musica Dei donum
CD reviews
Paul Ignaz LIECHTENAUER (1673/74 - 1756): "4 Masses op. 2"
Maria Ladurner, soprano;
Elvira Bill, contralto;
Georg Poplutz, tenor;
Johannes Hill, bass
Kölner Akademie
Dir: Michael Alexander Willens
rec: April 9 -12, 2024, Cologne, Deutschlandfunk (Kammermusiksaal)
CPO - 555 696-2 (© 2024) (79'15")
Liner-notes: E/D; lyrics - translations: E
Cover, track-list & booklet
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Missa II Purificationis B.V.M.b;
Missa III Assumptionis B.V.M.a;
Missa V S. Antonii;
Missa VI S. Joannis Nepomuceni
[ripienists]
Merle Bader, soprano;
Luca Segger, alto;
Anton Gangkoff, tenor;
Soowon Han, bass
Félix Foster, Dario Rosenberger, horna;
Hannes Rux Brachtendorf, Almut Rux, trumpetb;
Antonio de Sarlo, Lalita Svete, violin;
Candela Gómez Bonet, cello;
Willi Kronenberg, organ
On this site I regularly review recordings of German sacred music that is hardly known. In most cases it concerns music by composers from the Protestant parts of Germany, where sacred concertos and cantatas were written in large numbers. This review is about a recording of four masses by a composer from the southern and Catholic part of Germany. And, like several Protestant composers, Paul Ignaz Liechtenauer is hardly known; it does not surprise that he has no entry in New Grove and that none of his works is available at the Petrucci Music Library. This disc is very likely the first ever devoted to his music.
Liechtenauer was very likely born in Vienna, but spent his youth in nearby Baden, where his father Johann was "calcant, organ builder and organist" to Eleonora II of Mantua-Nevers Gonzaga, widow of Emperor Ferdinand III (who had died in 1657). At this court father and son were influenced by the Italian style. In 1711 Paul Ignaz left Baden to become Kapellmeister at the court of Bishop Karl Joseph of Lothringen, who was Prince-Bishop of Osnabrück in 1698 and became Archbishop and Elector of Trier in 1711; he had his court in Koblenz. The bishop spent so much money on music that in 1713 he could not longer afford to pay his musicians.
Liechtenauer applied to no avail for the post of Kapellmeister at Cologne Cathedral, but his contacts resulted in the commission of an opera by a Jesuit college. In the next years he composed several Jesuit dramas for various cities; all these works have been lost. Apparently it earned him quite a reputation, as on the programme books for performances of such works he is called "the famous Kapellmeister" and "the famous composer", although at the time these works were performed he had not published any music. His first collection, 24 Offertories op. 1, came from the press in 1736, and the six masses op. 2, from which the present disc offers four, were published in 1741. According to an inventory he left a large amount of music in manuscript, including masses, Requiems, Te Deums and many arias; all of that is lost.
The six masses op. 2 are not very long - the longest of the four performed here takes 26 minutes - and that makes them perfectly suitable for liturgical use. This explains why they found a wide dissemination in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy. They consist of the usual ordinary sections: Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus - Benedictus and Agnus Dei. Unlike in some other masses, the Gloria and Credo don't begin with a plainchant intonation. All sections start with voices and instruments, without instrumental introductions. In each section soli and tutti alternate, but in different ways. Stefan Hanheide, in his liner-notes, states that the "solo episodes are all too brief to display an underlying form such as an aria". That depends on how one defines an aria. He is right that the solo episodes are mostly rather short, but in the Masses II and III the solo passages are substantial, although not formally isolated and indicated as such. Some of these episodes are introduced by an instrumental passage. The two other masses are shorter and there the solo and tutti episodes are more integrated.
The basic scoring of these masses is four voices soli and tutti and an ensemble of two violins and basso continuo, which are joined in the first four masses by two trumpets (II) or two horns (III). The names of the masses refer to their liturgical function. The Missa II is for the feast of the Purification of Mary (2 February), the Missa III for the feast of the Assumption of Mary (15 August), the Missa V probably for the feast of St Anthony the Abbot (17 January) and the Missa VI for the feast of St John of Nepomuk (16 May). However, that does not mean that they could not be performed on other occasions.
The concision of these mass settings does not leave much opportunity to illustrate parts of the text. However, the treatment of the episodes about the incarnation and the passion of Christ are singled out in each mass: they are homorhythmic, set in a slow tempo and to a reduced instrumental scoring. This allows for a strong contrast to the ensuing episode on the resurrection. In the Kyrie the second section - Christe eleison - opens with solo voices, followed by the tutti. The allocation of parts of the text to solo voices in the Masses II and III is different. Most of the solo episodes are allocated to soprano or tenor; in comparison alto and bass play a minor role. Notable is the prominence of the horns in the Gloria of the Missa III, especially 'Domine fili' and 'Qui sedes'. As in so many masses of the 18th century, the Benedictus is scored for solo voice(s): in the Missa II all of them, in the other masses for soprano, alto and tenor respectively.
It is often said that history is fair, and that music is forgotten for a reason. Over many years of reviewing I have come to the conclusion that this judgment is wrong. That also goes for these masses. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of these works, and I can understand that Liechtenauer's music was rated highly. In the light of what is performed here, the loss of most of his works is very regrettable. I would love to hear more, and I hope that we may see the recording of the rest of what has been preserved. In the meantime, I can only recommend to investigate this recording, also because the performances do these masses full justice. The singing of the vocal ensemble is excellent. It seems right that the tutti are performed by the soloists and a quartet of ripienists. This line-up requires a perfect blending of the voices, and exactly that is the case here. The solo episodes receive excellent performances. The instrumental ensemble is also outstanding.
This disc is a well-deserved monument for a composer who has the right to get a place in music encyclopedias.
Johan van Veen (© 2025)
Relevant links:
Elvira Bill
Johannes Hill
Maria Ladurner
Georg Poplutz
Kölner Akademie