Morten Ræhs (Rees, Rehs) came from a professional
music-making family; his father of the same name was
the stadsmusikant or official city musician in Horsens
and Aarhus in Jutland.
Morten the younger was born in Horsens in 1702. He
undoubtedly received his first musical training from
his father, who then ensured that he went abroad to
educate himself further. Abroad, he developed the
flute-playing that made him a virtuoso on the
instrument. In 1726 the son had come home to Aarhus
from...(+)
Morten Ræhs (Rees, Rehs) came from a professional
music-making family; his father of the same name was
the stadsmusikant or official city musician in Horsens
and Aarhus in Jutland.
Morten the younger was born in Horsens in 1702. He
undoubtedly received his first musical training from
his father, who then ensured that he went abroad to
educate himself further. Abroad, he developed the
flute-playing that made him a virtuoso on the
instrument. In 1726 the son had come home to Aarhus
from England and served under his father as a
journeyman musician. The elder Ræhs therefore applied
to the King to transfer his office to young Morten, and
was permitted to do so. However, the actual transfer
was only formally effected in 1731, when it was stated
that Morten Ræhs the younger was a good musician who
had trained “in foreign lands, especially in
England”. Unfortunately we know no more details of
these journeys. The younger Ræhs was restless however;
in February 1732 he was in England again, more
specifically in London. Musical life in the English
capital was a match for anywhere else in Europe; there,
for example, Ræhs could meet composers like Handel,
Geminiani and Giovanni Buononcini.
After the death of his father in 1733 the son finally
took over the important stadsmusikant post in Aarhus,
but was unable to come to terms with this role. He
tried to gain the favour of the Royal court, playing
for King Christian VI at Frederiksberg Castle and
elsewhere. Although the King showed his favour on
several occasions, Ræhs was not satisfied. He wanted a
new permanent post where he could express his musical
talent better than in Aarhus. In 1748 he went to the
court in Schwerin, where he composed six flute sonatas
for Duke Friedrich, but this did not lead to an
engagement. Ræhs then settled in Copenhagen, and in
1754 he gave up the post in Aarhus completely to a
son-in-law. Ræhs was comfortable in Copenhagen, where
he mingled with the court musicians and was a personal
friend of prominent musicians like the stadsmusikant
Andreas Berg and the enterprising precentor and
composer Johannes Erasmus Iversen. He undoubtedly also
knew Scheibe. From the beginning of the 1750s Ræhs
played – without a salary – with the Royal
Orchestra as its leading flautist. In the concert life
of the city too he was a keen participant. Finally in
1765 he was granted a regular salary for his court
service, but he died in September 1766. Of Morten
Ræhs’ compositions we know fifteen solo sonatas for
flute and continuo as well as a single minuet for the
same combination, all preserved in manuscript.
Two of these flute sonatas have been recorded in the
Royal Library in Copenhagen. The sonatas are in a Late
Baroque style characterized by among other things
figured bass, Fortspinnung, a rhythmically complex
melody part, irregular periodization and a fast
harmonic rhythm. The most striking thing about the
sonatas, however, is that everything focuses on
allowing the soloist to shine as a virtuoso. The flute
ranges from d’ to a’’’, that is the whole
compass which Quantz says in 1752 a transverse flute
can produce. The flute part makes great demands on the
soloist, since it often moves in quick note values
while at the same time involving great leaps,
constantly shifting rhythms and a profusion of
ornaments. Today Ræhs’ music is interesting as an
example of the highly virtuosic flute technique which
we also know from the flute works of Quantz. Ræhs’
sonatas are a rare example of the notation of Late
Baroque ornamentation. This was a court culture which
helped historically to forge a path from the Late
Baroque over the galante style to Classicism. Ræhs
undoubtedly wrote these sonatas so he could himself
sparkle as a soloist at the courts of Schwerin and
Copenhagen. He did not succeed in getting a permanent
engagement as a court musician. However, he preferred
the uncertain life of a ‘free’ artist to the
routine everyday role of stadsmusikant, where he could
not be appreciated for his talents as a flute
virtuoso.
Source: DaCapo
(https://www.dacapo-records.dk/kunstnere/morten-raehs).
Although originally composed for Flute & Harpsichord, I
created this Arrangement of the Sonata II in D Major
for Flute & Strings (2 Violins, Viola & Cello).
