musica Dei donum
CD reviews
Musica Divina: motets by Schütz, Schein, Homilius, JS Bach, Duda, Draeseke,
Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Brahms, Bruckner, Hessenberg and Reger
Dresdner Kreuzchor
Dir: Roderich Kreile
rec: April 1997, Dresden, Lukaskirche
DGG 453 484-2 (1.16')
JS Bach: Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf (BWV 226); Brahms:
Schaffe in mir, Gott, ein reines Herz, op. 29,2; Bruckner: Os justi;
Draeseke: Der 93. Psalm, op. 56; Duda: Friede über Israel, op. 25,3;
Hessenberg: Herr, mache mich zum Werkzeug deines Friedens, op. 37,1;
Homilius: Domine, ad adiuvandum me; Herr, wenn Trübsal da ist; Mendelssohn-
Bartholdy: Jauchzet dem Herrn, alle Welt; Reger: Nachtlied, op. 138,3;
Schein: Der 116. Psalm; Schütz: Geistliche Chormusik: Die Himmel
erzählen die Ehre Gottes (SWV 386), Das ist je gewißlich wahr (SWV 388)
This CD contains a cross section of German sacred choral music from
the 17th to the 20th century. All pieces are performed a capella. All
music is by composers who in some way or another are related to the
choir, some because they worked in Dresden, some because this choir
has given much attention to their music over the years. The Dresden
Kreuzchor performs this music on a regular basis, and that is
reflected in the high standard of performance, both technically and in
interpretation.
All sections of the choir are equally good - here we don't find
vibrato-less boys' voices alongside wobbly tenors and basses. Although
the choir is quite large, the sound is crisp and clear, and has the
flexibility the music asks for.
Another aspect which is impressive is the intonation. In particular
Bach's motets are not easy in this respect, but the 'Kreuzianer' pass
the test with flying colours.
Let me say something about the programme.
In vocal music of the baroque - in particular in German music - the
text comes first. Therefore phrasing and articulation deserve utmost
attention. The pieces by Schütz and Schein are very well done in this
respect. Just listen to a line like "Ich kam in Jammer und Not" (I
found trouble and sorrow) from Schein's setting of Psalm 116. It shows
how much attention Schein gave to the text he was setting to music,
and also how well the choir and its conductor realise the importance
of Schein's intentions. Schütz is another example of a composer who
had a very detailed knowledge of the text. He even learnt Hebrew to be
able to understand what the texts of the Old Testament were about.
The performance of the 18th century pieces by Bach and his pupil
Homilius show how much changed in that time. Bach is in fact following
in Schütz' footsteps by writing polyphonic music and giving a lot of
attention to every detail of the text. Homilius tries to create a
general atmosphere, in which not every aspect of the text is reflected
in the music. His two pieces are pleasant to hear, and especially the
second piece is anything but superficial. As far as Bach's motet is
concerned, although the interpretation is generally good, I would have
liked a sharper articulation, in particular in the closing chorale.
The pieces by Mendelssohn, Brahms and Bruckner are well known, and
often sung by boys' choirs all over the world, but I don't think they
always get the great performance the Kreuzchor delivers here.
The works by Reger and Draeseke are from the late 19th century - and
although I am neither particularly familiar with nor very fond of this
kind of music the performances by the Kreuzchor made quite an
impression on me.
There are also two compositions from the 20th century. Kurt
Hessenberg's motet Herr, mache mich zum Werkzeug deines Friedens
uses the famous words by Saint Franciscus of Assisi
("O Lord, make me the agent of your peace") and Jörg Duda sets verses
from Psalm 122 to music ("I was glad when they said unto me: Let us go into
the house of the Lord"). This is certainly not music I like to listen
to regularly. But as far as I can say it is a well-written piece,
which closes with the men singing "Friede".
This CD impressively shows that a choir of boys and men isn't only an
indispensable tool to perform music specifically written for them -
basically almost all pre-romantic church music - but is also a unique
form of art in itself.
Johan van Veen (© 2000)