Carl Christian Eisner was born in 1802 in Pulsnitz, Saxony. After his training in Dresden, he joined the Imperial Court Orchestra in St. Petersburg as a chamber musician, where he remained until 1836. Between 1835 and 1848 Eisner toured Europe as a soloist, performing in Dresden, Vienna, Pest and Leipzig, including performances of his own compositions. After 1836 he returned to the court orchestra in Dresden. In 1848 he was appointed extraordinary chamber musician, and in 1854 he was promoted to full chamber musician and principal horn of the Royal Orchestra (Königliche Kapelle) in Dresden. He held this position until his retirement in 1871. Eisner was also the first horn teacher at the Dresden Conservatory of Music, founded in 1856.
The Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung praised his warm tone and brilliant technique, noting in particular that he still played the natural horn. Eisner, however, had also mastered the new valve horn, and he transferred the tonal qualities of the natural horn to the technically superior instrument.
Sextet No. 1 for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Horn, Basset Horn and Bassoon
Carl Eisner dedicated the first sextet to the Dresden Tonkünstlerverein (Society of Musicians), of which he was most likely a member himself and in which he played the horn part in both sextets. It can be assumed that he also composed the second sextet for these musicians, although no explicit dedication exists. Both sextets were written between about 1854 and 1870 and call for the valve horn (Corno chromat.).
These previously unpublished sextets by Carl Eisner belong in the same compositional tradition as the wind quintets of Anton Reicha. The virtuoso part-writing, the excellent treatment of each instrument and the extremely precise and comprehensive dynamic notation of the parts testify to Eisner's true mastery as a composer.
1st movement: Allegro
The Tonkünstlerverein in Dresden
In 1854, the members of the Dresden Royal Orchestra joined together to form the “Tonkünstlerverein Dresden”, stating expressly that its task should be to cultivate not only classical but also contemporary music, which until then had been heard only occasionally, for example in 1848–1850 through Clara Schumann and concertmaster Schubert. The successful performance of works by Robert Volkmann provided the final impetus “to found a society in which the instrumental works for chamber music of all periods, including the most recent, were to be cultivated and performed.” The Dresden Tonkünstlerverein pursued this goal with energy and foresight. From the outset, importance was placed on guest artists from outside Dresden appearing at the society's evenings, and the annual reports name many famous artists, many now forgotten, and many who still shine in full glory today, from all over the world. Sociologically, it was highly significant that as early as 1856 extraordinary (“listening”) members were admitted, so that the society increasingly became a centre of musical life supported by Dresden's middle class. Its importance far beyond Dresden is shown by the fact that leading musicians of every era have gratefully regarded appointment as an honorary member as a distinction.
