musica Dei donum
CD reviews
"Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe - Baroque Christmas Cantatas from Central Germany II"
Anne Stadler, Dorothea Wagner, soprano;
Stefan Kunath, alto;
Alexander Bischoff, tenor;
Felix Schwandtke, bass
Sächsisches Vocalensemble; Batzdorfer Hofkapelle
Dir: Matthias Jung
rec: June 11 - 13, 2021, Dresden, Annenkirche
CPO - 555 491-2 (© 2021) (56'39")
Liner-notes: E/D; lyrics - translations: E
Cover, track-list & booklet
Spotify
Philipp Heinrich ERLEBACH (1657-1708):
Das Wort ward Fleisch;
Christian LIEBE (1654-1708):
Ach liebster Jesu komm herein;
Das neugeborne Kindelein;
Johann ROSENMÜLLER (1619-1684):
Puer natus est nobis;
Johann SCHELLE (1684-1701):
Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe;
Gottfried VOGEL (c1650-1711):
Alleluja. Freut euch, ihr Christen alle
[SV] Patricia Hoffmann, Katharine Jäckel, Cornelia Jung, Christine Matschke, soprano;
Christin Haupt, Katharina Rosenkranz, Dörte Rossow, contralto;
Gregor Hirschmann, Kim Grote, tenor;
Johannes Bachmann, Jens Martin Scheidig, Carl-Johann Winkler, bass
[BH] Eva-Maria Horn, Petra Zámbó, recorder;
Susan Williams, Helen Barsby, trumpet;
Elisabeth Kaufhold, dulcian;
Daniel Deuter, Wolfgang von Kessinger, violin;
Magdalena Schenk-Bader, Cosima Taubert, viola;
Katharina Holzhey, cello;
Sven Rössel, violone;
Stefan Maass, lute;
Tobias Schade, organ;
Gerhard Hundt, timpani
In several reviews I have observed that the music written in Germany between Heinrich Schütz and Johann Sebastian Bach has received relatively little attention. The main exception is Dieterich Buxtehude, but it was only thanks to the 2007 commemoration of his death that his complete vocal music became available on disc. The recently finished complete recording of the extant vocal music by Johann Kuhnau was another milestone in the revaluation of this era. A few of his contemporaries have received at least some attention, such as Philipp Heinrich Erlebach. However, there is still much work to do. The present disc is another important contribution to our knowledge of this episode in German music history.
A large part of the sacred music from this period has been preserved at the Saxon State Library - Dresden State and University Library in Dresden. One of the main collections of church music originates from the Royal and State School of St. Augustin in Grimma, Central Saxony. On the site of the library (SLUB) we read: "In 1962, the music department of the former Saxon State Library purchased the collection from the Fürstenschule Grimma. The music manuscripts contain Protestant church music from the late 17th to early 19th centuries, including more than 100 cantatas by Telemann and the famous »Jacobi collection«, which belonged to the former school cantor Samuel Jacobi (1652-1721). The music was used in school instruction, for school ceremonies, and in church services in the city of Grimma. This important treasury of music is not only representative of musical production in Saxony at that time, but reflects the tradition of cultivating musical culture that characterized the Saxon court and the trade fair city of Leipzig."
The present disc offers a fairly good impression of what was written and performed around 1700. One of the nice things about the Jacobi collection is that the manuscripts mention when a piece was performed. That is valuable information which gives insight into the stylistic development of the composition of sacred music at the time. We are here in the middle between the sacred concerto of the 17th century and the cantata modelled after Italian opera of the 18th century. The most common form was the so-called concerto-aria cantata. Gerhard Poppe, in his liner-notes, explains what these terms mean. "The contemporaries of the time viewed the concerto as a vocal-instrumental composition of Bible aphorisms, but also more seldom as rhymed aria or chorale texts. In the German common usage of the 17th century, aria usually meant a strophic song with variations - the same setting for all verses was used, later with melodic variation over an unchanging bass fundamental. They were also sometimes expanded to include intermezzos or ritornellos. Beyond being based on the strophic text, the term chorale described the unity of character of text and melody, which could be arranged with the aid of various compositional techniques."
These descriptions indicate that there was quite some variety in what is generally known as 'sacred cantata'. That is amply demonstrated in the cantatas that are brough together on this disc.
Some of the composers are known: that certainly goes for Johann Rosenmüller, who was of the generation after Schütz, and is the earliest of the composers included here. It is interesting that his music was still known and performed around 1700. Puer natus est nobis was performed in Grimma on Christmas Day 1703 and 1714. This also attests to the continuing use of Latin in Lutheran worship, which was still the case when Bach was Thomaskantor in Leipzig. This piece by Rosenmüller raises some questions. It opens with the introit for Christmas Day - sung in plainchant - and the first verse of Psalm 97. Then follows a part of the Gloria from the mass, and the doxology is followed by a repeat of the opening section. Poppe suggests it could be a later compilation of separate pieces by Rosenmüller, assuming he is indeed the composer.
In this piece by Rosenmüller the trumpet plays a minor role. That is different, as one may expect, in the other works on this disc. In each of them trumpet(s) and timpani play a major role, usually right from the start in the instrumental introduction.
Christian Liebe is represented with two cantatas. He is one of the little-known composers in the programme. Das neugeborne Kindelein opens the programme. (The libretto and tracklist allocate it to the second track.) In 1676 he started to study theology in Leipzig, and the then Thomaskantor Johann Schelle may have encouraged him to compose church music. In 1684 he was appointed organist and Rektor of the school in Frauenstein (Erzgebirge). From 1690 until his death he was Rektor of the school at Zschopau, where he also contributed to musical life in the town and to church music. The cantata is a setting of a text by Cyriacus Schneegass (1546-1597); it consists of four stanzas. The instrumental introduction opens with trumpets and timpani, which are later joined by the strings. In the first stanza the last syllable of the word "herzeliebe" (sweet) is repeated piano. In the second stanza, about the singing angels, the word "singen" is set to a long melismatic figure. This cantata was performed in Grimma at Sunday Epiphany in 1702 and also several times on New Year's Day between 1700 and 1721.
The second cantata, Ach, liebster Jesu, komm herein, is specifically intended for New Year's Day. It comprises four stanzas, each scored for one voice (ASTB), followed by a refrain: "Jesus crowns this year, give your peace to the multitudes of your Christians, comfort and strengthen us, help and protect us from danger." The cantata opens, as usual, with an instrumental section.
Johann Schelle has already been mentioned. In comparison with most of the composers on this disc, he is relatively well represented on disc. That is undoubtedly due to the fact that he was Thomaskantor in Leipzig, and in this capacity one of Bach's predecessors. Although a substantial part of his output has been lost, his extant oeuvre is quite large, and most of it waits to be recorded. Unfortunately, Matthias Jung selected a piece that has already been recorded under the direction of Michael Alexander Willens (CPO, 2017). Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe obviously is for Christmas and deals with the announcement of Jesus' birth by the angels. It opens with a sonata after which the two sopranos sing the chorus of the angels. The three lower voices probably symbolize the shepherds, who hear the message of the angels. This is one of the few pieces in Schelle's oeuvre which explicitly require five ripienists, in addition to the solo voices. The chorus of the angels opens the piece, and is repeated after the first stanza, and again at the end of the work. The text is treated with differentiation; the words "peace on earth" are set in an intimate manner, in contrast to the first and last section. This work by Schelle was performed in Grimma on Christmas Day 1683, 1695 and 1698.
Philipp Heinrich Erlebach shares the fate of many composers of his time: a large part of his oeuvre has been lost. In this particular case it was the fire which hit the castle of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt in 1735 which destroyed many of his works. Ironically it was the great appreciation of the court for its former Kapellmeister which caused this tragedy: after Erlebach's death it purchased all his music from his widow. At the same time Erlebach's reputation among his colleagues is the reason a respectable number of his compositions have come down to us, as they collected and exchanged them to be performed where they were working. Still, we only have a relatively small number of the about 750 works Erlebach seems to have composed. He wrote music in all genres, both vocal and instrumental, sacred and secular. Also evidence of Erlebach's reputation is a contemporary poet. In one of his works the title character says: "From there I came to Rudolstadt, where Mr. Erlebach is music director to Count von Schwarzburg and among German composers gives the most satisfaction and outstandingly distinguishes himself". Das Wort ward Fleisch opens with the 14th verse from the first chapter of the Gospel after John, which is followed by a verse from Luke 2 (vs 12): "You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Next is a sequence of biblical and free poetic texts, allocated to a solo voice. The cantata closes with another biblical quotation, this time the opening verse of Psalm 92: "It is good to give thanks unto the Lord, to sing praises unto your name, o most high". Although the manuscript omits the name of the composer, he could be identified through a copy kept in Frankfurt. In Grimma this cantata was performed four times between 1702 and 1712, either on the first or on the third day of Christmas.
With Gottfried Vogel we have another unknown composer. He has no entry in New Grove and next to nothing is known about him. He was from Zwickau and became Kantor in Chemnitz in 1679. His cantata Alleluia. Freuet euch, ihr Christen alle was first performed in Grimma on Christmas Day 1701. After an instrumental introduction by trumpets, timpani and strings, the tutti sing "Alleluia". It is followed by five stanzas, in which one solo voice sings each of the four lines. Every line is immediately repeated by the tutti, on music which is slightly different (coloratura is avoided). The piece ends with the "Alleluia".
This disc shows that there is still much to be discovered. An important feast like Christmas is a good opportunity to present some cantatas from one of the main collections of German Protestant church music from around 1700. It is to be hoped that more of it is explored, performed and recorded, also cantatas for other stages of the ecclesiastical year.
The performances are very good. The soloists are a great team, each of whom shows a thorough understanding of the style of these cantatas, and the treatment of the text is immaculate; in the solo sections every word is intelligible. The tutti are a bit more problematic; the vocal ensemble comprises twelve voices (4/3/2/3) but the transparency could have been better. The balance between the solo voices and the tutti is less than ideal. A line-up of five solo voices and five ripienists would have been a better option. However, that does not in any way compromise my appreciation of these performances, which are a very good case for this repertoire. The Batzdorfer Hofkapelle is excellent.
Johan van Veen (© 2024)
Relevant links:
Alexander Bischoff
Felix Schwandtke
Sächsisches Vocalensemble
Batzdorfer Hofkapelle