Johann Adolf Hasse was the most famous and most fashionable composer
of his time. His career was largely dominated by the musical stage. From the
1720s until the 1760s he produced a large number of operas which were
performed in the main theatres of Germany and Italy. He was born near
Hamburg and started his career as a tenor in the Hamburg opera. In his
capacity as a composer he was especially praised for his ability to adapt
his music to the voices of particular singers. One of these was Faustina
Bordoni, whom he married in 1730 and who sang in most of his operas which he
was able to compose at great speed. The work-list in
New Grove lists
some 60 operas. Moreover he wrote a large number of serenatas, oratorios,
numerous cantatas and also many sacred works. Charles Burney summed up his
status rather well: he described him as "the most skilful and elegant of all
the composers of his time".
The two pieces on this disc were both written for Dresden. That is
to say, the
Miserere was originally composed for Venice around 1730;
the tutti were scored for two sopranos and two altos which is an indication
that it was to be performed in one of the
ospedali, in which girls
and young women received a musical education. In his early years Hasse spent
much of his time in Italy. In 1733 he was appointed
Kapellmeister of
the Dresden court and during the next decade he divided his time between
Dresden and Venice. It is likely that the
Miserere was adapted for
performances in Dresden with a more common SATB scoring. There is no
fundamental difference between Hasse's operatic and sacred output.
Bel
canto is the most prominent feature in all his vocal music, and the solo
parts in the two works on this disc bear witness to this. The elegance which
Burney ascribed to him comes particularly to the fore in the instrumental
parts.
In my experience it isn't always easy to get used to Hasse's art of
writing sacred music. Sometimes one feels a clash between the text and the
music, for instance in the short solo for the bass, 'Tibi soli peccavi' in
the
Miserere. It is rather odd to hear a truly operatic aria on a
text like this: "Against thee only have I sinned and done this evil in thy
sight: that thou mightest be justified in thy saying, and clear when thou
art judge". The 'Gloria Patri' is a solo for alto, and ends with a cadenza
on "Sancto". There are certainly moments of true expression, though; for
instance the solo sections in 'Ecce enim in iniquitatibus', first for
soprano and alto and then for alto and tenor.
In the
Mass in d minor the
Christe eleison is - as in
so many mass settings of the 18th century - a duet, here for soprano and
alto, a piece of great beauty. In this work we also find reminiscences of
the past, such as the intonation on the plainchant melody at the beginning
of the
Credo. There are several fugal sections, such as the second
Kyrie. In the 'Crucifixus' Hasse seizes the opportunity to add
expressive emphasis to the text with some incisive dissonants. The
Gloria, on the other hand, includes two operatic arias, 'Domine Deus'
for soprano and 'Qui tollis' for tenor, the latter with interventions by the
choir.
The booklet omits the lyrics. Fortunately these are widely known and
can easily be found on the internet or in the booklets of other discs.
Moreover, one of the features of the Rheinische Kantorei is its excellent
delivery. Its director, Hermann Max, pays much attention to this aspect. As
a result it is pretty easy to understand the text, even in tutti sections
with full orchestra. Max has a good ear in selecting the soloists for his
performances and recordings, and that is also the case here. Mária
Zádori has frequently worked with him and knows what to do. In some
other recordings of hers a wobble creeps in, but that is not the case here.
The other singers are all stylish; Kai Wessel is particularly good in the
'Gloria Patri' from the
Miserere. The basses have little to do; in
these pieces the high voices are the most important. That links them to the
opera of the time in which the sopranos and altos absolutely dominated.
This disc delivers a good picture of Hasse as a composer of
religious music.
Johan van Veen
http://www.musica-dei-donum.org
https://twitter.com/johanvanveen
