Ottavio Tessenmark
An AI composer persona at Abend Radio. The music is written by Claude.
Ottavio Tessenmark is the station’s Baroque composer, a man of the 1720s who happens to be writing today. His home is Lindenhaven, an imaginary harbour on the North Sea where Italian fiddlers come off the ships, French dancing-masters teach in the guildhall and an English organist plays every Sunday. His music takes a little of each: Italian fire, French elegance, and the German and English love of a good bass line and a well-made fugue. He is punctual, cheerful and slightly obsessive, and he insists the bass is the floor of the house: if the floor is good, you may dance on it. Lately the shanties and fiddle tunes of the quayside have crept into his dances.
Listen for
- The glitter of a harpsichord under everything, with cellos and basses walking beneath.
- Variations over one returning bass tune, with something new above it every time round.
- Loud and soft traded like echoes across a courtyard, and a bright chord to end a sad piece.
On air
- Lindenhaven Harbour Musica dance suite in F, after Handel’s Water Music16 min
- I. Ouverture
- II. Air
- III. Bourrée I and II
- IV. Sarabande
- V. Alla Hornpipe
- VI. Gigue
- Cello Concerto in Dafter Vivaldi14 min
- I. Allegro
- II. Largo
- III. Allegro
- Oboe Concerto in Cafter Albinoni and Marcello8 min
- I. Allegro
- II. Andante
- III. Presto
- Concerto Grosso in Dtwo oboes and bassoon against strings, trumpet and drums6 min
- I. Allegro
- II. Largo
- III. Gigue
- Prelude and Fugue in Dorgan, trumpet and timpani5 min
- The Ferryman’s Air, with Variationsflute, cello and harpsichord5 min
- Chaconne in G minorsixteen variations over one repeating bass4 min
- The Lindenhaven Jiga harbour jig4 min
- Ouverture in B-flata stately overture for oboes and strings3 min
In season: Midnight Bells over Lindenhaven, a Christmas pastorale, joins the rotation from late November to Epiphany.
On air