The term 'Lied' is generally associated
with songs for voice and piano by German
composers of the 19th century, like
Franz Schubert and Robert Schumann.
But they didn't invent the 'Lied'; they
were part of a tradition that goes back
to the middle of the 18th century. Even
the composers of those days didn't invent
the solo song - the first songs for
solo voice on German texts date from
the early 17th century - Johann Nauwach
published his 'Teutsche Villanellen'
in 1627.
At the end of the 17th
century the solo song disappeared, mainly
due to the growing popularity of the
Italian chamber cantata. In the 1730s
attempts were made to bring the genre
to life again, but to no avail given
the quality of works produced during
those years. The first important collection
of solo songs was Telemann's 'Oden'
of 1741. It was the new aesthetic of
the Enlightenment that music should
be 'simple' and 'natural'. These criteria
proved an ideal breeding ground for
the solo song. It is no surprise, then,
that composers and poets who represented
the German Enlightenment made attempts
to recreate this genre. Among them were
poets such as Gleim, Kleist, Lessing
and Schlegel, and amongst composers,
Agricola, the Graun brothers, Quantz,
Franz Benda and Carl Philipp Emanuel
Bach.
There were lively and
extensive talks between these poets
and composers. One of the subjects was
the relationship between text and music.
There was general agreement that the
text was the main part of a song and
that the music was a way of interpreting
the text. In the preface to his collection
of the 'Sacred Odes and Songs' on texts
of Christian Fürchtegott Gellert,
Bach expresses this ideal thus: "One
knows that didactic odes are not as
convenient for music as songs for the
heart; however, when the former are
as beautiful as Mr. Gellert writes them,
then one finds that one has a pleasant
occupation in contributing all that
is possible in order that the intention
with which they were written be facilitated
and consequently the benefits to be
obtained from them be rendered more
general."
Gellert (1715-1769),
the son of a pastor in Saxony, went
to Leipzig in 1734 to study theology,
but it was literature that captured
his attention. In 1744 he wrote a dissertation
about the history of the fable. In 1751
Leipzig University appointed him Associate
Professor of Poetry, Rhetoric and Morals
and he became one of Germany's most
influential poets for about twenty years.
His lectures attracted large audiences,
among them Johann Wolfgang von Goethe,
who wrote: "The admiration and affection
enjoyed by Gellert from all young people
was extraordinary".
His collection 'Geistliche
Lieder und Oden', published in 1757,
enjoyed wide circulation. Some of his
songs made their entrance in hymnals
in Germany, like 'Jesus lebt, mit ihm
auch ich' (Osterlied). When Bach set
his texts to music, Gellert was startled
at first, as he thought Bach's settings
were too sophisticated for the texts,
which he had written for a wide audience.
"They are beautiful, but too beautiful
for a singer who is not musical". Bach
very much liked Gellert's texts. He
re-used some of them in cantatas - for
example the 'Weihnachtslied' Auf, schicke
dich recht feierlich’. Others were arranged
for a vocal ensemble. These included
'Bitten' - Gott, deine Güte reicht
so weit.
Unlike the solo songs
written in the 17th century and the
first half of the 18th century, which
were for voice with basso continuo,
Bach and other composers provided their
songs with a part for keyboard. In his
preface he says of the performance:
"I have added the necessary harmony
and ornaments to my melodies. In this
way I have not wanted to leave them
up to the arbitrariness of a stiff basso
continuo player, and one can thus at
the same time use them as hand pieces."
With 'hand pieces' (Handstücke)
Bach means that the songs can be performed
as pieces for keyboard solo. He adds
that this way these songs can also be
played when the vocal parts are too
difficult to sing. This demonstrates
that these songs were composed for both
'Kenner' (professional musicians) and
'Liebhaber' (amateurs). As these settings
are all strophic, the connection between
text and music couldn't be too strong.
In line with this the keyboard part
is mostly about creating an atmosphere,
for example in the introduction and
the epilogue. It is not too far-fetched
to see a parallel with Schubert's songs
here.
In Dorothee Mields
and Ludger Rémy these songs have
found their ideal interpreters. The
very delicate voice of Dorothee Mields
is excellently suited. Her diction is
immaculate - even without looking at
the lyrics in the booklet one can understand
every word. All nuances in the text
are clearly exposed, and Ms Mields always
finds the right way to put the message
across. She also takes some liberties
when the text requires special accents;
her ornamentation is always appropriate.
Ludger Rémy very effectively
uses the fortepiano to enhance the atmosphere
of every song and to support the voice.
He has previously recorded Bach's songs
with the bass Klaus Mertens (CPO 999
549-2 and 999 708-2). Here again he
proves to be a most sensitive interpreter.
These songs show a
side of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach which
in general receives little attention.
There are no strong dramatic contrasts
here, but a rather introverted expression
of personal faith, as Bach indicates
in his preface: "I have in particular
made these songs more generally useful
to lovers of music and have wanted in
this way to give them occasion to edify
themselves." I strongly recommend anyone
to use that occasion.
Johan van Veen
Dorothee Mields, soprano; Ludger Rémy,
fortepiano 
