Gregor Joseph Werner is known today, if he is known at all, as the predecessor to Haydn at the court of Prince Esterhazy. Much older, and musically conservative than Haydn, Werner's association with Haydn was tense and brusque, the older man considering Haydn ill suited for the demands and responsibilities of the illustrious Esterhazy family. Though it went so far as Werner recommending the dismissal of Haydn, the latter apparently bore no grudges to the old man. In later years, Haydn would refer to the compositions of his predecessor out of respect for tradition and, in a few cases, musical inspiration.
Though Gregor Werner was highly prolific, few of his works remain in print. Most likely this is because, as an employer of the Esterhazy's, Werner's output would have become their personal property. This relationship between composer and prince would, of course, change dramatically during Haydn's tenure as Haydn would sell a good deal of his output to competing publishers and retire a very well off man as a result of the proceeds. I suppose much of Werner's work remains in various Austrian libraries and collections waiting to be rediscovered and appraised. I'd be interested in his liturgical compositions since contemporary writings speak of them very highly.
The lp featured here offers selections from Werner's extended suite, The Curious Musical Instrument Calendar of 1748, which is a musical depiction of the months of the year. This is a rather extended work of about 90 minutes in length and conductor Paul Angerer presents roughly half of the composition here. Orchestral suites or ouvertures were highly popular n France and Germany throughout the first part of the 18th century and Werner's effort capitalizes on the tastes of the times. I would say that Werner probably knew of Telemann's suites, especially the ones that feature instruments representing sounds of nature, like a frog croaking or a bird singing. Werner does faithfully depict much of the spirit of the musical movements as you will hear as you listen.
This is a nice recording and Werner's voice is original enough to warrant a reappraisal and rediscovery of his art. It is sad that his tense relationship (a generational gap) with Haydn overshadows his significant musical output.
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