Carl Philipp Emanuel BACH (1714 - 1788)
Erwacht zum neuen Leben - Oden/Sacred Songs
Die Ehre Gottes aus der Natur (Wq 194,18 / H 686,18) [3:27]
Betrachtung des Todes (Wq 194,26 / H 686,26) [3:33]
Die Zufriedenheit in Gott (Wq 195,6 / H 696,6) [2:18]
Prüfung am Abend (Wq 194,7 / H 686,7) [3:38]
Osterlied (Wq 194,10 / H 686,10) [1:55]
Der Unbeständige (Wq 202/C,1 / H 709) [4:03]
Der 8. Psalm (Wq 196,4 / H 733,4) [5:56]
Der 23. Psalm (Wq 196,8 / H 733,8) [2:27]
Der 86. Psalm (Wq 196,19 / H 733,19) [2:36]
Der 67. Psalm (Wq 196,18 / H 733,18) [4:20]
Das Privilegium (Wq 202/B,1 / H 693) [2:36]
Der Tag des Weltgerichts (Wq 197,13 / H 749,13) [3:01]
Der Frühling (Wq 197,14 / H 749,14) [3:05]
Die Fortdauer der Lehre Jesu (Wq 197,21 / H 749,21) [2:29]
Andenken an den Tod (Wq 198,12 / H 752,12) [4:34]
Die Küsse (Wq 199,4 / H 673) [2:56]
Belinde (Wq 202/B,3 / H 695) [1:38]
Julian Redlin (bass), Jörn Boysen (harpsichord)
rec. 27-30 June 2011, St. Katharinenkirche, Kirchbarkau, Germany. DDD
BRILLIANT CLASSICS 94309 [55:59]
Songs for voice and keyboard are an important part of today's music scene
and German songs of the 19th century are frequently performed and recorded.
The German word Klavierlied is often used for the whole genre.
The songs of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach are an important link in the history
of the Klavierlied in Germany. In his time attempts were made to revive
the solo song. The first half of the 17th century was its first prime, partly
thanks to Martin Oppitz whose Buch von der Deutschen Poeterey led to
a reform of German poetry. Towards the end of the century the genre had declined,
mainly due to the increasing popularity of the Italian-style solo cantata.
In the first decades after the turn of the century composers looked down at
the genre of the solo song. Things started to change in the 1730s. The ideal
of music being 'simple' and 'natural' constituted the breeding ground for
the solo song - generally called Ode.
The first collections of such songs were criticized for their quality, for
instance by Johann Mattheson. The most important collection of solo songs
was published in 1741 by Georg Philipp Telemann, the Vier und zwanzig,
theils ernsthaften, theils scherzenden, Oden (24 Odes, partly serious,
partly playful). He laid down the ideals for such songs: they should have
"easy melodies comfortable for almost every throat" and operatic embellishments
should be avoided. He used mainly texts by contemporary poets which dealt
with subjects like love, wine and nature. Most of them reflect the anacreontic
ideals. 'Pleasure' was the goal of life, which meant first and foremost 'a
quiet life', free from pain, fear and obsessions.
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach represented the next stage in the development of
the solo song. He started to compose them when he was still active as a keyboard
player at the court of Frederick the Great. These still express the anacreontic
ideals. Songs like Belinde, Die Küsse and Das Privilegium
fall into this category. The concept of simplicity meant that songs had to
be written in such a manner that they could be sung without accompaniment.
On this disc Der Unbeständige is performed without the harpsichord.
Soon Bach felt the need to write more serious songs, and the largest part
of his oeuvre in this department comprises those of a religious or moralistic
character. In these the accompaniments - not in the form of a basso continuo,
but written-out keyboard parts - were more sophisticated. They were used to
depict the content, and they could even be played as independent pieces, without
voice. The first result of his attempts were the Geistliche Oden und Lieder
of 1757, on texts of Christian Fürchtegott Gellert (1715-1769). From
this collection songs like Die Ehre Gottes aus der Natur, Betrachtung des
Todes and Prüfung am Abend are taken.
Another important collection was published in 1774, when Bach was director
of music in Hamburg. It contained settings of the rhymed translations of a
number of Psalms by Johann Andreas Cramer (1723-1788), preacher at the court
in Copenhagen, and friend of the German poet Friedrich Gottlob Klopstock.
Most Psalms are strophic, and that limited the possibilities of depicting
content, which Bach regretted. Some Psalms gave him more freedom, though:
Psalm 8 (Der 8. Psalm) opens with two 'choruses', which are followed
by three stanzas put into the mouth of 'the prophet', and then the Psalm closes
with a repeat of the opening chorus. In Psalm 67 (Der 67. Psalm) every
stanza is followed by a chorus, which takes the role of a refrain.
The last two collections appeared in 1780 and 1781, on texts by Christoph
Christian Sturm (1740-1786), pastor of St Peter's in Hamburg. From these collections
songs like Der Frühling (Spring), an ode to God's power in nature,
Andenken an den Tod (Thoughts of death) and Der Tag des Weltgerichts
(Judgment Day) have been selected. In some of them Bach vividly illustrates
the text in the keyboard part.
The songs by Carl Philipp Emanuel were quite successful, and he arranged several
of them for choir and keyboard or orchestra. In today’s world they rarely
appear in song recitals. The interest in the German solo song seems to start
with Mozart. Bach's songs deserve much more attention. Therefore this disc
is to be welcomed, especially as only a small number are also included in
the three main recordings of Bach's songs, all released by CPO (references
at the bottom of this review). That said, I am not that impressed by these
performances.
The choice of the harpsichord is certainly possible, in particular in the
songs from the 1750s, but in the later items a fortepiano would have been
more plausible. My main problem is with the vocal interpretation. The secular
pieces come off best; the two last items are particularly well sung (Die
Küsse, Belinde). Many of the sacred pieces lack depth, and
that struck me especially when I made comparison with the CPO recordings.
Dorothee Mields and Ludger Rémy are superior in Prüfung am
Abend, which according to the composer's indication should be sung slowly.
Julian Redlin sings it slowly - although faster than Mields - but he does
too little with the text. On long notes he fails to vary his singing through
dynamics or vibrato as an ornament. In general his performances are short
on dynamic shading. The text of Andenken an den Tod is much better
expressed by Klaus Mertens than by Redlin. In various songs the tempi are
too fast, for instance in Die Zufriedenheit in Gott which makes the
result rather superficial.
The main interest of this disc is that it brings the solo songs of Carl Philipp
Emanuel Bach to the attention of those who are not familiar with them. It
is a pity, though, that the booklet includes the lyrics but omits English
translations. It also needs to be noticed -which is not mentioned in the booklet
- that a number of the songs are not performed complete. This is a regrettable
habit, unfortunately also followed in the CPO recordings. No singer would
ever skip stanzas from a Schubert song. Why should songs like these be treated
differently?
For further listening these CPO productions are recommendable:
- Telemann: Odes (1741) - Klaus Mertens and Ludger Rémy (999 816-2;
reviewed here)
- CPhE Bach: Sacred Songs after Christoph Christian Sturm - Klaus Mertens,
Ludger Rémy (999 708-2)
- CPhE Bach: Lieder & Oden - Klaus Mertens, Ludger Rémy (999 549-2)
- CPhE Bach: Gellert Oden - Dorothee Mields, Ludger Rémy (777 061-2;
reviewed here)
Johan van Veen
http://www.musica-dei-donum.org
https://twitter.com/johanvanveen
The main interest of this disc is that it brings the solo songs by Carl Philipp
Emanuel Bach to the attention of those who are not familiar with them.