musica Dei donum
CD reviews
Johann Sebastian BACH, Georg Philipp TELEMANN: "Himmelfahrt"
Vox Luminis; Freiburger Barockorchester
Dir: Lionel Meunier
rec: May 2022, Gönningen, Evangelische Kirche Peter und Paul
Alpha - 1032 (© 2024) (65'00")
Liner-notes: E/D/F; lyrics - translations: E/F
Cover, track-list & booklet
Scores Bach
Score Telemann
Spotify
Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750):
Auf Christi Himmelfahrt allein (BWV 128);
Lobet Gott in seinen Reichen (Himmelfahrtsoratorium) (BWV 11);
Georg Philipp TELEMANN (1681-1767):
Ich fahre auf zu meinem Vater (TWV 1,825)
Amelia Berridge, Viola Blache, Camille Hubert, Zsuzsi Tóth, soprano;
Victoria Cassano, Matylda Stasto, contralto;
Alexander Chance, William Shelton, alto;
Philipp Froeliger, Raphael Höhn, Satoshi Mizukoshi, Joao Moreira, tenor;
Lionel Meunier, Sebastian Myrus, Bart Vandewege, Tobias Wicky, bass
Isabel Lehmann, Lionel Meunier, recorder;
Daniela Lieb, Sophia Kind, transverse flute;
Ann-Kathrin Brüggemann, Josep Domènech, Maike Buhrow, oboe;
Javier Zafra, bassoon;
Bart Aerbeydt, Gerard Serrano Garcia, horn;
Jaroslav Rouček, Hannes Rux-Brachtendorf, Karel Mnuk, trumpet;
Leila Schayegh, Brian Dean, Christa Kittel, Gerd-Uwe Klein, Éva Borhi, Beatrix Hülsemann, Brigitte Täubl-Duftschmid, Lotta Suvanto, violin;
Corina Golomoz, Sonoko Asabuki, Iddo Zhang, viola;
Guido Larisch, Stefan Mühleisen, cello;
Georg Schuppe, double bass;
Lee Santana, lute;
Torsten Johann, organ;
Charlie Fischer, percussion
In the renaissance and baroque periods sacred music was mostly written for Sundays or feastdays of the ecclesiastical year. In the baroque era the main feasts were celebrated with larger works than the usual pieces for 'common' Sundays. Among such works are the Christmas Oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach, oratorio Passions and Passion oratorios as well as oratorios for Easter. In comparison the music that was written for Ascension Day is rather modest in proportion.
Vox Luminis and the Freiburger Barockorchester have recorded a programme of three works for Ascension Day, by Bach and his colleague Georg Philipp Telemann respectively. Bach has left four cantatas for this day, Telemann composed more than thirty.
The Gospel of the day is from Mark 14, which tells how Jesus ascends to Heaven, whereas the same event is described in the first chapter of Acts, which is the Epistle of the day. A returning topic in cantatas for Ascension Day is the thought that Jesus' ascension into Heaven opens it for the faithful, who therefore have no reason to fear death. This often goes along with a longing for death, which was very common in German sacred music of the first half of the 18th century.
The earliest work is Ich fahre auf zu meinem Vater by Telemann. The cantata dates from 1721, the last year he was Musikdirektor in Frankfurt. It is scored for four voices, transverse flute, pairs of oboes and horns, strings and basso continuo. The libretto was written by Gottfried Simonis, whose texts Telemann used for the first time for his annual cantata cycle 1716/17, alongside texts by Erdmann Neumeister. The opening chorus begins with a solo for bass, acting as vox Christi: "I ascend to my Father and your Father, To my God and your God." The first recitative for tenor and the ensuing soprano aria point out that due to Christ's ascension, Heaven is open to those who believe in him. The aria has no dacapo and closes with the expression of a longing for death, as mentioned above: "Ah, if only I could today close my eyes in bliss." Pizzicato figures illustrate death bells. Such figures return in the third aria, for alto, in both the strings and the voice: "I shall count all the hours until the final hour tolls." The aria's B section ends eloquently with a musical depiction of sleep: "My heart and soul shall meanwhile ever be with Jesus, till death lays me down to sleep." In between is an aria for tenor, which compares human life with a ship on the waves, another commonplace in the baroque era: "My little ship drifts on the waves, and longs for a happy harbour." As one may expect, Telemann does not miss the opportunity to illustrate the surge in the instrumental parts. The cantata closes with the last lines of the last stanza of Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern: "Amen, come, O lovely crown of joy, do not tarry, I wait for you with longing".
Bach's cantata Auf Christi Himmelfahrt allein was first performed in 1725. It is scored for four voices, two horns, strings with oboe, oboe d'amore, oboe da caccia and basso continuo. The text was written by Christiana Mariana von Ziegler, whose texts Bach used several times. However, the text of the cantata is different from the one that was published in 1728. Bach changed the structure in that he put the first aria and the ensuing recitative together to a single movement. More significant are the additions to the text of the recitative. The B part of the aria says: "Though He is taken from me, I shall one day come to where my Redeemer lives." Then the protagonist continues in the recitative: "My eyes shall see Him most clearly. Ah, could I build a tabernacle in advance!" In the cantata this text is added: "Whither? Vain wish! He cannot be found on mountains or in valleys, the Almighty is visible everywhere; close, then, audacious lips, and seek not to fathom the Almighty's power!" Although it cannot be excluded that Von Ziegler removed those lines for the printed edition, the fact that they don't rhyme suggests that they are from the pen of Bach himself. Michael Maul, in his liner-notes, sees there the influence of Lutheran orthodoxy, of which Bach was an exponent. The bass aria has a triumphant character, which explains the obbligato part for trumpet: "Up, up! with bright sound proclaim everywhere: My Jesus sits at God’s right hand!" (The booklet oddly and wrongly translates the last line as "My Jesus sits on my hand!") This thought returns in the duet of alto and tenor: "No mortal can be found to fathom the Almighty. My mouth falls silent. I see beyond the firmament that He even at a distance appears on God’s right hand." In Bach's score the organ is mentioned as the obbligato instrument, but but the original performing parts have the first oboe instead. Given the part's compass, the required instrument is an oboe d'amore. Alfred Dürr, in his book on the cantatas, assumes that Bach changed his mind during the compositional process, but did not make a note of it. Here the oboe d'amore is played.
The best-known work on this disc is Lobet Gott in seinen Reichen. It is ranked among the cantatas in the Schmieder catalogue, but it is generally considered an oratorio, as the text includes quotations from the reports about Jesus' ascension from the Gospels and Acts, sung by the tenor, who acts as the Evangelist. The author of the libretto is not known; Dürr suggests Picander, who also wrote the libretto of the Christmas Oratorio. This is partly based on Dürr's assumption that the Ascension Oratorio dates from the same year: 1735. However, Maul mentions 1738 instead, which may well be the result of more recent research. The scoring reflects the jubilant character of this work: four voices, three trumpets, timpani, pairs of transverse flutes and oboes, strings and basso continuo. Like the Christmas Oratorio, Bach's setting is partly a parody: the opening chorus is a reworking of a chorus from a cantata for the consecration of the rebuilt Thomasschule in 1732, the two arias were originally written for a wedding cantata in 1725. The first aria, for alto, is an insistent plea to Jesus to stay on earth for a while, in the same vein as the Passions, which wanted the audience to re-experience the events. The second aria, for soprano, is notable for the lack of a true basso continuo; the violins take that role, which was called bassetchen. Bach undoubtedly used this device to emphasize that Jesus after his ascension was not on earth anymore.
The two works by Bach have been recorded a number of times. I don't know all the recordings, but these performances by Vox Luminis have to be reckoned among the very best, as one may expect, given the quality of this ensemble, and its wide experience in music by Bach and the Bach dynasty. Alexander Chance is brilliant in 'Ach, bleibe doch, mein liebstes Leben' (BWV 11); his voice is perfectly suited for this aria's content, and his singing is some of the best one may want to hear. Zsuzsi Tóth delivers an outstanding performance of 'Jesu, deine Gnadenblicke' (BWV 11), and Viola Blache is impressive in Telemann's cantata. Raphaël Höhn is an experienced Evangelist, and that shows here in his treatment of the recitatives. Sebastian Myrus delivers an excellent performance of 'Auf, auf, mit hellem Schall' (BWV 128), bringing out the contrasts within the recitative. William Shelton is responsible for fine performances of the alto solo parts in Telemann's cantata. The chorales are sung as they should, although 'Nun lieget alles unter dir' (BWV 11) is a bit too slow.
Vox Luminis cooperates with the Freiburger Barockorchester on a regular basis, and this seems a perfect partnership. The orchestra is one of the best in baroque repertoire, and here the tutti are powerful, when needed, and colourful, and the obbligato parts could not be given any better performances than here.
Listening to this disc is the perfect way to prepare for and celebrate Ascension Day.
Johan van Veen (© 2025)
Relevant links:
Vox Luminis
Freiburger Barockorchester