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CD reviews
Johann ROSENMÜLLER (1619 - 1684): Sacred Concertos
[I] "Sacred Concertos"
Gli Scarlattisti; Capella Principale
Dir: Jochen Arnold
rec: April 30 - May 3, 2019, Gönningen, Evangelische Kirche
Carus - 83.500 (© 2019) (65'21")
Liner-notes: E/D; lyrics - translations: E
Cover, track-list & booklet
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Also hat Gott die Welt geliebet [2];
Danksaget dem Vater [1];
Daran ist erschienen die Liebe Gottes [1];
Das ist das ewige Lebenafi [1];
Das ist meine Freudeb [1];
Ein Tag in deinen Vorhöfenchj [1];
Hebet eure Augen aufch [1];
Herr, mein Gott, ich danke dirhij [2];
Herr, wenn ich nur dich habea [2];
Lieber Herre Gott, wecke uns aufd [1];
Meine Seele harret nur auf Gottegj [1];
Siehe, des Herren Augedhj [2];
Treiffet, ihr Himmel, von obena [1];
Wahrlich, wahrlich, ich sage euch [2];
Weil wir wissen, dass der Menschfij [2]
Sources:
[1] Kern-Sprüche mehrentheils aus heiliger Schrifft Altes und Neues Testaments, 1648;
[2] Andere Kern-Sprüche, 1652-53
[GS] Iris-Anna Deckerta, Konstanze Fladtb, Melanie Thamm-Beck, Anja Bittnerc, Susan Eitrichd, Satah-Lena Eitrich, soprano;
Juliane Gaubee, Gudrun Köllner, contralto;
Jan Hermann, Thomas Nauwartat-Schulzef, alto;
Karsten Krügerg, Tobias Meyerh, Daniel Schreiberi, Dietrich Wrase, tenor;
Matthias Begemann, Jens Hamannj, Willie Pirzer, bass
[CP] Johannes Grütter, Murielle Pfister, violin;
Franziska Finckh, Adina Scheyhing, viola da gamba;
Ulrike Klamp, viola da gamba, violone;
Max Eisenhut, Christine Brand, Max Benz, sackbut;
Thorsten Bleich, lute;
Stephan Leuthold, organ
[II] "Sacred Concertos"
Wolf Matthias Friedrich, bass
Abendmusiken Basel
Dir: Jörg-Andreas Bötticher
rec: Sept 26 - 29, 2018, Müllheim/Baden, Martinskirche
Coviello Classics - COV 919297 (© 2019) (69'52")
Liner-notes: E/D; lyrics - translations: E
Cover, track-list & booklet
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anon:
Sonata à 3 [1];
Massimiliano NERI (c1623-1673):
Sonata XIV à 12 [2];
Johann ROSENMÜLLER:
Ascendit invictissimus Salvator;
Aude, quid times;
Domine cor meum;
Domine, ne in furore;
Magnificat;
Salve Regina
Si Deus pro nobis
Sources:
[1] Düben collection, [n.d.];
[2] Massimiliano Neri, Sonate da sonarsi con varij stromenti a trè sino a dodeci, op. 2, 1651
Frithjof Smith, Josué Meléndez, cornett;
Catherine Motuz, Claire McIntyre, Joost Swinkels, sackbut;
Krzysztof Lewandowski, bassoon;
Regula Keller, Katharina Heutjer, violin;
Brian Franklin, Tore Eketorp, viola da gamba;
Matthias Müller, violone;
Julian Behr, chitarrone;
Jörg-Andreas Bötticher, harpsichord, organs
Scores
The life and career of Johann Rosenmüller can be divided into three stages. The first was when he was musically educated, and developed into a promising composer who was set to take the position of Thomaskantor in Leipzig. The second was his time in Venice, where he settled after he had been accused of pedophile offenses in Leipzig. There he worked as a sackbut player in Venice, as a teacher at the Ospedale della Pietà and as a composer. The last stage was the shortest: he returned to Germany to take the position of Kapellmeister at the court in Wolfenbüttel in 1682, where he died only two years later.
During the first stage he published two collections of sacred concertos under the title of Kern-Sprüche. The first volume was printed in 1648, the second in 1652/53. Most of these concertos are settings of texts in the vernacular, taken from the Bible; however, both volumes also include settings of texts in Latin, some of which reflect the spirit of Pietism. The scoring is for one to five voices and basso continuo, mostly with additional instruments. This collection is sometimes compared with Heinrich Schütz's Kleine Geistliche Konzerte, but it is probably more appropriate to compare it with the third collection of his Symphoniae Sacrae. Whereas most of the Kleine Geistliche Konzerte are scored for voices and basso continuo, in Symphoniae Sacrae III the instrumental ensemble has the basic scoring of two violins and basso continuo, and that is also the case in Rosenmüller's Kern-Sprüche. It is a token of the Italian influence in the oeuvre of both composers, as in Italy this was the standard scoring in sacred concertos. In some of his concertos, Rosenmüller pays tribute to German tradition, for instance in Herr, wenn ich nur dich habe, in which the two violins are joined by three viole da gamba. These instruments did not play a substantial role in Italian music, but were frequently used in German vocal and instrumental music. Notable is also that in some pieces, Rosenmüller adds parts for three sackbuts: Also hat Gott die Welt geliebet and Lieber Herr Gott, wecke uns auf. According to New Grove, in both cases the score indicates that these parts can also be played on string instruments.
Schütz is often considered the master of text expression in Germany, but Rosenmüller is pretty much his equal, as these sacred concertos show. The selection from the two volumes, which Jochen Arnold recorded with his ensembles Gli Scarlattisti and Capella Principale, bears witness to that. Obviously, ascending and descending figures are frequently used when the text gives reason to that. Hebet eure Augen auf is a perfect example: "Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath". In Ein Tag in deinen Vorhöfen, the music turns to long notes on the words "to dwell in the tents of wickedness". Rosenmüller illustrates contrasts in the text through opposing scorings: in Daran ist erschienen die Liebe Gottes, the phrase "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us', the first half is sung by the tenor, the second half by the soprano. Some words are singled out through the use of coloratura, such as "Rauch" (smoke) in the same concerto, or "Harfen" (harps) in Herr, mein Gott, ich danke dir. Rosenmüller also emphasises particular important phrases by turning to homophony. Danksaget dem Vater ends with the phrase: "the forgiveness of sins". This is sung three times by all five voices. Something comparable happens in Siehe, des Herren Auge, on the phrase "Our soul waiteth for the Lord". In Hebet eure Augen auf, soprano and tenor sing in parallel motion on the words "my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished". Lastly, there are some meaningful pauses here and there, which have the effect of giving emphasis to the preceding word, such as "nicht" (not) in Also hat Gott die Welt geliebet and "nichts" (nothing) in Meine Seele harret nur auf Gott.
Overall, the members of the ensemble deliver good performances, although not all of them are of the same level. Thomas Nauwartat-Schulze's volume is a bit to soft, which damages the balance in the ensemble in the pieces, in which he takes one of the vocal parts. I also would have liked stronger dynamic shading in a number of concertos. The only real issue is the decision to perform the five-part concertos with a choir. These pieces include passages for one voice which are sung here by the respective section of the choir. It seems to me that these episodes indicate that they are rather intended for solo voices. I think that all these concertos are basically intended for performance with one voice per part. As a result, these concertos are the least convincing part of this disc, even though the ensemble as a whole sings rather well.
However, this does not withhold me from recommending this disc, which is a substantial contribution to the Rosenmüller discography. The Kern-Sprüche have not received the attention they deserve. It is telling that eight of the fifteen pieces are appearing on disc here for the first time. A complete recording of both volumes is long overdue.
The second disc documents the second period of Rosenmüller's career, when he was living in Venice. The compositions are all on Latin texts, either free poetry or fixed texts from the Bible (Domine ne in furore, Si Deus pro nobis) or the Catholic liturgy (Salve Regina). It is not entirely sure why and for which occasion Rosenmüller might have written these pieces. For several reasons it is unlikely that they were intended for performance in Venice. Cosima Stawiarski, in her liner-notes, points out that "[as] an outsider [Rosenmüller] would have found it very hard to gain a foothold in the Venetian musical establishment which, with its guild structure, was heavily regulated so that for him to obtain a position as a leading musician would have been completely unthinkable". We should not forget that he was also a Protestant. The fact that he mostly set texts to be used in the Catholic liturgy seems to suggest that they were intended for performance in Venice. However, there is no documentation whatsoever that his music was performed there. Moreover, the scoring is not in line with what was common in Italy. As we have seen before, sacred concertos were usually scored for solo voices, two violins and basso continuo. In the sacred concertos included here, the instrumental ensemble is mostly in five parts, which was quite common in Germany.
Stawiarski comes up with an interesting thesis, partly based on research by the German scholar Peter Wollny: Rosenmüller may have written his Latin sacred works for Duke Johann Friedrich of Brunswick-Lüneburg, who was residing in Hanover from 1665 onwards. He was a great lover of Italian music, and had converted to Catholicism in 1651, and in the wake of this decreed that mass in the palace chapel was to be conducted according to the Roman liturgy. The Venetian composer Antonio Sartorio was employed as 'in-house' music director and commissioned to supply the court orchestra with Catholic sacred music. There is no doubt that the Duke and Rosenmüller were in contact: in 1667 Rosenmüller dedicated his Sonate da camera to the Duke. Sartorio may have acted as a go-between. Peter Wollny was able to prove that Rosenmüller received several commissions from Hanover to write music for performance at its chapel. "What is more, Dr Wollny concluded that the majority of Rosenmüller's Latin church music that has survived to the present was originally destined to the church of Johann Friedrich's court, and that Georg Österreich, Kapellmeister to the Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorf, copied the music at a later date to include them in his own music collection. It is due to this fortunate circumstance that Rosenmüller's compositions were not lost over time".
The collection of Österreich is known as the Sammlung Bokemeyer. The Gottorf court was Lutheran, and one may ask how Rosenmüller's music could be of any use to the court. The pieces included here are in no way in conflict with Lutheran doctrines, except the Salve Regina. Two of them, Ascendit investissimus Salvator (Our Saviour, the wholly unconquered one) and Aude, quid times, gens Christo dicata (Be brave, why are you afraid), are about Christ and include no reference to Mary, for instance. Domine cor meum jam ardet impatiens (Lord, my heart burns impatiently) has traces of Pietism, which was very much part of Lutheranism in the 17th century. The text of the Salve Regina was adapted by Österreich. The opening phrase in his version goes like this: "Salve, mi Jesu, Pater misericordiae" and closes with the phrase "O clemens, o pie, o dulcis Jesu Salvator". For this recording, the performers turned to the original text.
We already noted the Italian influence in the sacred concertos of the two volumes of Kern-Sprüche. That was a result of Rosenmüller's sojourn in Italy in 1645/46. The pieces he composed in Venice shows an even stronger adherence to the Italian style. The vocal parts are considerably more virtuosic, and include lots of coloratura, long melismas and musical figures illustrating words and phrases. The instrumental parts are also more brilliant than in the Kern-Sprüche. In several concertos, Rosenmüller includes the rhetorical figure of the exclamatio ("O [infirmum]" - Ascendit invictissimus Salvator; "O [ignis]" - Domine cor meum). Other rhetorical figures are the passus duriusculus and the suspiratio. Chromatic descending figures appear in Salve Regina and Domine, ne in furore. In Aude, qui times, several lines close with the word "non" as an answer to a question; every time that word is repeated to give it more emphasis. This concerto is one of the most theatrical: it includes battaglia motifs ("Dare to fight in the battle") and ends with the word "triumphabis" - you will triumph. In Domine cor meum, a ritornello includes figures imitating trumpet signals, which refer to the ensuing text: "But just like suddenly a sound rings out, l like trumpets resounding". In Si Deus pro nobis, a setting of verses from Paul's letter to the Romans (ch 8), Rosenmüller does not let pass the opportunity to musically illustrate the contrast between "mortuus" and "resurrexit": "It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again".
This disc offers a collection of extraordinary brilliant and exciting pieces, which are an impressive testimony of Rosenmüller's compositional skills. They also bear witness to the fact that he had completely internalized what he had heard in Venice. Wolf Matthias Friedrich, who has a special interest in Rosenmüller and has done quite some research into his life and oeuvre, is in top form here. He feels completely at home in this repertoire, and thanks to his excellent articulation and diction, the many virtuosic coloratura comes off perfectly. He is also a master in exploring Rosenmüller's text expression. Moreover, I appreciate that he is not afraid of creating some strong dynamic contrasts, where the music requires it. There is just one issue: the Italian pronunciation of Latin seems incorrect, if this music was indeed intended for performance in Germany.
Abendmusiken Basel is the perfect partner. It was decided to use cornetts and sackbuts instead of or in alternation with the strings, even where the score does not mention them as alternatives. I personally don't see any reason for that, but I also don't think that it is any reason for criticism. This may well be part of the freedom of interpreters. The playing is excellent: colourful, dynamic and with full awareness of the text.
This is definitely one of the best Rosenmüller discs in the catalogue.
Johan van Veen (© 2021)
Relevant links:
Wolf Matthias Friedrich
Abendmusiken Basel
Gli Scarlattisti