Johann MATTHESON (1681 - 1764)
Der liebreiche und geduldige David, oratorio in 2 parts (1724)
Nicky Kennedy (soprano) - Meditation; Ursula Eittinger (contralto) - Chusi,
Simei; Max Ciolek (tenor) - Ithai; Christian Hilz (bass) - David; Raimonds
Spogis (bass) - Abisai
Choir of the Kölner Akademie; Kölner Akademie/Michael Alexander Willens
rec. 14 - 17 October 2007, Deutschlandfunk, Cologne, Germany. DDD
CPO 777 360-2 [60:50]
Johann Mattheson is mainly known as theorist and writer of books about music.
But he was also a productive composer. The largest part of his output is vocal
music, both sacred and secular. The former he composed mainly in his capacity
as cantor of Hamburg Cathedral, a position he held from 1715 to 1728. In that
year he had to leave his job due to his progressive deafness.
The Cathedral had a special status in Hamburg. Unlike the other churches it
was not under the supervision of the city council and as a result it had a
considerable amount of freedom. Mattheson used this freedom to the full. He
insisted on using new texts for religious compositions. Even more revolutionary
was that he used women in liturgical music, which was absolutely not done everywhere
else. And he also made use of the singers who worked for the Hamburg opera
which the ecclesiastical authorities considered a cesspool of vice.
The participation of opera singers in the performance of religious music in
the Cathedral is an indication of Mattheson's preference for sacred music of
a theatrical nature. This explains an oratorio like the present, Der liebreiche
und geduldige David, which is one of the last Mattheson has and which dates
from 1724. It concentrates on the revolt of David's son Absalom and his defeat.
As usual it is in two parts, which were performed before and after the sermon
respectively.
The main role is that of David; Absalom doesn't figure here at all. The second
main role is Meditatio, an allegorical character who at first opposes David
and then supports him and comments on the events. The first parts tells about
the start of the uprising when David has to flee. Meditatio urges God's revenge
but David says God wants us to love our children. When Simei, who belongs to
the family of David's predecessor Saul, curses him, David resists any attempts
to punish him as he believes "that God commands him to do so". At
the end of the first part Meditatio understands that David takes his love from
God's love, and then urges the 'Christian Community' to sing: "Let us
increase in your love and knowledge, that we may remain in faith and serve
you in the spirit."
The second part begins with David's army fighting Absalom and his men. David
urges his soldiers to spare Absalom's life. But at the end of the battle he
learns that Absalom has been killed, and then sings a song of mourning: "Oh,
Absalom, my son!" Meditatio reacts in a recitativo accompagnato: "Now
I'm completely convinced that neighbourly love arises from God's love".
He also points in the direction of Jesus: "What David did, that Jesus
does no less". This is underlined by the chorale which ends the oratorio,
a stanza from the hymn 'Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern', associated
with the Annunciation.
The instrumental scoring is for strings, two flutes, oboe, two bassoons, two
horns and bc. The horns only play in one aria in the first part and the war
chorus at the start of the second part. The other wind instruments have some
obbligato parts, but they mainly play unisono with the voice. There is little
instrumental virtuosity in this work, with the exception of the obbligato part
for the violin in Meditatio's aria which opens the second part.
Mattheson was a supporter of the modern style which emphasized the importance
of melody instead of harmony. This is reflected by this oratorio. There are
no harmonically remarkable passages, and expression is mainly achieved through
the melodic lines. The duet of Ithai and Abisai in the second part (Gott
ist es der für alle Menschen wacht) is typical of this work: the two
voices mainly sing in parallel motion.
I haven't heard many of Mattheson's vocal works. Years ago I had the opportunity
to hear performances of operas by Mattheson and his colleague Reinhard Keiser,
and I came to the conclusion that Keiser was the better composer. This oratorio
confirms my impression. 'Der liebreiche und geduldige David' is a nice work,
but there was hardly anything which really struck me as remarkable. David's
lament "Oh, Absalom, my son!" is rather flat and not very expressive.
But that is also due to the performance. I don't understand why in this aria
the basso continuo is played by the theorbo alone. The use of the organ and
the cello would have imparted more colour to the performance, especially as
Christian Hilz is not the most expressive singer of the cast. There is nothing
wrong with his singing as such, but his voice is rather bland and lacks colour.
The most interesting part is that of Meditatio, and with Nicky Kennedy it is
very well cast. Ursula Eittinger has a small role as Simei; in her only aria
she could do with more bite. Max Ciolek is alright as Ithai, but unfortunately
in his aria 'Heldenkönig, deine Schmerzen' his voice wobbles on every
longer note. The soloists are also part of the choir which is extended to eight
singers in total. The blending of the voices is less than ideal which is especially
noticeable in the chorales. The orchestra does play well in the tutti and in
the obbligato parts; the natural horns should be mentioned with honour.
To sum it up: it is interesting to become acquainted with Mattheson's vocal
music, and those who have a special engagement with the musical life in Hamburg
in the early 18th century shouldn't miss this disc. If the part of David had
been given a more expressive performance I would have commended it to a wider
range of baroque enthusiasts. Even so I think the vocal works of Reinhard Keiser
are in more urgent need of exploration.
Johan van Veen