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Christoph GRAUPNER (1683 - 1760): "Mein Jesus, nahe doch zu mir - Solo- und Dialog-Kantaten II"
Marie Luise Werneburg, soprano;
Dominik Wörner, bass
Kirchheimer BachConsort
Dir: Florian Heyerick
rec: August 26-27, 2023 (live), Kirchheim/Weinstraße, Protestantische Kirche
CPO - 555 656-2 (© 2024) (60'27")
Liner-notes: E/D; lyrics - translations: E
Cover, track-list & booklet
Scores
Spotify
Dein Schade ist verzweifelt böse (GWV1160/12a);
Lass uns in deiner Liebe (GWV 1159/12b);
Mein Jesus, nahe doch zu mir (GWV 1129/14);
Sehet, welch ein Mensch (GWV 1124/16);
Soll nun das unschuldsvolle Lamm (GWV 1119/13)
Amy Power, oboe;
Miho Fukui, oboe, bassoon;
Arwen Bouw, Sabine Stoffer, violin;
Nadine Henrichs, viola;
Johannes Berger, cello;
Armin Bereuter, violone;
Andreas Gräsle, organ
As Peter Wollny, in his liner-notes to the disc under review, writes, there was a time that Christoph Graupner was reckoned among the 'minor composers' - or Kleinmeister, in the typical jargon of German musicologists. That time has gone: there is no year without at least one new recording entirely devoted to his oeuvre, mostly his sacred cantatas. That is largely due to the activities of Florian Heyerick and some singers and instrumentalists with whom he closely collaborates, such as the German bass Dominik Wörner. Graupner's cantatas take a central place in the repertoire of his ensemble Kirchheimer BachConsort.
Last year a recording was released with five cantatas, which have three features in common. First, they are scored for one or two solo voices, strings and basso continuo, with one or two wind instruments in obbligato roles: oboe(s) or bassoon. Second, all these cantatas date from his earliest years in Darmstadt. There he was appointed vice-Kapellmeister in 1709, and in 1712 as Kapellmeister as successor to Wolfgang Carl Briegel. Third, the texts of these five cantatas are from the pen of the court poet Georg Christian Lehms.
The cantatas span a period in the ecclesiastical year from Sunday Estomihi - the last Sunday before Passiontide - to the 19th Sunday after Trinity. The first is Soll nun das unschuldsvolle Lamm, which dates from 1713. The Gospel of the day is from Luke 18, where Jesus announces that he is going to Jerusalem to face prosecution and death. The cantata is constructed as a dialogue between Christ and the Soul - a common phenomenon at the time, which we also know from the oeuvre of Johann Sebastian Bach. The cantata opens with an accompagnato of the Soul, who asks: "Shall the innocent lamb now go to its suffering and stand before my sin, although blameless?" In a recitative Jesus replies that he goes to his death voluntarily "to snatch you from the bitter pain of hell". He then confirms this in an aria with obbligato oboe. It is notable that the voice enters before the instrumental introduction is finished. In a recitative the dialogue continues, and the Soul then sings an aria, again with on obbligato oboe part, in which he declares that he wants to be silent in the face of such "unconditional love". After another recitative, the cantata closes with a duet, this time with the oboe playing colla parte with the first violin.
Sehet, welch ein Mensch is written for Sunday Judica, the fifth Sunday of Passiontide. It is not entirely clear when it has been written; it is dated March 1709, which would make it Graupner's very first cantata for Darmstadt. However, the text was written for the ecclesiastical year 1715/16. It is possible that the text was written earlier and given to Graupner to use it for his cantata. In the catalogue it is ranked among the cantatas of 1716. The Gospel of the day is from John 8, where Jesus is involved in a dialogue with the Pharisees. However, that seems to play no role in the text of the cantata. It is scored for soprano solo, who sings three arias, separated by accompagnati. The text reflects the spirit of the Passion oratorio which was to become a major genre in the course of the 18th century. The opening aria points out that "you and I" are the sinners who plunged Jesus into death. It has no formal dacapo; only the first line is repeated. The ensuing accompagnato addresses the audience: "Come all ye people, behold this man, to whom with your sins you have done so much injustice". The aria, with an obbligato part for the bassoon, addresses Jesus, and so does the following accompagnato, which ends with a modulation, inspired by the text: "How painful and agonising your Golgatha is to me". The closing aria has a dacapo; both sections end with words which are set to virtuosic coloratura: "Sterben" (dying) and "ererben" (inherit). This cantata as a whole is technically demanding, and Wollny rightly observes a similarity with the opera of the time. He adds that "the vocal part was likely performed by a professional singer and not, as was usual at the time, by a boy soprano". That certainly goes for Bach, but not for Graupner. Whereas churches had to comply with the general rule that women were not allowed to sing in the liturgy, aristocrats were free to follow their own principles and preferences. Graupner's employer attracted several renowned opera singers. Two of them were appointed in 1709, at the same time as Graupner, two years later followed by a third. From that we have to conclude that the soprano parts in his cantatas were never sung by boys.
Mein Jesus, nahe doch zu mir dates from 1714, when it was performed on Easter Monday. The Gospel focuses on the men of Emmaus; they don't recognize Jesus, who accompanies them on their way home. Their appeal to stay with them, because the night is falling, is the subject of this cantata, as expressed in the first aria: "My Jesus, draw close to me, for I am all alone here and await with desire." This is meant in a metaphorical way: "So always stay within my breast and let me find my soul's delight in you, my Jesus". This cantata has an unusual form: there are no recitatives or accompagnati, only three arias, the last of which is a duet. The second aria has an obbligato part for the oboe. At the end of the A part the word "verzeuch" (hesitate) is followed by an eloquent pause.
The two remaining cantatas are for much later stages in the ecclesiastical year. The 18th and 19th Sundays after Trinity fall in October. Lass uns in deiner Liebe is for the first of these, and dates from 1712. It is a solo cantata for bass, who is accompanied by oboe, strings and basso continuo. The Gospel of the day is from Matthew 22, where Jesus says that the love of God and of the neighbour are the main commandments. Surprisingly the cantata opens with a chorale arrangement. The bass sings the third stanza of the hymn Herr Christ, der einge Gottessohn (Elisabeth Creutziger, 1524); Bach opens his cantata for this same Sunday (BWV 96) with the first stanza. In the first recitative and aria, the latter with obbligato oboe, the love of Jesus is expressed, whereas the love of the neighbour is the subject of the following recitative. The closing aria says that as a result of following these commandments one can die "without fear and dread".
The last cantata is for the 19th Sunday of the same year. Here the strings are joined by two oboes in the closing duet. The Gospel of the day is from Matthew 9, about the healing of the paralytic at Capernaum. This is another dialogue cantata, in which the bass takes the role of Jesus and the soprano embodies the Soul. The cantata opens with a dictum, the verses 12 and 13 from chapter 30 of the prophet Jeremiah: "Your bruise is incurable, and your wound is grevious; there is none to plead your cause, that you may be bound up, no one can heal you." These are put into the mouth of Jesus, to which the Soul reacts by asking whether tears can move his heart. Jesus answers that this is only possible if "heart and mind break with true remorse". The Soul reacts in an aria, which is twice interrupted by a recitative reflecting the torment and anguish it feels. The closing duet is typical of dialogue cantatas, in that the two characters sing nearly the same text; the slight differences reflect their different positions: "Only believe, only hope / My God, I believe and I hope" - "Thus you are my child and son / Thus I am your child and son".
Over the years I have heard and reviewed many discs with cantatas by Graupner, and I have always been impressed by their quality and the originality. Graupner was very much his own man, and his cantatas are incomparable with anything that was written by colleagues as Bach and Telemann. That makes his oeuvre unique for the first half of the 18th century, and it is a matter of good luck that all of his cantatas have been preserved. We should also be happy that the exploration of his oeuvre is in the hands of such highly qualified performers as we have here. Marie Luise Werneburg and Dominik Wörner have both very fine voices, which are perfectly suited to this repertoire. They are German speakers, which guarantees a perfect pronunciation, and their diction is also immaculate, making it easy to understand the text, even without looking at the libretto in the booklet. The latter reveals that there are some differences between the text that is sung and that in the booklet. This may be due to the fact that these are live performances. This fact makes the level of the performances all the more impressive, though. That also goes for the instrumental ensemble. Especially the players of the wind instruments deserve praise for their vivid performances.
As Graupner has written about 1,400 cantatas there is every reason to hope for more recordings. I am looking forward to them.
Johan van Veen (© 2025)
Relevant links:
Marie Luise Werneburg
Dominik Wörner