Tag: Choral music

Heinrich, Johann Christoph, Johann Michael & Johann Sebastian Bach
Vox Luminis, Lionel Meunier
66:30
Ricercar RIC401

After presenting the motets by the elder members of the Bach family, Vox Luminis have now turned their attention to those works from the Alte Bach Archiv – some geistliche Konzerte and some sacred cantatas – that use instruments which they couple on this fine CD with BWV 4, the early Easter cantata, Christ lag in Todesbanden.

The recording was made in L’église Notre-Dame de la Nativité in Gedinne, where the organ by Dominique Thomas was built in 2002, and the photograph on the back cover of the excellent 43-page booklet (in English, German and French) shows the ensemble standing in an extended circle to record J. C. Bach’s cantata, Es erhub sich ein Streit. The specification of the organ is given (with the Rohrflöte mistakenly listed on the Hauptwerk) and as usual with Vox Luminis recordings provides a splendid firm foundation to the whole CD. It plays at A=440hz, which is fine for these early works. As anyone who has researched and performed the early Bach cantatas knows, the problems of pitch and temperament are difficult to resolve, many of the parts being written in different key signatures implying instruments at different pitches, and violins often tuned up to A=465. (At a recent concert in the Chapter House of York Minster, Vox Luminis’s organist managed to shift the keyboard down in the middle of a concert so that after playing motets from the Bach-Archiv at 440, Jesu, meine Freude could be performed at A=415 – what would that have done to the tuning if a more outlandish temperament had been involved?)

At any rate, in this recording, every cantata sounds as if it is at just the right pitch for the voices concerned, which to my mind is the acid test. All the Vox Luminis characteristics are there: absolute clarity of the words and the vocal lines so balanced that what in other ensembles are frequently overpowering soprano and tenor voices are restrained and matched equally by the alto and bass lines, whether chorally or singing single voice lines. These limpid textures are apparent from the first piece, Ach, bleib bei uns by J. M. Bach, and this is followed by Die Furcht des Herren by J. C. Bach, written for the installation of the city council with dialogues between Wisdom and various members of the council. Ich danke dir Gott by Heinrich Bach belongs to a previous generation and is a geistliches Konzert for the 17th Sunday after Trinity with astonishingly mature and fluid writing for its five voices and five-part strings in dialogue. More opportunity to hear the solo voices with the string band is offered in Herr, der König freuet sich by J. M. Bach.

In Herr, wende und sei mir gnädig by J. C. Bach the alto and tenors sing of their fears as the grave approaches. The bass, singing with the five-part strings, is the Vox Christi promising strength.

The soprano only heard now leads the chorus in singing ‘neither the dead nor those who go down into hell will praise the Lord’, and the final chorale where busy violins scurry round the choir and the soprano line is reinforced by the organ’s sesquialtera.

All this is a prelude to BWV 4, Christ lag in Todesbanden, which with its similarities to Pachelbel’s cantata on the same chorale and many stylistic features which do not recur in the presumably later cantatas 131, 150, 143 and 71, is proposed as Johann Sebastian’s earliest (surviving) cantata. After the opening sinfonia, Bach creates a chiastic structure and we hear the musicianship of the amazing Zsuzsi Tóth in the two duet verses 2 & 6, never tempted to over-sing the lower voice. The 8’ principal on the organ forms the bass line with only sparing use of the violone, and this gives a different quality to the overall sound world. Both tenor and bass balance the violins perfectly in verses 3 & 5, and again the sesquialtera reinforces the cantus firmus in the alto line of verse 4 effectively, as Bach was to do in the opening chorus of the Matthew Passion and BWV 161 for example. This is a reminder that the addition of a cornetto and three trombones was only made at the revival in Leipzig on9th April 1724. The final chorale mirrors the opening sinfonia splendidly with its dark and yearning sounds. This is a well thought-through and exquisite performance.

The recording is concluded by J. C. Bach’s Michaelmas cantata Es erhub sich ein Streit. Two chori, six-part strings, a fagotto and four trumpets with drums represent Michael’s victory over the serpent, and the consequent peace in heaven. This is a fun piece, and offers a good contrast to Johann Sebastian’s BWV 19 on the same text.

This is another wonderful addition to the Vox Luminis discography. As well as continuing to show us where Johann Sebastian’s technique and sound palette were fostered, there are always new insights as to how his upbringing might colour and shape our performances of his own works today, part at least of which is how to group voices and instruments round the substantial organs Lionel Meunier so tellingly choses.

This recording is quite essential for developing an understanding of how we might perform Bach cantatas now, but the old habits of a previous generation’s standard practice will die hard, I suspect. Unless Vox Luminis decamp to the Thomas organ in the Église Réformée du Bouclier in Strasbourg (which is mostly at A=415, and about which I wrote in EMR of this year, reviewing two cantatas sung by Damien Guillon), I will be interested to see how they cope with the need to perform the Leipzig cantatas at the pitch of the oboes d’amore and traversi, when they move beyond the early cantatas. Where are the organs at A=415?

David Stancliffe

Inauguration Cantatas for Hamburg and Altona
barockwerk hamburg, Ira Hochman
65:44
cpo 555 255-2

The cpo label hasn’t sat on its laurels as one of the world’s top labels bringing some quite excellent and extraordinary music to our ears, whilst exploring lesser-known corners of lesser-known composers’ works. Over the last few years we have seen a wonderful string of high quality recordings leading us back the highly versatile baroque master Telemann’s output, often centred around his considerable and multifarious duties in and around Hamburg.

This recording starts with the consecration work for the smaller St. Job Hospital Church TVWV2:5 that gives the disc its title, and was intended for performance on the 16th February 1745; however, this piece was officially cancelled on the death of the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles VII,* which demanded a four-week period of mourning, prohibiting any polyphonic music or organ playing! So this work was duely consigned to a dusty slumber on a shelf until Jürgen Neubacher discovered the manuscript and Wolfgang Hirschmann identified its purpose in 2001. The work dispenses with the usual trumpets and drums (which would have been overpowering in the original, tiny performance space) and uses a very modest instrumentation (flute, oboe, violins and continuo). We should never, however, underestimate these sparse forces in masterful hands! The sheer scope and imaginative handling of the text brings out some quite incredible melodic twists and turns, with music that seems to presage the vintage style of the later oratorios. The noble tone and exquisite vocal contours of the Aria a2 “Vereinigte Seufzer” (Track 4) sweeps you away to another place; so too, the sensational, operatic writing in the soprano aria “Der Himmel, die Erde, die Menschen, die Tempel” (Track 6); equally so the tender, disarming beauty of “Höre, Vater, deine Kinder” (Track 9).  If asked to name the performers at a blind listening, you’d swear it was probably Hermann Max and Co; not so – Barockwerk under Ira Hochman and these superb soloists are in full artistic flow, shaking the dust off some amazing works.

The second offering, “Geschlagene Pauken, auf!” (Strike up, ye thundrous drums) TVWV13:14, was written as a festive piece for the Royal Academic Latin school (Christianeum) in Altona in 1744. Nearly a dozen of these “festive” works for Altona between 1741 and 1764 have now been identified. As the title to this work openly suggests, trumpets and drums come right to the fore! The exuberant flourishes of celebratory music are carried over to the final aria a4 “Erfülle die Hoffnung”.

Finally, we have a modest, compact motet written as a school exam piece in 1758 for the Johanneum, Hamburg’s Latin school. It has a sprightly finish to round off its slender four minutes.

The first two works presented here are quite revelatory and display more glistening strings attached to the giant golden bow which arches across the years of Telemann’s highly productive tenure in Hamburg. These excellent musical forces and soloists under Ira Hochman will hopefully be back to us soon with more scintillating gems of baroquery!

David Bellinger

* Telemann’s superb funeral music for Charles VII (TVWV4:13) is found on cpo 777 603-2

Passion Oratorio
C. H. Graun, J. S. Bach, Telemann
[Gesine] Adler, [Klaudia] Zeiner, [Tobias] Hunger, [Tobias] Berndt, Concerto Vocale, Sächsisches Barockorchester Leipzig, Gotthold Schwarz
cpo 555 270-2
115:58 (2 CDs in a single case)

The booklet that accompanies this set includes a well-argued essay by Bach expert Andreas Glöckner on the genesis and formation of this intriguing pasticcio; essentially it is Graun’s Ein Lämmlein geht und trägt die Schuld (dating from c. 1730), the first half preceded by two extracts from the Telemann cantata that gives the release its title, and the second half padded out by music which may or may not be by J. S. Bach. This seems to have been the driving force behind the project – it is such a shame that, even in 2019, we need the name of “a great composer” to justify a recording of Graun’s very fine work.

Pretty much for the first time ever, I must confess myself disappointed by the performance. The orchestra (lush double woodwinds, 33211 strings with just organ!) is very fine with some lovely contributions and the tenor and bass soloists are in a different class to the other singers. This is rather naive music; the complexities of the baroque are largely receding and being replaced with a slower harmonic rhythm – the focus has shifted to cantabile melodies and a lightness of touch is required. I understand that it is difficult for some singers to ease off without losing form, so the soprano and alto (whom I have heard to great effect elsewhere) have my sympathy. Even more troubling, though, was the choir – tuning is a problem at various points, as is ensemble. I had to re-listen several times just in case my ears were having an off day, but no.

If there is one reason to buy this set, it would have to be the glorious singing of Tobias Hunger – his floated high notes are out of this world.

Brian Clark

[Sophie Junker, Judith Van Wanroij, Matthias Vidal, Cyril Auvity, Thiabut Lenaerts, Alain Buet], Choeur de Chambre de Namur, Millenium Orchestra, Leonardo Gracía Alarcón
82:50
Alpha Classics Alpha 444

This is the kind of repertoire (and the kind of performances) that make it easy to understand why Lully was the favoured royal composer and how his was such an important voice in the development of the grand motet even though he had no involvement with the regular chapel music. There is an interesting and clear explanation in the notes of the musical politics involved. The Dies Irae opens as if it were to be a standard overture but the startling entry of the choir men singing the solemn plainchant rather sets the tone for the dramatic variety to come. The choir and orchestra are both very accomplished and comfortable in the style, though there are a few moments when the former’s crisp rhythms veer too close to clipped for my taste. Other small reservations are a few rather laboured ornaments and some less-than-beautiful tone from one of the male soloists but I still really enjoyed the programme. It was while ‘conducting’ the concluding ebullient Te Deum that Lully sustained (possibly) the most famous injury in the history of music.

David Hansell

Tarver, Breiwick, Harmsen, Fernandes, Willetts, NDR Chor, FestspielOrchester Göttingen, Laurence Cummings
137:00 (2 CDs in a card triptych)
Accent ACC 26410

Handel’s Judas Maccabæus, dating from 1747, was second only to Messiah in popularity in Handel’s lifetime. Here Laurence Cummings puts out a spirited version, recorded live last May at the Stadthalle Göttingen, where Cummings has been director of the Handel Festival since 2012. His orchestra, regularly assembled for this festival, is 6.6.4.4.2 strings with all the wind and brass you could need and sound not only proficient, but gracious. The string playing is particularly fine, and the occasional sounds of the wind – like the flutes in the final duet O lovely peace – offer lovely glimpses back to an earlier world before the ‘orchestra’ was essentially a string band.

The chorus, sharp and punchy when required but capable of a mellow and sustained gloom when called for, is the North German Radio Choir, their regular partners in this festival, and the text (and programme notes) are in both German and English.

Followers of the Festival’s productions will not be disappointed – the standards in every department are high. The main questions I have are about the size and scale of the performance.

Directors have to choose in presenting large-scale Handel – and even more so in Bach – between the stricter demands of period performance, which might call for voices especially of less developed power, and what will fill a venue and make the whole project financially viable. The solo singers here are admirable, but undoubtedly use more modern techniques of projection. They only rarely out-sing their accompanying band, and, of course, the oratorio is a heroic tale, but it was given first in the relatively small Theatre Royal in London.

The bass, Joäo Fernandes, is quite excellent in the very exposed The Lord worketh wonders, and Judas, Kenneth Tarver, is suitably heroic in Sound an alarm, where the silver trumpets eventually make their appearance to introduce the chorus, praising the abstract virtues of laws, religion and liberty, for much of the actual action takes place off stage making the work for all its political overtones in the wake of the Duke of Cumberland’s victory over the Stuart Pretender’s rebellion at Culloden so much more of an oratorio than an opera.

The opening of Act III marks Handel at his tuneful best in Father of Heav’n where the instrumental lines with their overlapping counterpoint suggest the all-encompassing divine favour. The March has cheerful bumpy jollity, and the unanimity of the chorus following, introduced by single voices, is a splendid advertisement for the about 21 strong NDR Chor, as is David Staff’s trumpet obligato in With honour let desert be crown’d, Judas’ surprisingly reflective final aria in A minor.

At the end of the brief final chorus, the burst of applause reminds us that this is a live take, and after such a seemingly effortless performance it is well deserved.  Nothing is amiss, tempi are beautifully judged and if the scale of the performance calls for more modern vocal techniques than I would ideally have liked, then many people will enjoy this cracking good version.

David Stancliffe