest of Stockholm � was the centre of a major industry producing iron both for Swedish needs and for export. It was a little principality in the middle of the forest governed by the descendants of Louis De Geer, a Belgian financier who developed the ironworks. The family was highly cultured and musical, and in particular Charles De Geer, a noted scientist as well as industrialist, contributed greatly to the remarkable collection of musical scores at Leufsta. These scores were to a large extent brought from Amsterdam and mirror the development of music and music publishing on the continent, as well as the musical activities at a flourishing Swedish manor of the period.

Not surprisingly the collection � and this disc � contains music by well-known composers such as Vivaldi and Tartini, but there are also rarely heard works, for various instrumental combinations. Duets, keyboard solos, trio sonatas and the charming collection of �Boer Dances� bear testament to the entertainments � often with the active participation of members of the De Geer family themselves � that enlivened the evenings at Leufsta in the mid-18th century.

Bringing these musical treasures to life is the Drottningholm Baroque Ensemble, whose many recordings on BIS have created a following around the world. Released in 1985 their version of Vivaldi's Four Seasons, with soloist Nils-Erik Sparf, is considered one of the classic recordings of this work. A much later disc, Telemann�s Don Quixotte (BIS-CD-1226) was recommended by the Spanish magazine CD Compact, and received a 5 star review in BBC Music Magazine, containing the following words of praise: 'the Drottningholm musicians capture all with admirable esprit and no breaches of stylistic decorum.' The same may safely be said about the present recording.