Gottfried August HOMILIUS (1714-1785)
Der Messias
Meike Leluschko (soprano I); Friederike Beykirch (soprano II); Annekathrin
Laabs (alto); Patrick Grahl (tenor); Tobias Berndt (bass I); Sebastian Wartig
(bass II)
Sächsisches Vocalensemble
Batzdorfer Hofkapelle/Matthias Jung
rec. live, 5 June 2014, Annenkirche Dresden
CPO 777 947-2 [51:33 + 44:40]
Gottfried August Homilius (1714-1785) is not a household
name nowadays. Serving as church music director at the Kreuzkirche in Dresden,
he was considered very highly in his own time. According to the booklet, Ernst
Ludwig Gerber (1746-1819) counted him “without contradiction our greatest
church composer”, while Johann Friedrich Reichardt (1752-1814) called
Homilius “now definitely the best church composer as well as the greatest
organist I have ever heard and perhaps will ever hear in my life”. Opinions
on Homilius from the 19th and the 20th centuries, however, were not so kind.
Much of Homilius’s music was not published. Before 2004, only a handful
of CDs of featuring his works existed. There have been twenty or so recordings
since (many from the Carus label), the latest of which is this CPO recording
of Der Messias (The Messiah). My only prior experience of
Homilius’s music was a recording of his oboe sonata. I found it not
the most inspired music. This recording of Der Messias hasn’t
changed my view – the music is pleasant but not at the same artistic
level as similar works by Bach, if that’s a valid comparison.
Der Messias HoWV 1.6 is an oratorio passion set to freely penned
texts. It was first performed at the Frauenkirche in Dresden on Good Friday
1776. Despite its title, it is not related to Handel’s work. The rhythms
and melodies show some characteristics of the transitional period from baroque
to classical. Although Homilius supposedly studied with Johann Sebastian Bach,
his music doesn’t bear much resemblance to that by the master.
The recorded sound is natural and clean. In fact I wasn’t aware that
it was a live recording – there was no trace of audience noise or applause.
The playing of the period-instrument ensemble Batzdorfer Hofkapelle is stylish
and technically accomplished. Except for Meike Leluschko, all of the solo
singers were trained in the eastern part of Germany - three of them in Dresden.
The all-German cast sing well, with good diction, as would be expected from
native German singers.
The 2-CD set is packaged in a slim-line double case. The 40-page booklet is
of high quality, as one would expect from CPO. Detailed information on Homilius,
Der Messias as well as the performers is provided, and the full libretto
is given in an English translation alongside the original German.
This is a recording made in Dresden by a period-instrument ensemble, choir,
soloists and conductor all based in or near Dresden, of a work that was from
Dresden. It has a legitimate claim to authenticity. While the work itself
is not at the level of the more famous Messiah or Bach’s passions,
it is a good starting point for anyone interested in exploring works by Homilius.
Wai Kit Leung
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