Toccata
Telemann: Harmonischer Gottes-Dienst Vol 1 / Bergen Barokk
$20.99
Only 3 left
Details
- Composer
- TELEMANN, GEORG PHILIPP
- Artist
- Bergen Barokk, Julsrud, Thorsen, Boysen, Luolajan-Mikkola, Sveen
- Format
- CD
- Label
- Toccata
- Released
- Sep 12, 2006
- Catalog #
- TOCC0037
- UPC
- 5060113440372
About
This is an issue of considerable potential significance, the opening installment in what is planned as a complete recording of Telemann’s 1725/26 Harmonischer Gottes-Dienst, the first integral cycle of church cantatas for the liturgical year ever published. Ever the astute self-publicist, Telemann had first announced in the Hamburg press plans to publish a cycle of cantatas as early as 1723, but the late delivery of the texts by the poet, Pastor Michael Brandenburg, forced Telemann to turn to a new cycle, Harmonischer Gottes-Dienst. For this, he sought the help of various poets, but in the end employed texts that were mostly the work of a young Hamburg writer, Arnold Wilckens, who based them largely on the Epistle for the day.
Planned more with domestic than church use in mind, the 72 cantatas are chamber works scored for a single voice, an obbligato instrument (specified with characteristic pragmatism by the composer as “a violin, or oboe, or flute, or recorder”), and continuo. The earliest cantatas of the cycle, sold by subscription, were ready by the end of 1725, in time for the issue of the first in the cycle, the cantata for New Year’s Day. Numerous reprints and the number of published copies still extant testify to the success of the venture, a success that was doubtless responsible for Telemann issuing a second collection in 1731–32.
The first six cantatas to be issued in Toccata’s new series are all for high voice, and cover a wide range of the liturgical year. The claim that four cantatas (TWV 1:941, TWV 1:730, TWV 1:1502, and TWV 1:96) are first recordings is untrue, the first three being available in current recordings. Toccata has also got in a mess with their TWV numbering, giving Hemmet den Eifer the number of In gering (wrongly listed as TWV1:549) instead of its correct number, TWV1:730. Hemmet den Eifer is also erroneously listed on the cover as being for the First Sunday after Epiphany rather than the Fourth, although the booklet gets it right. Not an auspicious start for an ambitious series.
The form of each cantata is the same: opening and closing da capo arias framing a lengthy plain (or secco) recitative. The use of rhetorical gesture is a feature of the cantatas, either in obvious mimetic ways such as the graphic shakes on the word “regen” (“trembling”) in the opening aria of TWV1:1040, or with greater musical subtlety when the music of TWV 1: 1502’s first aria becomes disjointed to illustrate the impotence of mortal wisdom “to gain complete perfection.” Hemmet den Eifer starts in strikingly bold fashion with an aria demanding “Stifle your eagerness/banish revenge,” but the most dramatic music here is to be found in “Du bist verflucht” (“You are accursed”), the opening aria of TWV1:213 for the Fourth Sunday of Lent. Here a turbulent accompaniment underpins a colorfully declamatory text, the “voice of terror” inspiring a headlong chromatic descent in the voice, fearfully dogged by the recorder.
Mona Julsrud’s account of these six cantatas is generally very satisfying. She is a bright, agile soprano with a good technique that gets her around ornaments with ease, phrases musically, and sings with clarity and good diction. But on the debit side, the voice lacks distinctive color, and there’s a tendency for upper notes to sound “hooty.” She is well supported by the members of Bergen Barokk, although it might have provided greater interest had at least one of Telemann’s alternative obbligato instruments been employed rather than using a recorder throughout. Other than the solecisms noted above, the presentation is good, with a slipcase that includes the disc, and an informative 60-page booklet that deserves full credit for printing the relevant biblical text before each cantata. Good sound. Overall, this is a promising, if not perfect start to a project one wishes every success.
FANFARE: Brian Robins
Planned more with domestic than church use in mind, the 72 cantatas are chamber works scored for a single voice, an obbligato instrument (specified with characteristic pragmatism by the composer as “a violin, or oboe, or flute, or recorder”), and continuo. The earliest cantatas of the cycle, sold by subscription, were ready by the end of 1725, in time for the issue of the first in the cycle, the cantata for New Year’s Day. Numerous reprints and the number of published copies still extant testify to the success of the venture, a success that was doubtless responsible for Telemann issuing a second collection in 1731–32.
The first six cantatas to be issued in Toccata’s new series are all for high voice, and cover a wide range of the liturgical year. The claim that four cantatas (TWV 1:941, TWV 1:730, TWV 1:1502, and TWV 1:96) are first recordings is untrue, the first three being available in current recordings. Toccata has also got in a mess with their TWV numbering, giving Hemmet den Eifer the number of In gering (wrongly listed as TWV1:549) instead of its correct number, TWV1:730. Hemmet den Eifer is also erroneously listed on the cover as being for the First Sunday after Epiphany rather than the Fourth, although the booklet gets it right. Not an auspicious start for an ambitious series.
The form of each cantata is the same: opening and closing da capo arias framing a lengthy plain (or secco) recitative. The use of rhetorical gesture is a feature of the cantatas, either in obvious mimetic ways such as the graphic shakes on the word “regen” (“trembling”) in the opening aria of TWV1:1040, or with greater musical subtlety when the music of TWV 1: 1502’s first aria becomes disjointed to illustrate the impotence of mortal wisdom “to gain complete perfection.” Hemmet den Eifer starts in strikingly bold fashion with an aria demanding “Stifle your eagerness/banish revenge,” but the most dramatic music here is to be found in “Du bist verflucht” (“You are accursed”), the opening aria of TWV1:213 for the Fourth Sunday of Lent. Here a turbulent accompaniment underpins a colorfully declamatory text, the “voice of terror” inspiring a headlong chromatic descent in the voice, fearfully dogged by the recorder.
Mona Julsrud’s account of these six cantatas is generally very satisfying. She is a bright, agile soprano with a good technique that gets her around ornaments with ease, phrases musically, and sings with clarity and good diction. But on the debit side, the voice lacks distinctive color, and there’s a tendency for upper notes to sound “hooty.” She is well supported by the members of Bergen Barokk, although it might have provided greater interest had at least one of Telemann’s alternative obbligato instruments been employed rather than using a recorder throughout. Other than the solecisms noted above, the presentation is good, with a slipcase that includes the disc, and an informative 60-page booklet that deserves full credit for printing the relevant biblical text before each cantata. Good sound. Overall, this is a promising, if not perfect start to a project one wishes every success.
FANFARE: Brian Robins
Tracklist 18 tracks
-
1 Aria: Lauter Wonne, lauter Freude 04:21
- Track
- 1
- Title
- Aria: Lauter Wonne, lauter Freude
- Duration
- 04:21
- Composer
- Georg Philipp Telemann
- Ensemble
- Bergen Baroque
-
2 Recitative: Dort labet sich ein Kind der Eitelkeit 01:37
- Track
- 2
- Title
- Recitative: Dort labet sich ein Kind der Eitelkeit
- Duration
- 01:37
- Composer
- Georg Philipp Telemann
- Ensemble
- Bergen Baroque
-
3 Aria: Ein stetes Zagen, ein ewig's Nagen 04:23
- Track
- 3
- Title
- Aria: Ein stetes Zagen, ein ewig's Nagen
- Duration
- 04:23
- Composer
- Georg Philipp Telemann
- Ensemble
- Bergen Baroque
-
4 Aria: In gering- und rauhen Schalen 04:52
- Track
- 4
- Title
- Aria: In gering- und rauhen Schalen
- Duration
- 04:52
- Composer
- Georg Philipp Telemann
- Ensemble
- Bergen Baroque
-
5 Recitative: O Eitelkeit, du kluger Sterblicher 02:58
- Track
- 5
- Title
- Recitative: O Eitelkeit, du kluger Sterblicher
- Duration
- 02:58
- Composer
- Georg Philipp Telemann
- Ensemble
- Bergen Baroque
-
6 Aria: Nicht uns, nein, nein, nur dir allein 04:29
- Track
- 6
- Title
- Aria: Nicht uns, nein, nein, nur dir allein
- Duration
- 04:29
- Composer
- Georg Philipp Telemann
- Ensemble
- Bergen Baroque
-
7 Aria: Hemmet den Eifer, verbannet die Rache 04:08
- Track
- 7
- Title
- Aria: Hemmet den Eifer, verbannet die Rache
- Duration
- 04:08
- Composer
- Georg Philipp Telemann
- Ensemble
- Bergen Baroque
-
8 Recitative: Was heisst, du sollst nicht ehebrechen 01:18
- Track
- 8
- Title
- Recitative: Was heisst, du sollst nicht ehebrechen
- Duration
- 01:18
- Composer
- Georg Philipp Telemann
- Ensemble
- Bergen Baroque
-
9 Aria: Ja, ja, ich will den Nachsten lieben 04:44
- Track
- 9
- Title
- Aria: Ja, ja, ich will den Nachsten lieben
- Duration
- 04:44
- Composer
- Georg Philipp Telemann
- Ensemble
- Bergen Baroque
-
10 Aria: Seele, lerne dich erkennen! 04:19
- Track
- 10
- Title
- Aria: Seele, lerne dich erkennen!
- Duration
- 04:19
- Composer
- Georg Philipp Telemann
- Ensemble
- Bergen Baroque
-
11 Recitative: Ein Vogelchen, dem noch die Glieder 02:10
- Track
- 11
- Title
- Recitative: Ein Vogelchen, dem noch die Glieder
- Duration
- 02:10
- Composer
- Georg Philipp Telemann
- Ensemble
- Bergen Baroque
-
12 Aria: So will ich dich mit Freuden kussen 03:47
- Track
- 12
- Title
- Aria: So will ich dich mit Freuden kussen
- Duration
- 03:47
- Composer
- Georg Philipp Telemann
- Ensemble
- Bergen Baroque
-
13 Aria: Du bist verflucht, o Schreckensstimme 02:34
- Track
- 13
- Title
- Aria: Du bist verflucht, o Schreckensstimme
- Duration
- 02:34
- Composer
- Georg Philipp Telemann
- Ensemble
- Bergen Baroque
-
14 Recitative: So ist's: Seitdem bei Edens Baum des ersten Menschen erste Sunde 03:20
- Track
- 14
- Title
- Recitative: So ist's: Seitdem bei Edens Baum des ersten Menschen erste Sunde
- Duration
- 03:20
- Composer
- Georg Philipp Telemann
- Ensemble
- Bergen Baroque
-
15 Aria: Frohlocket, ihr seligen Kinder der Freien! 03:31
- Track
- 15
- Title
- Aria: Frohlocket, ihr seligen Kinder der Freien!
- Duration
- 03:31
- Composer
- Georg Philipp Telemann
- Ensemble
- Bergen Baroque
-
16 Aria: Auf ehernen Mauern, auf marmornen Grunden 06:34
- Track
- 16
- Title
- Aria: Auf ehernen Mauern, auf marmornen Grunden
- Duration
- 06:34
- Composer
- Georg Philipp Telemann
- Ensemble
- Bergen Baroque
-
17 Recitative: So lange noch der Unbestand den Schuchternen 01:46
- Track
- 17
- Title
- Recitative: So lange noch der Unbestand den Schuchternen
- Duration
- 01:46
- Composer
- Georg Philipp Telemann
- Ensemble
- Bergen Baroque
-
18 Aria: Ja, ja, wiederholt nur eure Tucke? 05:52
- Track
- 18
- Title
- Aria: Ja, ja, wiederholt nur eure Tucke?
- Duration
- 05:52
- Composer
- Georg Philipp Telemann
- Ensemble
- Bergen Baroque