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CD reviews
"Musikalische Exequien: Schütz, Bach"
Concentus König
Dir: Jorge Suárez
rec: June 22- 25, 2022, Villaviciosa de Odón, Iglesia de Santiago Apóstol
IBS Classical - IBS 172023 (© 2023) (68'15")
Liner-notes: E/D/ES; lyrics - translations: E/ES
Cover & track-list
Score JS Bach
Scores Schütz
Spotify
Johann Christoph BACH (1642-1703):
Mit Weinen hebt sichs an (exc);
Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750):
Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit 'Actus tragicus' (BWV 106);
Michael PRAETORIUS (1571-1621):
Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin (exc);
Heinrich SCHÜTZ (1585-1672):
O lieber Herre Gott, wecke uns auf (SWV 287);
Musicalische Exequien (SWV 279-281);
Selig sind die Toten (SWV 391)
Sources:
[1] Michael Praetorius, Musae Sioniae ... deutscher geistlicher ... Lieder und Psalmen ... in Contrapuncto simplici ... gesetzet ... achter Theil, 1610;
Heinrich Schütz, [2] Erster Theil kleiner geistlichen Concerten, 1636;
Musicalia ad chorum sacrum, das ist: Geistliche Chor-Music, 1648
Manon Chauvin, Margarita Rodríguez, Victoria Cassano, Agnieszka Grzywacz, soprano;
Beatriz Oleaga, Juliane Stolzenbach, contralto;
Gabriel Díaz, alto;
Diego Blázquez, Francisco Braojos, Emiliano Cano, Víctor Sordo, tenor;
Joseba Carril, Manuel Quintana, bass
Eva Jornet, Tamar Lalo, recorder;
Alberto Campanero, María Alejandra Saturno, viola da gamba;
Ismael Campanero, violone, double bass
Daniel Oyarzabal, organ
Two events span every human being's life: birth and death. Both have been and are the subject of products of art, books and music. In the course of time much music has been written at the occasion of someone's death, especially the Requiem Mass. In Protestant Germany death also was the subject of many compositions. They could be very different, but they were connected by one thought which is a central issue in Christian thinking: death as a transition to life everlasting. The view on death in Protestant Germany is clearly expressed in Luther's hymn Mit Fried und Freud: "In peace and joy I now depart according to God's will. I am consoled in heart and mind, calm and quiet. As God has promised me: Death has become my sleep." In the 17th and 18th centuries numerous pieces have been written with the subject of death in general, and more in particular at the occasion of some's death, often to be performed at his or her funeral.
The disc under review brings together two of the main specimens from this repertoire: the Musicalische Exequien by Heinrich Schütz, and Johann Sebastian's cantata BWV 106), known as Actus tragicus.
Schütz's work was performed in February 1636 during the funeral of Herr Heinrich Posthumus von Reuß, who had died on 3 December of the previous year. He himself had painstakingly outlined every detail of his funeral. He should be buried in a copper coffin which should be adorned with 22 texts he himself had chosen. They were partly taken from the Bible and partly extracts from various hymns. It is often written that Herr von Reuß himself had asked Schütz to set them to music, but the Schütz scholar Werner Breig believes that it is more likely that Schütz received the commission from his widow and sons.
The Musicalische Exequien are divided into three sections. Part 1 contains the quotations from the Bible and from hymns which are set in the form of a German Mass - it says: Concert in Form einer teutschen Begräbnis-Missa. The quotations from the Bible are set as little sacred concertos, the hymns as 6-part motets. Schütz doesn't use the chorale melodies which were deployed by so many other German composers. Part 2 is a sermon motet, Herr, wenn ich nur dich habe. The text consists of the verses 25 and 26 of Psalm 73: "Lord, if I have none other than you, so shall I ask nothing of heaven or earth". It is scored for eight voices in two choirs. Part 3 is a setting of the Canticum Simeonis (Nunc dimittis), Herr, nun lässest du deinen Diener in Friede fahren ("Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace"). Here Schütz has added that this text should be sung by a five-part choir of lower voices near the organ, whereas two sopranos and a bass should sing the text "Selig sind die Toten" (Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord) from the back of the vault in which Posthumus von Reuß was laid to rest.
The latter text has also been set by Schütz in the form of a motet for six voices and basso continuo in his Geistliche Chor-Music of 1648. It opens the programme of this disc. An important part of the Christian faith with regard to death is the belief in the resurrection. This is expressed in the Musicalische Exequien, especially in 'Ich weiß, daß mein Erlöser lebt' (I know that my Redeemer liveth) and 'Weil du vom Tod erstanden bist' (Since thou hast risen from the dead, I shall not
tarry in the grave). The expection of the resurrection is the subject of one of Schütz's Kleine Geistliche Konzerte: O lieber Herre Gott, wecke uns auf - "O dear Lord God, wake us up, so that we are ready, when your Son comes, to receive him with joy and to serve you with a pure heart, by the same, thy beloved Son Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen." It is one of the texts which were frequently set in the form of a funeral motet, for instance by Johann Christoph Bach.
The combination of the Musicalische Exequien and Bach's Actus tragicus does not only make sense because of their common subject, but also from a stylistic point of view. Bach's cantata is rooted in the tradition of the German sacred concerto of the 17th century.
Gottes Zeit is die allerbeste Zeit probably dates from 1708, when Bach worked in Mühlhausen. The text is a compilation of biblical verses and hymn stanzas.
There are no recitatives and arias: the text is divided into solo and tutti sections. The instrumental scoring is very modest: two recorders, two viole da gamba and basso continuo. In this cantata Bach mixes old and new elements. The instrumentation refers to the 17th century, when recorders and viole da gamba were frequently applied in sacred music. Bach only uses biblical texts, without any free poetry. He also makes use of the aria, which was to become one of the main parts of sacred cantatas in the 18th century. The juxtaposition of old and new is also symbolic: it refers to the shift from the Old to the New Testament, connected with Law and Gospel respectively.
As I indicated above, death was a common subject in Protestant Germany, and therefore it is not hard to put together a programme of music of this kind. In a way it is a bit disappointing that the ensemble Concentus König has selected two of the best-known specimens of this genre, which are available in many recordings. This is a Spanish ensemble which focuses on Spanish, Italian and German music. The latter seems to take a special place in its repertoire; among its projects is also the oeuvre of Dieterich Buxtehude, among it the Membra Jesu nostri. From such an ensemble it is probably not to be expected to look beyond the obvious, also because they are not as close to the sources in libraries and archives as German ensembles. It is nice that performers from other parts of Europe take care of this repertoire, and the members of Concentus König make a rather good impression here.
The German pronunciation is not perfect, but overall pretty good. The performers show that they understand some of the typical features of German baroque music, with regard to articulation and accentuation. This results in a quite idiomatic performance. There are some issues, though. The intonations in Schütz's Musicalische Exequien are a bit too slow; a faster performance would make them sounding more natural. Overall, I find the tempo a little slowish. The same goes for the closing chorus in the Actus tragicus: it is too restrained; a more vivid performance would do more justice to its jubilant character. As far as the solo contributions are concerned: in 'Ach, Herr, lehre uns bedenken', the top notes are not entirely comfortable and 'Bestelle dein Haus' is a bit bland. A major issue is the performance of the last section of the Musicalische Exequien. As I wrote, in the performance in 1636 the second choir should sing from the back of the vault in which Posthumus von Reuß was laid to rest. In most recordings this is realised by allocating the three solo singers somewhere in the back of the recording venue. That is not the case here: we hear the solo voices as a second choir, as if this is a conventional piece for cori spezzati. That is a serious minus in this performance.
Even so, I have enjoyed this recording, which it is a promising start for a young ensemble, from which I hope to hear more in the years to come.
Johan van Veen (© 2024)
Relevant links:
Concentus König