Johann Nepomuk HUMMEL (1778 - 1837)
Music for the Esterházy family
Te Deum in D [11:25]
Missa Solemnis in C [40:55]
Alma virgo, offertorio in F, op. 89a [6:49]
Andrea Čajová (soprano), Zuzana Dunajčanová (alto),
Ondrej šaling (tenor), Rastislav Uhlár (bass)
Chorus Alea, Solamente Naturali Bratislava/Didier Talpain
rec. September 2007, Slovak Radio Studios, Bratislava, Slovakia. DDD
BRILLIANT CLASSICS 94115 [67:40]
Johann Nepomuk Hummel began his career as a child prodigy at the keyboard
and soon developed into one of the most celebrated travelling virtuosos of
his time. Being firmly rooted in the classical idiom, he couldn't keep up
with the aesthetic changes which took place in the later stages of his life.
He fell from grace with the public at large, who preferred modern virtuosos
like Chopin and Liszt.
Hummel was born in Pressburg - now Bratislava in Slovakia - where his father
Josef was director of the Imperial School of Military Music. It is said that
the young Hummel could read music at the age of four and could play the violin
and the piano before he was seven years old. In 1786 the family moved to Vienna,
where Josef became director of the Theater auf der Wieden. Mozart heard the
boy play and decided to take him under his wing. From 1786 to 1788 he lived
in the Mozart household, played Mozart's keyboard works and transcribed some
of his orchestral music for chamber ensemble. He then started to travel as
a keyboard virtuoso, just like Mozart when he was still a child. When he again
settled in Vienna he became a pupil of Albrechtsberger, Salieri and Haydn.
The latter had a strong influence on Hummel.
It was also thanks to Haydn's intervention that Hummel was appointed Konzertmeister
to the Esterházy family. He held this post from 1804 to 1811, when
he was sacked, probably because he was in Vienna too often. He continued as
a freelance musician. In 1816 he became Kapellmeister to the Duke of
Württemberg in Stuttgart, and from 1819 until his death he worked as
Kapellmeister in the service of the Grand Duke of Saxe in Weimar. Part
of his contract was that he had the opportunity to travel through the continent
for three months a year, and this allowed him to make appearances in St Petersburg,
Warsaw, London and Paris.
It wasn't just at the end of his life that his reputation began to wane. Even
before that his style of playing wasn't universally appreciated. His relationship
with Beethoven, for instance, was not unproblematic, not only because of a
difference in character, but also because of a difference in style. Schubert,
on the other hand, decided to dedicate his last three piano sonatas to Hummel
after he had met him and heard him play.
For a long time Hummel's music was virtually forgotten. Lately his oeuvre
is receiving more attention, and in particular his chamber music has been
rediscovered and enjoys some popularity among chamber ensembles. The British
label Chandos deserves praise for having released various discs with orchestral
and vocal music, as well as chamber and piano music. Its catalogue includes
three discs with masses and some other religious music, conducted by the late
Richard Hickox. Hummel's religious oeuvre was written in his capacity as the
EsterházyKonzertmeister. The masses are typical specimens of
the symphonic mass of the classical era, and stylistically close in particular
to Haydn's masses. Hickox recorded three of them, but not the Missa Solemnis
in C which is the main piece on the Brilliant Classics disc. This recording
fills a gap in the catalogue. It is a large-scale work which is scored for
four solo voices, four-part choir and an orchestra with a battery of wind
instruments, including four horns, two trumpets and one trombone, plus timpani.
The brass play an important role in the mass, in particular in creating strong
dynamic contrasts. There are some quite effective crescendi, for instance
in the Credo. But this section also contains some rather introspective passages,
like the 'Et incarnatus'. The soloists play no part in the three first sections.
The Sanctus, on the other hand, begins with a solo for the soprano, who is
then joined successively by alto, tenor and bass. The 'Pleni sunt coeli' is
set for the full choir, and in the Hosanna the soloists return. The Benedictus
is shared by soloists and choir.
The Te Deum in D bears the inscription "to celebrate the peace", and
is dated 1 January 1806. It may be concluded that it was written on the occasion
of the Treaty of Pressburg between France and Austria, which was the outcome
of the battle of Austerlitz in which Napoleon had beaten Austria. Hummel's
setting has the exuberant character of any setting of this text. It starts
with trumpets and timpani, and the instrumental introduction ends with a crescendo
after which the choir enters. 'Te ergo quaesumus' is one of the few restrained
passages. The second one is 'Miserere nostri' which begins with a phrase for
choir a cappella.
The disc ends with an offertorio to be sung between the Credo and the Sanctus
of the Mass. It consists of two sections: the first is a solo for soprano,
the second a duet of soprano and choir. Although the booklet includes the
texts of the Mass and the Te Deum, the lyrics of this offertorio - the least-known
text - are omitted. So for the convenience of those who would like to purchase
this disc I include them here:
Alma virgo, mater Dei,
tu spes alta cordis mei,
cum coelesti tuo ardore
cor meum accende inflamma.
In aeternum jubilantes
decantemus Alleluia.
(Sublime Virgin, Mother of God, you most exalted hope of my heart, with your
celestial fire inspire and inflame my heart. Rejoicing in all eternity let
us sing for evermore: Alleluia.)
The recordings of Richard Hickox have already shown Hummel's sacred music
to be of fine quality. If you like the masses of Haydn you certainly will
appreciate those by Hummel. The choral and orchestral writing is splendid,
and that comes off very well in the performances by the Chorus Alea and the
orchestra Solamente Naturali. The only complaint is that the delivery of the
choir leaves something to be desired: the text is often hard to understand.
But it is probably not easy anyway because of the strong presence of the orchestra.
The latter's playing is impressive, in particular that of the brass. There
are two instrumental solo parts: the violin in the Sanctus of the Mass, and
the oboe in the Offertorio. They are beautifully played by Miloš Valent
and Eduard Wesly respectively. The vocal soloists are alright, but no more
than that. It is true that the solo parts are quite operatic in character
but that doesn't justify the vibrato of, in particular, the soprano and the
contralto. The balance between the soprano and the choir in the second section
of the offertorio is surprisingly good.
I have greatly enjoyed this recording. Didier Talpain - who also wrote the
liner-notes - has a fine sense of Hummel's idiom, and his ensembles are fully
capable of bring out the many qualities of his oeuvre. I would like them to
record more of his religious music.
Johan van Veen
http://www.musica-dei-donum.org
https://twitter.com/johanvanveen
Hummel's splendid choral and orchestral writing comes off very well here.