Sacred Concertos - Cantatas
Nun ist des Satans Macht gefället, cantata for Ascension Day [10:15]
Ach, ich elender Mensch, sacred concerto [8:29]
Herr, wer wird wohnen in deiner Hütten? (Psalm 15) [6:26]
Meine Augen rinnen mit Wasserbächen, cantata for the 10th Sunday after Trinity [8:00]
Der Herr hat seinen Engeln befohlen über dir, Concerto cum aria [7:24]
Jesu, du hast weggenommen, chorale concerto [11:51]
Weh denen, die auf Erden wohnen, Lamento [7:31]
Nun dancket alle Gott, der große Dinge tut, sacred concerto [7:20]
Weser-Renaissance Bremen/Manfred Cordes
rec. 2-4 May 2013, chapel of Gottorf Castle, Germany. DDD
Texts and translations included
CPO 777 860-2 [68:20]
Johann Philipp Förtsch is one of the most remarkable German composers
of the 17th century. About halfway through his life his career as a professional
musician came to an end and he started to devote his life to the medical
profession. Also notable is that his sacred compositions are more dramatic
in character than was common in his time.
Förtsch was born in Wertheim am Main where his father was mayor.
He studied medicine, law and philosophy in Jena and then in Erfurt. He
did not plan to become a professional musician but must have enjoyed a
good musical education. In his musical lexicon Johann Gottfried Walther
mentions Johann Philipp Krieger as his teacher, but there is no documentary
evidence for this. He started his career as a singer in Hamburg in sacred
music and in the Opera. In 1680 Duke Christian Albrecht of Holstein-Gottorf
appointed him Kapellmeister as successor to the highly reputed
Johann Theile, another token of his qualities. In 1683 the Duke, who was
in permanent conflict with Denmark, had to flee, and that brought Förtsch's
activities as Kapellmeister to an end. At this moment Förtsch
changed his profession: he settled in Husum as a doctor. However, he remained
active as a composer, writing twelve operas for the Hamburg Oper am Gänsemarkt.
When Christian returned to Gottorf Förtsch was appointed as court
physician. After the Duke's death in 1694 Förtsch entered
the service of the bishop of Lübeck, August Friedrich, the Duke's
brother. Here he not only acted as the bishop's personal physician
but was also entrusted with diplomatic assignments. Until his death Förtsch
was active as a doctor and as a legal adviser.
Unfortunately Förtsch operas have all been lost but his dramatic
skills come to the fore in his sacred oeuvre. About 80 pieces in this
genre have been preserved and many are remarkably dramatic in nature.
Since the beginning of the 17th century, when the seconda prattica
emerged, composers had explored the dramatic elements in biblical texts,
especially in the form of dialogues. Förtsch goes a step further:
he takes texts which have no elements of a dialogue but turns them into
little dramas by including new texts, either from elsewhere in the Bible
or free texts. The very first piece of this disc is a telling example.
Nun ist des Satans Macht gefället is a cantata for Ascension
Day. The opening text has a dramatic character: "Now Satan's
power has fallen and is broken, and your Christian battalion can mock
death and hell". It comes as no surprise that the instrumental scoring
includes two trumpets. Förstsch inserts a part for bass solo who
acts as the vox Christi. Jesus is quoted as saying that it was
written that he had to die and to rise from the dead, and later orders
his disciples to preach the gospel across the world. The same vox
Christi, again sung by the bass, appears in Ach, ich elender
Mensch in which the tenor asks: "[Who] shall deliver me from
this mortal body?". Jesus replies: "Come here to me, come all
who are weary amd heavy laden". Meine Augen rinnen mit Wasserbächen
is a cantata for the 10th Sunday after Trinity. At that Sunday the gospel
reading is from St Luke, chapter 19, where Jesus prophesies the destruction
of Jerusalem. The cantata opens with the bass, singing words put into
Jesus' mouth: "My eyes flow with watery streams at the mysery
of the daughter of my people". Later in the cantata he sings literal
quotations of Jesus' words from the Bible. In between come emotional
reactions sung by two sopranos and a tenor in short solo episodes.
Förtsch is also historically important in regard to the development
of the church cantata. Some of the pieces recorded here have the form
of a sacred concerto, without any sections or extended solo episodes.
Examples are Herr, wer wird wohnen in deiner Hütten and
the closing piece, Nun danket alle Gott, the latter again with
two trumpets. Der Herr hat seinen Engeln befohlen über dir
has the form of a concerto-aria cantata, as we know it from the oeuvre
of Buxtehude. Weh denen, die auf Erden wohnen is an early example
of a cantata which closes with a chorale, sung by the tutti. It has the
form of a chorale arrangement, with the strings weaving a web around the
four-part chorale. This is reminiscent of the cantatas by Johann Ludwig
Bach (1677-1731). Jesu, du hast weggenommen is entirely based
on a chorale. Here the stanzas 6 to 12 from the chorale Jesu, der
du meine Seele are arranged for soprano and tenor, mostly singing
in ensemble.
Considering the remarkable features of Förtsch's sacred music
it is rather odd that he was only 'discovered' about ten
years ago. In 2008 and 2009 the first two discs were released which were
entirely devoted to his oeuvre (review
review).
Before that only one or two pieces were available on disc. With these
three discs that number of works has substantially increased to almost
twenty and allows a balanced picture of Förtsch's qualities.
Having heard all three discs I have to rate him highly. Every single piece
I have heard has something special, not only in regard to the use of dramatic
means but also in terms of text expression. The pieces on this disc include
plenty of passages where the text is eloquently depicted in the music.
Weser-Renaissance delivers impressive and very compelling performances.
The singers have a full command of the style of German music of this time.
Good diction and delivery are indispensable elements in a convincing interpretation
this ensemble is unbeatable here. The singers show sensitivity to the
text, especially Harry van der Kamp, who singles out key words in his
account of the vox Christi. The instruments play a crucial role
as well as Förtsch regularly uses them to underline the dramatic
nature of the text. The players of Weser-Renaissance are well aware of
that.
This is a highly important release and I very much hope that more from
Förtsch's oeuvre will be recorded.
Johan van Veen
http://www.musica-dei-donum.org
https://twitter.com/johanvanveen
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