I came to this disc without any expectations and was
taken aback by how much I enjoyed it. As you might guess from
the title, the disc’s idea is to consider how German composers
have approached the words and, more importantly, the sentiment
of the text of the Mass. Nearly all the tracks are sung in German
and they take settings of the mass text and juxtapose them with
motets which express similar ideas. The backbone is Schubert’s
German Mass D872. The movements are spread around the disc and
each is juxtaposed with at least one setting of a similar text,
often one by a 19th Century composer and one by a 20th or 21st
century composer. Hence when we get to the Gloria section of
the Mass we get Schubert’s Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe
followed by Haputmann’s setting of the actual Mass text
and Schlenker’s Gott wohnt in einem Lichte.
Almost everything on this disc was completely new to me, but
I enjoyed every track. The Schubert movements, in particularly,
are a real delight. Each movement is warm and appealing, with
a beautiful simplicity reminiscent of folk music. The first
track, for example, is a beautiful hymn tune about the soul
laden down with guilt and pain. It’s strophic and direct,
but it’s a cracking tune, wonderfully harmonised and beautifully
sung. There is something simple, whimsical, even homely about
it, which melted my heart and made me feel actually rather moved.
His “Gloria” (track 5) is upbeat and sunny, entirely
lacking in the bombast which often comes with this part of the
setting. The “Credo” (track 8) is also straightforward
and direct.
The numbers by well known composers are a mixture of the unsophisticated
and the slightly bizarre. Cornelius’ Mitten wir in
Leben sind is beautiful in its appeal, and Praetorius’
hymn is as direct and engaging as his famous Christmas settings,
though I found Saint-Saëns’ Veni Creator Spiritus
a little ponderous and self-important. The more modern movements
are also very appealing. Paul Heller’s Kyrie motet
begins with plainchant then moves into more harmonically adventurous
mode, which then alternates with plainsong a few more times.
Schlenker’s Gott wohnt in einem lichter is slow
and mysterious, and the Distler settings are brief and closer
to dissonance, but they have a spiritual and emotional appeal
that is very direct. Biller’s setting of Verleih uns
Frieden makes for a haunting if not especially conclusive
end to the disc.
Ensemble Nobiles are five young singers who sang together in
the famous Leipzig Thomanerchor for nine years. The blend of
their voices is sensational, and they are captured up close
and warm so that the listener feels as though he is right in
the midst of them. Their close brand of harmony put me in mind
of the King’s Singers, and I found listening to them a
welcoming treat.
This is definitely worth exploring, then, not just for its thoughtful
programming but also for anyone who is fond of the sound of
a male choir. The packaging contains full sung texts and translations.
Simon Thompson
Disc contents
Franz SCHUBERT
Deutsche Messe (German Mass) 4:30
Paul HELLER Kyrie eleison,
for chorus 6:05
Kurt THOMAS Mitten wir im
Leben sind, for chorus 5:12
Peter CORNELIUS Trauerchöre
(4) for male chorus, Op 9 6:07
Franz SCHUBERT Deutsche
Messe (German Mass) 1:48
Moritz HAUPTMANN Ehre sei
Gott in der Höhe, for chorus 3:53
Manfred SCHLENKER Gott wohnt
in einem Lichte, for chorus 6:36
Franz SCHUBERT Deutsche
Messe (German Mass) 3:54
Camille SAINT-SAËNS
Veni Creator Spiritus, motet for chorus 5:17
Hugo DISTLER Wir glauben
an Gott, den Vater, for chorus 2:05
Franz SCHUBERT Deutsche
Messe (German Mass) 1:54
Hugo DISTLER
Herr, schicke, was du wilt, for chorus 2:11
Franz SCHUBERT Deutsche
Messe (German Mass) 2:29
Erhard MAUERSBERGER Wessobrunner
Gebet, for chorus 2:36
Franz SCHUBERT Deutsche
Messe (German Mass) 1:59
Franz SCHUBERT Deutsche
Messe (German Mass) 2:52
Hugo DISTLER O Mensch, bewein
dein Sünde groß, for chorus 3:24
Michael PRAETORIUS Aus tiefer
Not schrei ich zu dir a 8 (Musae Sioniae I, 1605), motet 2:01
Franz SCHUBERT
Deutsche Messe (German Mass) 1:39
Georg Christoph BILLER Verleih
uns Frieden gnädiglich, for chorus 2:47
|
Support
us financially by purchasing this disc from:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ensemble Nobiles (Paul Heller (tenor); Christian Pohlers (tenor);
Felix Hübner (bass); Lucas Heller (bass); Lukas Lomtscher (bass))
