“... powerfully original, it is to be hoped that these sonatas will
quickly find a place in the repertoires of all serious players and will
take their rightful place in concerts.”
(Clavichord International)
The final instalment of the three-volume collection of Zinck’s complete keyboard music (Edition HH 242) contains his sets of variations (one on the tune made popular by Mozart, “Lison dormait”,
and the other a surprisingly virtuoso set on a simple children‘s song)
and a sequence of his very individual miscellaneous pieces, including
the atmospheric setting for keyboard solo of “Das Traumschiff”
(complete with nautical illustration). Many of his teaching pieces are
published here for the first time from a manuscript source in the Royal
Library, Copenhagen, and include original fingering from the composer.
Volume I (Edition HH 240) contains Zinck’s Six Sonatas (1783), and the recent publication of Volume II (Edition HH 241) completed the sonata collection, including the first appearance in print of two sonatas (XI and XII).
Zinck had studied with C. P. E. Bach in Hamburg, and the influence of Empfindsamkeit is very apparent in his works. But there are later and interesting changes as he evolved a more Italianate keyboard manner, and also incorporated elements of the folk and popular music encountered during his residence in Denmark.
Zinck followed C. P. E. Bach in promoting the use of the clavichord, but his music is equally successful on the fortepiano, and would provide a welcome novelty today both for recital programming and in teaching.
“Edition HH should be applauded for their willingness to seek out rare but wholly worthwhile repertoire, and their knack of bringing it to our attention through extremely high quality and usable editions. (The Consort)