Georg Böhm is
a household name among organists, who
frequently play his chorale partitas.
There is also a growing interest in
his harpsichord suites. He is often
mentioned because of his influence on
the young Johann Sebastian Bach. But
his vocal output has been overlooked.
It is difficult to
say how many vocal works Böhm wrote.
It is known for sure that some of his
sacred music has been lost. What has
come down to us are a small number of
cantatas, two motets and a number of
sacred songs for solo voice with basso
continuo. This disc contains four of
the cantatas.
The booklet doesn't
indicate when these cantatas were composed,
and it is likely there is no information
available about that. The first two
seem to be the oldest, as they reflect
the German tradition of sacred music
writing in the 17th century. They consist
of a sequence of solo and tutti sections,
and both are scored for five voices,
with two sopranos, and five-part instrumental
ensemble (two violins, two violas, bassoon
and b.c.). This was the usual scoring
in the 17th century, but went out of
fashion in the early 18th century.
The first cantata is
based on Matthew 22, where the concept
of the kingdom of heaven is explained
by the parable of a king who gave a
wedding feast for his son and sends
his servants out to invite the guests
for the feast. As they didn't want to
come, the king orders his servants to
go out on the streets to invite others
to his feast. The words "und die Tische
wurden alle voll" (and all the tables
were getting full) are set for the full
ensemble. When the king asks one of
the guests why he isn't wearing a wedding
attire, the text says: "Er aber verstummet"
(He was speechless), which is followed
by a general pause. This passage is
repeated several times. The man is thrown
out into the darkness, and "there will
be wailing and gnashing of teeth", which
is vividly depicted in the music. The
meaning of the parable is underlined
by the inclusion of three stanzas of
the chorale 'Wachet auf, ruft uns die
Stimme', which urges us to be prepared
for the coming of the kingdom of heaven.
The second cantata
is based on a passage in the gospel
of St John, chapter 4 (not 5, as the
booklet says), which describes how a
nobleman approaches Jesus to ask him
to heal his son, who is deadly sick.
This is expressed by a very moving lamento
for tenor, followed by the first stanza
of Luther's hymn 'Aus tiefer Not', set
for soprano solo. The second part of
the cantata opens with the bass, in
the role of 'vox Christi', singing:
"Go, your son lives". The nobleman replies
"I believe your word" and the tutti
sing "Honour and glory with high praise
for this good deed".
The two other cantatas
must have been composed somewhat later,
as they show some influence of the Italian
style of the early 18th century. In
both cantatas the soli are referred
to as 'aria'. 'Mein Freund ist mein'
is using an anonymous text which is
based on a passage from the Song of
Songs (ch 2, vs 16): "Mein Freund ist
mein, und ich bin sein" (My friend is
mine, and I am his). Every section opens
and closes with these words, which gives
them a da capo structure. The cantata
begins and ends with a tutti section,
and in between are the four 'arias'
for the respective soloists, which all
have an ABA structure. In two of them
we find early forms of the recitative
which was to become a regular element
in the German church cantata of the
18th century. All sections are interspersed
with instrumental ritornellos.
Like the third cantata,
the fourth is also in four parts, both
vocally and instrumentally. There are
still two viola parts, but no independent
part for the bassoon. In 'Wie lieblich
sind deine Wohnungen', a setting of
Psalm 84, two trumpets are added to
the instrumental ensemble. The cantata
opens with a chorus, which is repeated
at the end. In between there are again
four 'arias' for the respective soloists,
but they don't have the binary structure
of the soli in the previous cantata.
All soli are like solo songs, without
repetition, and all sections are divided
once again by ritornellos.
The interpretation
by the soloists, the choir and the instrumental
ensemble on this disc can hardly be
surpassed. All soloists are specialists
in baroque music, and have wide experience
in performing German vocal music of
the 17th and 18th centuries. As they
are all native speakers of German, their
pronunciation is impeccable, and they
also excel in articulation and diction,
and give the text full attention. The
ensemble Musica Alta Ripa is one of
Germany's finest instrumental ensembles,
and has made many splendid recordings.
The choir, which I hadn't heard before,
realises the tutti passages in a most
convincing way. The question is, though,
whether in this repertoire a choir is
needed. I think that the character of
these cantatas and the historical data
available, strongly suggest a performance
with one voice per part.
I recommend this recording:
these cantatas are splendid works, which
deserve to be widely known, and this
interpretation does them full justice.
Johan van Veen
Irmela Brünger (soprano), Inga Schneider
(mezzo), Beat Duddeck (alto), Jörn Lindemann
(tenor), Markus Flaig (bass) 
