Joseph Fiala – Parthia in E-flat No. 1 & 2 for 2 English Horns, 2 Horns and Bassoon – First Edition –
Joseph Fiala was born in 1748 in Lochowitz (Lochovice), Bohemia. After training in Prague as an oboist and cellist, he moved to Wallerstein in southern Germany in 1774, where he served as oboist to the Prince of Oettingen-Wallerstein until 1777. He then went to Munich and, somewhat later, to Salzburg to join the archbishop's court orchestra. From around 1783, health problems forced him to give up the oboe, and he turned instead to the viola da gamba and cello. In 1785 he moved to Vienna, and shortly afterward spent time in Russia building up a court orchestra for Count Orlov-Chesmensky. From 1792 until his death in 1816 he served at the court of the Prince of Fürstenberg in Donaueschingen.
The two Parthias in E-flat, scored for the unusual combination of 2 English horns, 2 horns and bassoon, were probably written during Fiala's time in Wallerstein. The manuscript copies come from the archive of Count Clam-Gallas, now held in Prague. They were originally composed for taille de hautbois, a tenor oboe similar to the English horn; the main difference was the curved shape of the English horn of the period, while both instruments were pitched in F, a fifth lower than modern pitch. Fiala was among the last composers to write for the taille. In Wallerstein, however, he also played English horns made by Rocko Baur of Vienna, instruments still owned by the princely house today.
