Franz Xaver RICHTER (1709 - 1789)
Messa Pastorale [32:45]
Symphony in D [11:04]
Magnificat [13:20]
Marzena Lubaszka (soprano), Piotr Lykowski (alto), Maciej Gocman (tenor),
Bogdan Makal (bass)
Wroclaw Philharmonic Choir, Wroclaw Baroque Orchestra/Andrzej Kosendiak
rec. 18-20 May 2008, Église Sainte-Marie of Mittlach, France. DDD
CYPRES CYP1659 [57:11]
Franz Xaver Richter is one of the representatives of what modern musicology
calls the Mannheim School. A German study on the 'pre-classical' period,
as the author calls it, characterises this school as the avant-garde of the
18th century. The musicians who worked at the court in Mannheim were an important
link between the baroque era and the classical period. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
for instance, stayed in Mannheim for some time, and was fascinated by what
he heard.
The names of these masters are mentioned in history books and programme notes,
but their music is still hardly explored. We are talking here about the likes
of Johann Stamitz, Ignaz Holzbauer, Anton Filz and Carlo Giuseppe Toeschi,
who belong to the first generation. Franz Xaver Richter also belongs to this
troupe who developed the quality of the court orchestra to such an extent
that Charles Burney called it an 'army of generals'.
If the music of the Mannheim School is explored it is mostly the instrumental
music, and in particular the orchestral music which is given attention. That
is understandable, because it is through instrumental music that the Mannheim
composers influenced the course of music history and laid the foundations
of the classical style. But most of them also wrote vocal music, including
sacred music. And so did Richter, although most of his vocal works date from
his time in Strasbourg.
It is his activities in Mannheim which modern performers mostly focus on,
but Richter worked for twenty years as maître de chapelle in Strasbourg
Cathedral. He was appointed to this position in 1769, and remained in Strasbourg
until his death in 1789. There was something special about the city: for a
long time it was part of Germany, and under the influence of Protestantism.
Only in 1681 was it unified with France, and the Cathedral reverted to Catholicism.
David Mathieu Maurier, in his programme notes, suggests this could well explain
the ideal working conditions of Richter. He had an orchestra of about 30 players
at his disposal plus a choir. The annual budget amounted no less than 300,000
pounds. That was a way to strengthen the ties between the city and the king
of France.
In his sacred works which are recorded on this disc Richter explored these
possibilities. The Messe Pastorale is written for an orchestra which
includes trumpets and drums. These are effectively used at various moments
in his mass. They open the proceedings in the first Kyrie and are used in
the 'Et resurrexit' from the Credo. But there are also softer tones in this
mass. 'Et incarnatus est' is scored for soprano and alto solo, and this section
begins with two flutes and bass, which are then joined by the strings. Interestingly
Richter doesn't change the scoring for the next section, 'Crucifixus', suggesting
the unity between the two.
The mass consists of a sequence of tutti and solo sections, but most solos
are rather short. The two main solo sections are 'Domine Deus' (Gloria) for
bass and the Benedictus for tenor. The latter ends with a cadenza. There are
several polyphonic passages, but often the fugal beginnings quickly turn into
homophony. Still, this mass shows that Richter in his sacred music aims at
mixing modern fashion with traditional features.
The disc ends with a setting of the Magnificat. It begins with a tutti
section which is followed by a solo for the soprano (Quia respexit) which
ends with a cadenza. 'Et misericordia' is for solo quartet, and contains some
strong dissonances. 'Fecit potentiam' is - hardly surprising - a solo for
bass, whereas 'Esurientes' and 'Suscepit Israel' are duets for alto and tenor.
In the Gloria patri the horns play a prominent role, whereas the closing of
the doxology (Et in saecula saeculorum) is fugal.
In between is the Sinfonia in D which shows Richter as a composer of
orchestral music. The first movement is typical for the Mannheim School, in
particular because of the frequent crescendi. No less typical Mannheimian
is the inclusion of Seufzer figures which we find in the andantino
arioso. A lively presto, again full of dynamic contrasts, closes this symphony.
This is a most interesting disc which pays attention to a lesser-known aspect
of the period between baroque and classicism. It is telling that the German
study I was referring to before, almost completely ignores the sacred music
of the Mannheim School. This recording shows that Richter's contributions
to this genre have to be taken seriously and are well worth performing. Fortunately
we get an interpretation here which successfully explores the qualities of
Richter's music.
The four soloists were new names to me. I like their voices which are crisp
and clear, and their articulation and diction is very good. The voices blend
well, but in the quartets - 'Quiniam tu solus sanctus' in the Gloria from
the Mass and 'Et misericordia' from the Magnificat the alto and tenor are
a bit overshadowed by the soprano and bass. The cadenzas, and in particular
that of the soprano, are too predictable.
The choir seems to be quite big, and I had preferred a less sizeable vocal
ensemble, in particular as the orchestra doesn't seem to be that large. Although
the recording was made in a church, the pictures suggest the building is not
overly big. That results in satisfying acoustics, even in the symphony. The
singing of the choir is very good, and so is the playing of the orchestra,
both in the vocal works and in the symphony.
All in all, I am quite happy with this recording, and I hope more sacred music
by Franz Xaver Richter is going to be performed and recorded.
Johan van Veen