In the 1750s and 1760s Telemann composed a number of works on texts
by some of the most prominent poets of his time. One of them
was Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock. This accounts for the booklet
of this recording referring to "Telemann's Sacred Music
from the Klopstock Era". But the three cantatas here are
not based on Klopstock texts or by any poet who is still a household
name in our time. The only contribution by Klopstock is the
text of the chorale used in the first cantata, 'Komm, Geist
des Herren'.
Often Telemann's sacred compositions on texts by poets connected to
the German Enlightenment were written for performance in concert
halls rather than the church. Among them are the oratorios 'Der
Tod Jesu' and 'Die Auferstehung und Himmelfahrt Jesu', both
on texts by another famous poet, Karl Wilhelm Ramler. The cantatas
on this disc are written for liturgical performances, as is
shown by the references to the Sundays and feasts of the ecclesiastical
year. In the case of the first cantata this caused some controversy.
The problem does not lie with the text of the cantata, but rather
the fact that Telemann used a traditional hymn with a new text
by Klopstock. Although Hamburg was a centre of the Enlightenment,
many pastors were rather orthodox, and had problems with the
use of a new text on the Lutheran hymn "Komm, heiliger
Geist, Herre Gott". And the textbooks suggest that this
cantata was performed with different hymn texts in the five
churches in Hamburg in 1759: sometimes the original text was
used, and sometimes Klopstock's parody. It is this version which
has been recorded here. Telemann must have been fond of it,
as he performed it again in 1764.
The poet of the cantata text itself is not known. The scoring is for
four voices and an orchestra of three trumpets, timpani, two
oboes, strings and bc, appropriate for the feast of Pentecost.
It begins with an aria for bass which asks for the coming of
the Holy Spirit: "Come, Spirit of the Lord, come down to
us here too". It is followed by a chorale and a (recitativo)
accompagnato, which refers to the disciples looking up in despair
to heaven, where Jesus has disappeared (Ascension). Rather unusual
for the time is the fourth section, the 'dictum' which quotes
two verses from St Paul's letter to the Romans. The next sections,
two recitatives, an aria, a duet and two stanzas of the chorale
are about the consolation and support which the faithful receive
from the Holy Spirit. It is in particular the orchestra which
Telemann uses to illustrate single words and phrases in the
text, for instance in the third section, the accompagnato already
mentioned, on words like "ein mächtig Brausen" (a
wild wind), "Säuseln"(murmuring) and the phrase "Es
tobte wider sie ein Haufe wilder Feinde" (a mob of wild
enemies raged against them). The arias are da capo, as in Telemann's
oratorios from the same period.
That is not the case in the next two cantatas. Their concise nature
is reflected in the way Telemann has set them to music. Both
are written by poets who were very young at the time. Both were
students at the Hamburg Gymnasium, an institution between the
Johanneum and the university. 'Kaum wag ich es' was written
by Johann Joachim Eschenburg, who was 18 years of age in 1762
when Telemann composed this cantata. Eschenburg was to become
a prominent figure in German literature: he developed into a
specialist in English literature - he translated Shakespeare
into German - and a supporter of the Handel renaissance. The
text is divided into six sections, but the poet left it to the
composer to decide in what form to set it. It opens and closes
with a chorale, but as the poet omitted to indicate which melody
to use, Telemann composed one of his own, very much in the style
of the traditional hymns used in the liturgy. The four sections
in between are set as arias, but not in the da capo form. The
central element in the text is the desperation of the believer
about his sins and his fear of a "thousandfold pain".
In the last aria the bass, acting as 'vox Christi', consoles
the sinner: "Don't despair, O sinner, you shall live; I
have redeemed you". It is here that Telemann, whose music
so far has been pretty gloomy, turns to a lively rhythm and
uses ascending figures to illustrate the joy of Jesus saving
the sinner from eternal death.
The last cantata on this disc is to a text by another pupil of the
Gymnasium, Daniel Schiebeler, also 18 years old when Telemann
set his text to music in 1759. He was to become a famous poet,
who died at the age of just 30 in 1771. Telemann used another
text by Schiebeler in 1761: 'Don Quichote auf der Hochzeit des
Camacho'. In 1769 Telemann's successor as music director in
Hamburg, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, composed his oratorio 'Die
Israeliten in der Wüste' also on a text by Schiebeler. 'Er kam,
lobsinget ihm' is a cantata for Ascension Day, which is in fact
a short description of the life of Jesus: birth, passion and
death, resurrection and ascension. Then his work in heaven is
described, where he rules with his Father and acts as an advocate
for his followers. In the last section of Schiebeler's text
a very vivid description is given of what is going to happen
when Jesus returns: the stars lose their light, "the world
falls into its original nothingness" and "the judge's
revenge will horrify" God's and his followers' enemies.
Telemann adds a chorale to close the cantata: "Du fährest,
Jesu, himmelauf", on the melody of "Was mein Gott
will, das gscheh allzeit". In this cantata, also set for
a large orchestra of three trumpets, timpani, two transverse
flutes, oboe, strings and bc, Telemann again uses the instruments
to underline textual elements. The "thunder on the Sinai"
in the first section is depicted by the timpani, the resurrection
in the third section by two transverse flutes. And in the chorus
which describes the second coming of Christ Telemann pulls out
all the stops to depict the horrifying scenes which go along
with that. It is noteworthy that the solo sections are called
'solo' rather than aria. Most of them contain elements of an
aria as well as a recitativo accompagnato.
In the past Ludger Rémy has recorded sacred works by Telemann with
one voice per part, in line with the theory - by Joshua Rifkin
in particular - that most liturgical music in Germany was performed
that way. In this recording only the second cantata is performed
with solo voices, which also sing the ripieno passages. But
in the other two cantatas a full choir is used. The booklet
gives no reasons for that, but it is perhaps the fact that Telemann
has scored them for a full orchestra, including trumpets and
timpani, which has led to this decision. I am not convinced
that it is really necessary, but neither is it problematic,
although one has to ask whether Telemann would have used a full
choir to perform just three simple chorale settings in 'Komm,
Geist des Herrn'. The Kammerchor Michaelstein is an excellent
choir, which is well suited to realise the effects Telemann
was aiming at. I would however have liked a stronger articulation
in the chorales.
The soloists also do a fine job. They know how to deal with the text,
and the balance with the orchestra is satisfying. In the only
duet on this disc, in 'Komm, Geist des Herren', contralto and
tenor blend very well. So do all four singers in both chorale
settings in 'Kaum wag ich es'. The playing of the orchestra
is vivid and colourful.
This disc is a very interesting contribution to our knowledge of the
art of Telemann. It shows that the composer in his seventies was
as inventive and creative as ever and looking forward rather than
backward.
Johan van Veen
