Johann Speth (1664- after ca. 1719) was born in Speinshart, about 150 km from Nuremberg, to the teacher Heinrich Speth and his wife Margareta. Almost nothing is known of his life before his appointment as organist of Augsburg Cathedral, and the date of his death is also uncertain.
"Ars magna consoni et dissoni” is the work that Johann Speth enclosed with his application for the position of organist at Augsburg Cathedral, a position he was awarded on 4 November 1692. The work is divided into three parts: ten toccatas (Musicalische Blumenfelder), eight Magnificats and three sets of variations. Italian influences are clearly evident in the work: there is a variation on a theme by Bernardo Pasquini, a passage by Bernardo Storace in the 'Spagnioletta' aria and a verse from the Magnificat by Alessandro Poglietti. In addition to Italian influences, influences from contemporary southern German composers are also evident, particularly Georg Muffat and Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer. In the Magnificats Speth takes up the model proposed by Kerll: each Magnificat consists of a prelude, five verses and a finale. The first and last verses are of larger proportions and composed in toccata style, while the intermediate verses are generally short fugues.
Played by Chiara Minali on the Organ of the Parish Church of Santa Maria Assunta – Cavalese, Italy, the specifications of which are included in the booklet.
Chiara Minali has recorded a 3CD box of Ignazio Spergher’s Keyboard Works (95834, Brilliant Classics). In the British magazine Choir & Organ, it was given 5 stars and listed in the top 20 best CDs of 2019. She also recorded a 2CD set of Giovanni Battista Grazioli’s 12 Harpsichord Sonatas (95935).
