Hamburger Concerto

Not to be confused with György Ligeti's Hamburg Concerto (1999).

Hamburger Concerto
Studio album by Focus
Released	May 1974 (1974-05)
Recorded	January–March 1974
Studio	Olympic Sound Studios
Genre	Progressive rock jazz fusion
Length	40:06
Label	Polydor, Atco
Producer	Mike Vernon
Focus chronology
At the Rainbow (1973) Hamburger Concerto (1974) Mother Focus (1975)
Singles from Hamburger Concerto
"Harem Scarem" Released: April 1974 [1]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]

Hamburger Concerto is the fourth studio album by the Dutch progressive rock band Focus, released in May 1974. ^[3] It peaked at No. 20 on the UK charts. ^[4] The title track is based on Variations on a Theme by Haydn by Johannes Brahms. The composition also incorporates the first two verses of the Dutch Christmas carol O Kerstnacht, schoner dan de dagen at around 15 minutes, and the Third Quarter chime from the Westminster Quarters is quoted in the track's final seconds. The first track is based on a galliard of Joachim van den Hove, Delitiae Musicae.

Track listing

Vinyl release, 1974

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Delitiæ Musicæ"	Traditional; arranged by Jan Akkerman	1:12
2.	"Harem Scarem"	Thijs van Leer	5:51
3.	"La Cathédrale de Strasbourg"	van Leer	4:59
4.	"Birth"	Akkerman	7:46

Side two

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Hamburger Concerto I. Starter (Traditional; arranged by van Leer) II. Rare (Akkerman) III. Medium I (van Leer, Akkerman) IV. Medium II (Akkerman) V. Well Done (van Leer) VI. One for the Road (Akkerman)"	20:20

CD release, 1988

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Delitiæ Musicæ"	Jan Akkerman	1:13
2.	"Harem Scarem"	Thijs van Leer	5:52
3.	"La Cathédrale de Strasbourg"	van Leer	4:59
4.	"Birth"	Akkerman	7:46
5.	"Hamburger Concerto I. Starter (Traditional; arranged by van Leer) II. Rare (Akkerman) III. Medium I (van Leer, Akkerman) IV. Medium II (Akkerman) V. Well Done (van Leer) VI. One for the Road (Akkerman)"		20:19
6.	"Early Birth"	Akkerman	2:54
Total length:			43:08

Personnel

Focus in April 1974

Focus

• Thijs van Leer – Hammond organ, flute, piano, harpsichord, moog, ARP synthesizer, recorder, mellotron, accordion, pipe organ, the organ of St.Mary the Virgin, Barnes, vocals
• Jan Akkerman – guitars, lute, timpani, handclaps
• Bert Ruiter – bass guitar, autoharp, triangles, finger cymbals, bells, handclaps
• Colin Allen – drums, congas, tambourine, castanets, cabasa, wood block, gong, timpani, handclaps, flexatone, cuica

Charts

Chart (1974)	Peak position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [5]	14
Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [6]	95
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [7]	5
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [8]	16
UK Albums (OCC) [9]	20
US Billboard 200 [10]	66

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [11]	Silver	60,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Great Rock Discography". p. 299.
2. "allmusic ((( Hamburger Concerto > Overview )))". www.allmusic.com. Retrieved 2009-11-15.
3. "Great Rock Discography". p. 299.
4. "Focus – Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
5. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 115. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
6. "Top RPM Albums: Image 3856b". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
7. "Dutchcharts.nl – Focus – Hamburger Concerto" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
8. "Norwegiancharts.com – Focus – Hamburger Concerto". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
9. "Official Albums Chart on 26/5/1974 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
10. "Focus Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard . Retrieved 8 January 2023.
11. "British album certifications – Focus – Hamburger Concerto". British Phonographic Industry.Select albums in the Formats field. Type Hamburger Concerto Focus in the "Search:" field.