Giovanni Simone Mayr - Giuseppe (Franz Hauk)

Information

Composer: Giovanni Simone Mayr

• Giuseppe

Freya Apffelstaedt; Markus Schäfer

Philipp Polhardt; Niklas Mallmann

Matthias Hoffmann; Fang Zhi

Simon Mayr Chorus

Concerto de Bassus

Franz Hauk, conductor

Date: 2026

Label: Naxos

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Composed by Simon Mayr in 1829 for graduation concerts at the Bergamo academy of music, the pasticcio oratorio Giuseppe draws its core inspiration from Étienne Méhul’s highly popular 1807 Biblical opera, Joseph. However, Mayr significantly expanded upon Méhul’s modest blueprint of prayers and understated arias by utilizing a much broader musical canvas. His version incorporates grand arias, duets, a cavatina, and a powerful final chorus. Reflecting the pasticcio tradition, the work structurally enriches its narrative by repeatedly referencing popular melodies from prominent contemporary composers of the era, including Gaetano Donizetti, Gioachino Rossini, and Vincenzo Bellini.

Born in Bavaria in 1763, Johann Simon Mayr was a highly prolific composer who spent most of his professional life in Italy. Following formative studies in Bergamo and Venice, he launched a highly successful opera career in 1794 with Saffo, eventually penning nearly 70 operas—including L’amor coniugale—and over 600 sacred works. Appointed maestro di cappella at the Bergamo Basilica in 1802, Mayr founded a free music school, famously mentoring Gaetano Donizetti. He played a pivotal role in introducing Viennese Classical masters to Italian audiences, integrating their structural influences into his own distinctly Italian style until his death in 1845.

Born in Neuburg an der Donau in 1955, German organist, choirmaster, and academic Franz Hauk studied church and school music, piano, and organ at the Munich Musikhochschule and in Salzburg. He earned his doctorate in 1988 with a dissertation focusing on 19th-century Munich church music. Hauk has served as the organist at Ingolstadt Minster since 1982, expanding his role to choirmaster in 1995. An internationally active performer with a diverse discography across Europe and the United States, he joined the faculty of the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München in 2002 and subsequently founded the Simon Mayr Chorus in 2003.