Categories
Recording

Jauchze du Tochter Zion Christmas Cantatas

Hanna Herfurtner, Carola Günther, Georg Poplutz, Raimonds Spogis SATB, Kölner Akademie, Michael Alexander Willens
67:40
cpo 555 052-2
Förster: Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe
Homilius: Erhöhet die Tore der Welt
J. H. Rolle: Jauchze du Tochter Zion, Siehe Finsternis bedecket das Erdenreich
Stölzel: Kündlich groß ist das gottselige Geheimnis

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]his is just the kind of disc I anticipate from cpo come Christmas time; music by three obscure composers and one not-so-obscure (although the cantata by Stölzel is not, as the booklet notes claim, a premiere recording!), bursting with memorable arias and choruses with flutes, oboes, horns and trumpets. In addition to the four named singers, Willens has four ripienists for choruses (well, five but that is presumably as Georg Poplutz missed one of the recording sessions) and 32221 strings (as far as I can tell from the booklet), producing an excellently balanced tutti sound. The soloists take the challengingly virtuoso lines in their stride and sounds glorious. In common with the other recording of the Stölzel, a violin plays what is quite clearly a keyboard obbligato in one of the arias – a pity the performers didn’t take the opportunity to correct the earlier error. Each of the lesser-known composers come out of the project glowing; let’s hear more Homilius and Rolle in particular. I would also love to hear these forces in Georg Benda!

Brian Clark

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Categories
Recording

Telemann: Advent Cantatas

Gudrun Sidonie Otto soprano, GSOConsort (Ingolf Seidel baritone, Christine Schwark cello, Michael Freimuth lute/theorbo, Wolfgang Brunner harpsichord/organ)
53:42
cpo 777 955-2

[dropcap]W[/dropcap]henever Christmas approaches I look forward to new releases from cpo; they have a knack of uncovering some excellent repertoire that has lain unknown for centuries and serving up fabulous recordings. When the new lists came out for December 2016 I noticed that – in addition to Jauchze du Tochter Zion (reviewed below) – a new Advent disc was on its way, I got very excited; it is a much neglected and (obviously) important part of the church year, but few performers seem to take much interest in the music written for the four Sundays before Christmas. Of course, as well as the great Martin Luther celebration, 2017 is important for Telemanniacs, too, since the great man died 250 years ago, so (like Advent) this disc was a portent of things to come.

In fact, there no cantatas at all; instead, we have extracts from Telemann’s Auszug der derjenigen musicalischen und auf die gewöhnlichen Evangelien gerichteten Arien welche in den Hamburgischen Haupt=Kirchen durchs 1727. Jahr vor der Predigt aufgeführt werden  (“A selection of the musical arias based on the usual Gospel texts which are performed before the sermon in Hamburg’s main churchs throughout the year 1727”). Their scope is broader than the CD title implies: eight are (as advertised) for Advent, then two each for the traditional three days of Christmas according to the Lutheran calendar, the Sunday after Christmas and the 2nd Sunday after Epiphany.

The performances were recorded live at the regular Sonntagsmusiken held in Magdeburg (where there is an important centre for the study and promotion of the composer’s music). They are broadly shared by the brightly voiced Gudrun Sidonie Otto and her youthful sounding baritone companion, Ingolf Seidel. Throughout they are finely accompanied by cello and either one or two “realisers” playing one or other of their designated instruments. These changes of soundscape help to enrich the experience, but even such dramatic openings as that to TVWV 1:114a was not enough to make up for my initial disappointment that these were not full-blown cantatas with orchestra.
Brian Clark
Brian Clark

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Categories
Recording

Praetorius: Christmas Vespers

Apollo’s Fire | The Cleveland Baroque Orchestra, Jeannette Sorrell
74:40
Avie Records AV2306

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]his is a bit of a mixture. This “Christmas Vespers” is nothing like the McCreesh “Christmas Mass”, which has been used by performers in various parts of the world. It had the benefit of Robin Leaver as distinguished expert – he and I sat at the back row and heard the recording for the BBC before the CD was issued, but we talked rather too much!* This Apollo’s Fire CD is not one of their best. I won’t go into details, but the singing doesn’t have the clarity one expects from the period (c.1600-1620) and the rallentandos are particularly out of time: I haven’t got my Praetorius writings at hand, since much of my music has gone to a Cambridge library, but my recollection is that there is no change of speed except that the penultimate bar can be slower. I feel that the speed of pieces with high cornetti is just a fraction too quick. The title is misleading: McCreesh produced a full CD of Vespers, but this squashes a Lutheran Advent service and a Vespers for Christmas Day, neither being satisfactory.

Individual pieces don’t always work. One of my favourites is Puer natus: Ein Kind geborn. There are more dynamics needed: think of quiet, medium and loud sections. The Sinfonia should surely stay at the soft level (mp), without stressing each bar in the triple time. The vocal trio and Bc needs a normal sound, but the ritornelli are short and strong. The final section (from “Mein Herzens kindlein”) has full forces but ends quietly – follow the text – and in general, the text needs more variety of the stress of the accents. This sounds as if I’m a modernist, but the tempo is rigid (except as noted above) and it will sound much more Praetorian than anything else on this disc. I’m not convinced that Jeannette Sorrell is adequately aware of early baroque, though she is far better in late baroque. Two specific errors are having a cello (which appeared in the 1640s) and a double bass (which became standard in 1702 in France). The lowest pitch would have been the G or F below the bass sackbut’s B flat.

*The Michael Praetorius Christmas Mass was recorded by The Gabrieli Consort and Players (Archiv 439-250-2). I prepared the musical edition, which is available from The Early Music Company Ltd. The solo organ pieces were contributed by Tim Roberts and are not in the score.

Clifford Bartlett

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