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CD reviews
Georg Philipp TELEMANN (1681 - 1767): Der Tod Jesu (TWV 5,6)
Siri Karoline Thornhill, soprano;
Susanne Krumbiegel, contralto;
Albrecht Sack, tenor;
Gotthold Schwarz, bass
Bach Consort Leipzig
Dir: Gotthold Schwarz
rec: Feb 19 - 21, 2010, Torgau, Schloßkirche
Rondeau - ROP6038 (© 2011) (76'45")
Liner-notes: E/D; lyrics - no translations
Cover & track-list
Mathias Kiesling, Johanna Baumgärtel, transverse flute;
Markus Müller, Norbert Kaschel, oboe;
Moni Fischalek, basoon;
Stephan Katte, Johannes Winkler, horn;
Katharina Arendt, Kristina Gerlach, violin;
Cosima Taubert, viola;
Hartmut Becker, cello;
Tilman Schmidt, double bass;
David Timm, harpsichord, organ
When Telemann was appointed music director in Hamburg in 1721 it was his duty to compose one Passion every year. As a result he composed 46 Passions on the four gospels in turn. Towards the end of his career, during the 1750s and 1760s, he also composed some Passion oratorios, which were not based on the text of the Gospels, but rather on poetical paraphrases of or reflections on the story of the Passion. These were intended to be performed in the concert hall rather than during services in the church. One of the poets who provided a paraphrase text was Karl Wilhelm Ramler. Der Tod Jesu was set to music by several composers: Carl Heinrich Graun, Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach, Johann Friedrich Reichardt and Carl Wilhelm Zelter. Telemann seems to have been fond of Ramler's poetical work, as he wrote several other works on Ramler texts. These included Die Auferstehung und Himmelfahrt Jesu and the secular cantata Ino.
Ramler lived in Berlin for most of his life, and moved in the same circles as the main literary and artistic personalities of his time. Der Tod Jesu was the result of a commission from Princess Anna Amalia of Prussia, the younger sister of Frederick II. She tried to set the text to music herself, but in the end it came down to Carl Heinrich Graun, Kapellmeister at the court in Berlin to write the music. It was first performed in 1755, the same year Telemann's setting was performed in Hamburg. Interestingly, Telemann's performance took place one week earlier. It is not known how Telemann became acquainted with the text: it wasn't published and Ramler complained about the 'laziness' of the copyists. Anyway, it is known that Telemann and Graun corresponded extensively about the technical and aesthetic aspects of marrying Ramler's words with music. Later they also performed each other's work. There seems to have been no serious rivalry between the two composers.
Der Tod Jesu strongly reflects the aesthetic and religious ideas of the mid-18th century. The ideals of the time were expressed by an anonymous author in regard to Der Tod Jesu: "A musical poet must know in the main that music expresses only natural and unaffected passions and emotions. It tolerates absolutely no force and becomes ambiguous and confused as soon as nature is lacking. As in the first case, the proper expression is determined by the composer himself; so in the second case he will seek in vain with all his effort. It is thus that no-less-simple ideas and images, long narratives, flowery and pointed styles of speech are entirely inappropriate for music."
The religious climate in Germany, and particularly in Hamburg, around 1750 was strongly influenced by the Enlightenment. Here Jesus is presented as a model of the virtuous life. The chorus "Christus hat uns ein Vorbild gelassen" says it all: "Christ has left us an example, that we might follow in his footsteps." Also characteristic is the reference to Jesus as Menschenfreund (friend of man). In most choruses and arias the events around the passion and death are related to the life of the individual believer. For instance, the recitativo accompagnato which refers to Jesus saying: "My father, forgive them, for they know not what they do", is followed by a duet by soprano and bass which begins with the lines: "Enemies who trouble me, behold how much my heart loves you. To forgive you is my revenge."
It is in the recitativi accompagnati that we find a paraphrase of the Passion gospel, told from the perspective of an involved bystander. It goes like this: "Ah, my Emmanuel! There he lies, deeply bowed in the dust, struggling with death". Or: "Murderers rush in: I see the murderers ... Oh! it is happening to him!" The orchestra plays an important role in illustrating the text and the Affekts it expresses. This explains that most recitatives are accompanied. The instrumental scoring is for two transverse flutes, oboe/oboe d'amore, horn, strings and bc. The unmistakable changes in the aesthetic ideals of the time do not mean that the idea of 'music as speech' has been rejected. That point is made abundantly clear in Telemann's setting of Der Tod Jesu. Time and again the composer illustrates the text with musical figures, like an ascending sequence of notes on the words "dringt zum Herrn" (reaches the Lord - aria 'Ein Gebet um neue Stärke'). In the following recitative the words "er aber ... nahet sich den Feinden selbst" (he approaches his enemies) strong staccato chords symbolise the steadfastness of Jesus' actions. Contrast this with the tempo slowing down on the passage "Sein Petrus folgt, der einzige von allen" (His Peter follows, the only out of them all), depicting the hesitancy of the disciple. As the last recitative begins with the words "Seraphim descend from all the stars" the flutes, the strings and then the basso continuo repeat the same descending figures several times, suggesting the arrival of angels from every part of the universe.
Gotthold Schwarz has opted for a performance with one voice and one instrument per part. Historically this seems questionable. For his liturgical performances Telemann did have only a limited number of singers and players at his disposal. But as this work was performed in the concert hall it is likely that he attracted additional performers. And that suggests at least a performance with ripienists in the vocal tutti, and probably also a doubling of the string parts. That is especially important as the orchestra underlines the dramatic character of the events as paraphrased in the recitatives.
The soloists are various. The best contributions come from Susanne Krumbiegel who has a strong and dramatic voice, which is very useful in her recitative 'Ach, mein Immanuel!'. She also has an excellent delivery, in this recitative and in the following aria 'Ein Gebet um neue Stärke'. The other voices are a little too weak, and that results in forced dramatic accents and the voices of Albrecht Sack and in particular Gotthold Schwarz sounding a bit overstretched. Sack gives a good performance of the recitative 'Jerusalem, voll Mordlust', though. Siri karoline Thornhill is a bit flat in her only recitative and aria; the slip of the tongue in her recitative ("Missetätern") should have been corrected. The blending of the voices in the tutti, and especially the chorales, is less than perfect. In general I prefer the recording by Ludger Rémy (CPO, 2000), with a team of four excellent soloists (Dorothee Mields, Britta Schwarz, Jan Kobow and Klaus Mertens). His use of a choir seems more plausible in this oratorio.
As much as I prefer a Passion based on the text of the Gospel this is a very interesting and musically satisfying example of Passion music from the time of the Enlightenment. Those who also have Graun's version - a good recording is Sigiswald Kuijken's on Hyperion - will find the differences between these two settings quite striking. As even the experts differ as to which of them is the most 'modern' they can figure out for themselves what the virtues of the respective settings are.
Johan van Veen (© 2012)
Relevant links:
Bach Consort Leipzig