J.C.F. Bach: Pygmalion, Die Amerikanerin, Etc / Max, Et Al
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- Capriccio
- April 28, 2009
J. C. F. BACH Pygmalion. 1 Die Amerikanerin. 2 Ino 2 • Hermann Max, cond; Barbara Schlick (sop); 2 Harry van der Kamp (bs); 1 Das Kleine Konzert (period instruments) • CAPRICCIO 5015 (73:23 Text and Translation)
Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach was the eldest surviving son of Johann Sebastian Bach and his second wife, Anna Magdalena. In 1750, at only 17 years of age, he accepted an appointment as a chamber musician to the cultivated court of Count Wilhelm of Schaumburg-Lippe in Bückeburg, where he remained until his death in 1795. In 1759, he was promoted to concertmaster, which made him director of the court music. The Count’s musical taste tended to the Italian style, to which Friedrich Bach had to adapt the north German style he had learned from his father. The music on this disc sounds much like the early Classical vocal music of his brother Johann Christian and of the early Mozart.
The three solo cantatas on this disc, also referred to as “monodramas,” are vocally attractive and well constructed. Bach’s response to the dramatic opportunities provided in two of the cantatas makes me wonder what he would have done with an operatic text. Two of these works present familiar stories. In Pygmalion , the sculptor carves an image in the shape of his sister (a theme ripe for modern psychoanalysts) that he begs Venus to bring to life, which request is eventually granted. The centerpiece of the work is an 11-minute movement combining recitative, accompanied recitative, and arioso as Pygmalion entreats and curses the goddess, fears the consequences as the ground shakes and lightening flashes, and imagines his wish has been granted. Harry van der Kamp is equal to the musical and dramatic challenges of the work, with a beautiful voice strong throughout its range.
Der Amerikanerin has nothing whatsoever to do with the United States. Originally entitled A Moor’s Song , it is described as a “lyric picture” and is a song of longing for a lost maiden named Saide. It was published in 1776 with the title The American Girl , perhaps in tribute to the American colonies’ declaration of independence from Britain. Although not dramatic, it contains an agreeable flow of lovely Italianate melody. Ino , on the other hand, returns to the dramatic realm of Pygmalion . Ino, the sister of Semele, has fled from her husband Athamas, who has been driven mad by Hera as part of her revenge on the family of Semele for Semele’s affair with Zeus. Athamas has killed one of the couple’s sons and is seeking to kill the other. Ino, driven to a cliff, jumps into the sea, where she is saved by Poseidon and she and her son are turned into sea gods. Barbara Schlick sings both cantatas with technical aplomb, but is less alive to the dramatic possibilities of Ino than she could be.
Hermann Max and Das Kleine Konzert, familiar from many recordings, contribute their usual excellent services. This reissued recording, offered at midprice, is well worth acquiring.
FANFARE: Ron Salemi
Product Description:
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Release Date: April 28, 2009
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UPC: 845221050157
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Catalog Number: C5015
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Label: Capriccio
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Number of Discs: 1
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Composer: J.C.F., Bach
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Performer: Schlick, Van Der Kamp, Max, Das Kleine Konzert