One of the most important collections of 17th-century music is the
so-called 'Düben collection'. This was put together by Gustav
Düben (c.1628-1690), conductor of the Swedish court orchestra and organist
of the German church in Stockholm from 1663 until his death. It is ironic
that this collection, now preserved in the library of Uppsala University,
doesn't include a single piece by a Swedish or even Scandinavian
composer. That is not due to the fact that Düben was of German origin: the
collection includes a large amount of German music, but also compositions
from other countries. The main reason is that there were no composers in the
Scandinavian countries. It was only during the 18th century that composers
from those countries made their appearance. One of the best-known is Johan
Helmich Roman (1694-1758), who is the first composer of Swedish birth in
recorded history.
In the 16th and 17th centuries the Baltic area was under German influence.
That was largely due to the importance of the German cities which were part
of the Hanseatic League. Lübeck was its capital; among the members we find
many German cities, such as Hamburg, Rostock, Stralsund and Danzig, all with
direct access to the Baltic. Although some Swedish towns were also part of
the League, it was clearly dominated by the German members which also
resulted in a strong German influence in cultural matters. To this one can
add religious influence: in the 16th century the three Scandinavian
countries Sweden, Denmark and Norway - the latter was part of the Danish
kingdom until 1814 - had embraced the Lutheran Reformation.
Musical life in the Scandinavian countries was dominated by German
composers. Especially the Danish court in the first half of the 17th
century, during the reign of Christian IV, was populated by masters from
Germany, such as Heinrich Schütz, Matthias Weckmann and Kaspar Förster. In
Stockholm the Düben dynasty made its appearance in 1620 when Gustav's
father Andreas was appointed second organist of the court orchestra. This
disc focuses on three composers who were from Saxony. All spent a part of
their career in the Baltic area.
Johann Vierdanck is the oldest. It is not known where he was born, but it
was in either Saxony or Thuringia. He was a pupil of Schütz as he started
his career as a choirboy in Dresden where he later acted as an
instrumentalist, having studied the violin and the cornett. For some years
he worked in Lübeck and in Stockholm, and was then appointed organist in
Stralsund, one of the Hanseatic cities. Vierdanck is represented here by a
suite for two violins and bc from the collection
Erster Theil newer
Pavanen of 1637. These suites are notable for being arranged by key and
for their trio-sonata texture, making Vierdanck one of the first German
composers following this Italian concept. He was also one of the first to be
influenced by the Italian violinist Carlo Farina, who lived and worked in
Dresden.
Johann Theile was extremely gifted: he started studying law at Leipzig
University at the age of 12. Being of humble birth, this helped him to
improve his social standing. He was held in high esteem by student friends
and also, according to a poem dedicated to him in the preface of his first
publication of 1667, by none other than Heinrich Schütz. Theile did take
lessons with Schütz, but how intensive their relationship was, is not known.
Later on, he had frequent contact with Dietrich Buxtehude in Lübeck. From
1673 to 1675 he was
Kapellmeister at Gottorp Palace, some 120
kilometers from Lübeck, and then in Danish territory. The dukes of Gottorp
had made their palace a cultural centre of the northern region. It even got
an international reputation by attracting musicians from England, such as
William Brade. Political circumstances in Denmark forced the Duke to leave
Gottorp for Hamburg in 1675, and Theile followed him. There he composed his
first opera which was performed in 1678 at the inauguration of the new opera
house at the Gänsemarkt. He stayed here until 1685 and then worked in
Wolffenbüttel and Merseburg. Little is known about the latter stages of his
career. He may have worked in Berlin for some time, but died in
Naumburg.
The two pieces recorded here are sacred concertos in the style of Schütz.
They are through-composed, with strong attention to the text. In
Ach,
daß ich hören sollte the opening words "ach, ach" are
emphasized in truly rhetorical manner, and return at the end: the piece
closes with a repetition of these same words. Its scoring is typical of
German 17th-century music: two violins, three viole da gamba and bc.
Die
Seele Christi heilige mich omits the violin parts: the soprano is
supported by three viols and bc. The vocal and instrumental parts are
strongly interwoven and both contribute to the expressive power of the
text.
Georg von Bertouch is a special case as he had two careers simultaneously:
as a performing musician and composer on the one hand and as a military
officer in the Danish army on the other. He must have been a musician of
some standing as he was one of the dedicatees of the book
Das beschützte
Orchestre by Johann Mattheson. He lived in Norway, and the music world
owes him the first publication of a piece of Norwegian folk music. The two
vocal works recorded here are from a second important source of German
17th-century music, the so-called Bokemeyer collection preserved in Berlin.
They seem to date from his early years as they are in the style of the 17th
century. There are some recitative-like episodes, but not comparable to the
recitative as it would develop in the 18th century. There is quite a lot of
coloratura, but I don't have the feeling that it always makes much
sense. In fact, I am not impressed by these two pieces. In
Mein Herz ist
bereit I noted some modulations which I found rather meaningless and
not inspired by the text. All in all I have heard hardly anything here that
is really memorable.
The two sonatas are better. They are part of a series of 24 in all the
keys; they have survived in a manuscript from which the first five sonatas
and almost the complete sixth are missing. The sonatas played here are quite
nice, but not something one could not do without. This disc is not my first
acquaintance with Bertouch's music. Bergen Barokk recorded seven
sonatas from the same collection which I
reviewed here. Fortunately Trondheim Barokk recorded two
sonatas which are not on that disc. Reading what I wrote in that review I
enjoyed Bertouch's sonatas more than I did here, and that is probably
down to the performance. Trondheim Barokk is a good ensemble, and I
especially like the handling of the viola da gamba parts in the sacred
concertos. However, there are too few dynamic accents, and the performances
as a whole are too bland. German 17th-century music needs a more engaging
and dynamic approach.
The vocal soloists leave a mixed impression. Ingeborg Dalheim has a nice
voice which is well suited to this repertoire but her interpretations are
too cautious. She should have done more with the text and there is too
little dynamic shading. Marianne Beate Kielland is better in every respect.
I am not impressed by
Mein Herz ist bereit as a composition, but
she surely makes the most of it. She adds ornaments which underline the
meaning of the text and that is exactly how it should be done. Her German
pronuncation is perfect. Njål Sparbo sings in a quite theatrical style which
is sometimes a little over the top but he certainly explores the meaning of
the text.
On balance this disc is a bit mixed. It includes some nice stuff,
especially the two sacred pieces by Theile; the sonatas by Bertouch are
certainly interesting but don't receive the best possible readings.
His sacred concertos probably do but even such good performances
can't raise them above the average.
Johan van Veen
http://www.musica-dei-donum.org
https://twitter.com/johanvanveen
