A discovery
Carl Heinrich Graun's Passion cantata "The Death of Jesus" in Bad Dürkheim
By Roland Happersberger
Bad Dürkheim. Be sure was worth listening to the performance of the great Passion cantata "The Death of Jesus" by Carl Heinrich Graun by Dürkheimer castle church choir, an impeccable quartet of soloists and the Heidelberg cantata orchestra, not to mention Stefan Göttelmann at the organ, on Sunday at the church door. Church music director Jürgen E. Müller kept all the reins and created an exciting, well-sounding and never boring performance - although the work will last at least a half hour
In a way, leads Graun's oratorio in almost uncharted musical territory, the composer was court musician to Frederick II.. since and with the Prussian king Rheinberger Teenage years combined. "The death of Jesus" in 1755 in the former Berlin Cathedral was first performed, five years after Bach's death, a year before Mozart's birth, and while the style of the chants and has some in the old masters of polyphonic style composed choral music not far removed from Bach, breathe . solo singing a very different spirit that today's music lover may have encountered most likely in the early Italian Mozart operas This is no coincidence: Graun was committed to the latest Italian opera tendencies here prevail cheerful melody bliss and a certain course, to the conventional similarity tending sentimentality that. the libretto is also given.
Seine Reime, freie, mit Betrachtungen angereicherte Nacherzählungen der biblischen Passionsberichte, stammen von Carl Wilhelm Ramler, einem Literaturpapst jener Übergangsepoche, und neben einer ziemlich indezenten Gefühligkeit, mit der sie Jesu Leiden gleichsam auf die Pelle rücken, transportieren sie ein ziemlich kaltes Tugend-Raisonnement und ein ganz eigentümlich verwässertes Gottesbild. Man denkt unmittelbar an Goethes Satire auf die kräftig modernisierende Bibelübersetzung des auch am Dürkheimer Fürstenhof wirkenden dubiosen Theologen Carl Friedrich Bahrdt, in welcher dieser den unvermutet zu Besuch kommenden vier Evangelisten eröffnet, sie müssten erst mal ihre unmodernen Bärte scheren und ihre antiken Coats replaced by modern suits before he could go with them in society.
Some of that is also in this oratorio, especially in the epilogue contains nevertheless some absolute musical gems. It begins simply, with a simple and melodious set chorale stanza to the tune of "O bleeding head wounds." The actual opening chorus is a right in itself conventional scale, but emotionally charged choral fugue, the miller at the pace, probably because of this emotional content ( "His breath is weak") takes quite broad. This gives the choir an opportunity to execute coloratura without haste extremely accurate and euphonious, and subsequently developed is an immensely impressive billowing choral sound face, balanced in the men's and women's voices to each other contrasts, her voice very well. The momentum is balanced delicious, as is the sound relationship with the organist and orchestra, the confident, beautiful sound and work together in tick-free communication - all the qualities that have lasted to the end.
The soprano Elsbeth Reuter fell at the first of the now following recitative-aria pairs, which crafted recitative it appealing, but somewhat neutral, while in the next, after this beginning surprisingly peppy and bright onset of da capo aria - with contrast-gloomy Mittelteil - deren ungemein opernhaften Charakter prachtvoll auskostete. Antonietta Jana, die das zweite derartige Paar sang, schien sich in den Ausdrucksgehalt der Rezitative stärker vertieft zu haben, sie gestaltete wunderbar, brachte in der Arie schöne, schwungvoill tänzelnde Koloraturen. Graun liefert auch hier eine Musik, wie man sie in einem Passionswerk nicht eigentlich vermuten würde.
Noch mehr tat der leider nur an einer Stelle ausgiebiger beschäftigte Tenor Thomas Jakobs, der erst vor einer Woche in Lambrecht in Mendelssohns „Lobgesang" sehr für sich eingenommen hatte: Ungemein agil detailreich gestaltend gab er seiner Partie ungeheure Spannung. Dass dabei gewissermaßen sein Körper sang, is not a mannerism, but the expression of the fact that the composition extremely mobile, the most contradictory emotions are very close together and turn constantly. His equally streamlined, powerful, smooth voice was effortlessly through to the orchestral sound, he sang the recitative is growing very fast, and did it quite vocally, that while a few details not quite right, did nothing to cause. And the aria was simply intoxicating.
Thomas Herberich, the best bass depth, made it quite differently. Jacob was at all blurring motion, stood firm as a tree Herberich sang, consider safe, cost the emotions from a very different way. His text negotiated of tempests, he thundered mightily, and the sun's rays, which he let shine magnificently. Timbre and he filled the nave, its a very different vocal means of expression just different, but just as clever as its onset choirmaster. Not least of these - especially in the common phrases tamed - different personal styles of the soloists, the performance lived to a good deal. takes
After Herberichs Monumentalespressivo the immensely as it were objective, every time and personal style exclusive big double fugue "Christ has left us an example" absolutely striking off, the choir brings them to quickly vorwärtsdrängender enthralling appeal. Remains to re-emphasize some beautiful at the end, about Herberichs almost passionately argued, and musically exciting Accompagnato "will rise Seraphim" - also in the orchestra, especially - and the beautiful penultimate sentence alone, because of him deserves Graun's oratorio, not to be forgotten
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POESCHH
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