Johann Hermann SCHEIN (1586 - 1630)
Israelsbrunnlein (1623) [94.23]
Dresdner Kammerchor/Hans-Christoph Rademann
rec. Emmauskirche, Dresden, 22-27 March 2000; Konzertsaal der Hochschule fur
Musik, Dresden, 2-4 March 2012
CARUS 83.350 [47.07 + 47.25]
Schein was one of Bach’s predecessors as cantor at the Thomasschule
in Leipzig. He had been a boy chorister in Dresden and trained at Leipzig
University, working in Weimar before settling in Leipzig. He was a friend
of Heinrich Schutz, but unlike Schutz he never made the journey to Italy.
That being said, he managed to absorb the Italian madrigal style to a remarkable
degree. He wrote alternating collections of sacred and secular music with
the intention of providing music which can be used in worship and in social
gatherings.
His most spectacular work is Israelsbrunnlein (Israel’s Fountain),
a collection of 26 motets written to German Biblical texts but in the Italian
madrigal style. The short texts are taken from the Psalms (the fountain of
the title) and other books in the Old Testament. The words are not liturgical
and the motets seem to have served no liturgical function. In the motets Schein
uses Italianate techniques of word-painting to develop the expressivity of
the music, but using German texts and accentuation.
The purpose of these pieces is debatable. There is a suggestion that they
were intended for special occasions and academic or civic functions. It is
doubtful if the boys of the Thomanerchor would have been capable of coping
with the treble and alto vocal parts, though we should not forget that boys’
voices then broke rather later. Even if this music was performed in a liturgical
context, in style it was as easily capable of being sung in a domestic setting.
We should consider the music in the context of the body of vocal chamber music
being developed by composers in the 17th century, with an emphasis
on sacred texts as well as secular. Schein’s music would bring the madrigal
style of Italy into a devout Lutheran household.
These performances, were recorded in two sessions over ten years apart. It
is a testament to performers and recording engineers that the different tracks
do not stand out too much, but create more of a unified whole. The choir used
consists of 22 people in 2000 and 16 in 2012 with a continuo group of lute/theorbo,
cello and organ. Though, once you know that the tracks were recorded at different
times, it is rather easy to become obsessive about spotting differences.
The vocal performances are excellent technically, with fine control from the
choir and a nice sense of line and blend. There is good attention to the words
so that the syllables dance in the way that madrigalian writing should. That
said, I can’t help feeling that Hans-Christoph Rademann’s speeds
are rather too stately. It is a testament to the choir’s feeling for
the music that they make it work at a steady pace.
The other problem that I have is the size of the performing group. The tradition
in the performance of the Lutheran motet was generally to have one singer
per part. This is the structure on which Bach’s music is based and the
cause of all the discussion about the size of the choir in his pieces. If
you consider these pieces as sacred madrigals, to be performed in a domestic
setting, then the number of voices is still too big.
These performances are fine, as far as they go and you could well be perfectly
happy with them. The motets are rather episodic in nature and the programme
does not really benefit from being played at one sitting. This is a collection
to dip in an out of and, if you do that, then I found that the specific drawbacks
that I mentioned above rather diminish.
The CD booklet includes articles about Schein and his music along with texts
and translations.
Schein’s work is rather under-represented on disc and the Dresdner Kammerchor
are to be congratulated for managing, finally, to complete their collection
of the composer’s masterwork and for allowing us to hear it in performances
of great charm.
Robert Hugill
Performances of great charm.