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Christmas in Baroque Germany

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Christmas in Baroque Germany CHRISTMAS IN BAROQUE GERMANY FRIDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2019 7:30 PM SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2019 2:30 PM & 7:30 PM First Church in Cambridge, Congregational CHRISTMAS IN BAROQUE GERMANY CHRISTMAS MUSIC FROM BAROQUE GERMANY ADVENT Megan Chartrand Today’s program of early Baroque German theran church (such as the Advent hymn Con- Sonja Tengblad Christmas music features works by Michael ditor alme siderum and the canticle Magnificat), Teresa Wakim Giovanni Battista Grillo (d. 1622) soprano Sonata prima a 7 (Sacri concentus ac symphoniae, 1618) Praetorius, a central figure in the transmission psalmody (such as the motet Attollite portae on Jennifer Ashe Michael Praetorius (1571-1621) of the new Italian styles to German lands in the verses from Psalm 24), and Latin and German Pamala Dellal early years of the seventeenth century. Born on songs (Puer natus, In dulci jubilo and Singet und Martin Near Three settings ofNun komm, der Heiden Heiland, a 4, a 6 & a 8 alto (Musae Sioniae II & V) February 15, 1571, in Creutzberg (not far from klinget); many of these appear in a nine-volume Michael Barrett Eisenach, where Johann Sebastian Bach would series entitled Musae Sioniae or “The Muses of Jason McStoots Pierre-Francisque Caroubel be born a century later), Praetorius entered the Sion” for the nine choirs of angels or heavenly Mark Sprinkle Passameze pour les cornetz (ed. Praetorius, Terpsichore, 1612) tenor Praetorius service of the Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel muses. He published three volumes of an ency- Paul Guttry in 1595 as an organist, becoming court chap- clopedia entitled Syntagma musicum (“A Musi- David McFerrin Conditor alme siderum (Hymnodia Sionia, 1611) bass Praetorius el-master in 1604. In the mid-1610s he spent cal Treatise”). A large number of Praetorius’s Scott Metcalfe Attollite portae capita vestra several years at the court of the Elector of Sax- works are lost or were never finished, including Julie Andrijeski violin ony, mostly in Dresden, where he encountered a fourth book of Syntagma and all but one book, Johann Hermann Schein (1586-1630) and absorbed the latest music from Italy, in- Terpsichore (named for the muse of dance), of Anna Griffis Padouana, Gagliarda & Courente (Suite no. 13, Banchetto musicale, 1617) Laura Jeppesen cluding works by Claudio Monteverdi, Andrea a projected nine-volume set of secular music. viola Praetorius Magnificat super Angelos ad pastores (Megalynodia Sionia, 1611) and Giovanni Gabrieli, Giulio Caccini, Luca Ever fond of learned and allusive titles, Praeto- Emily Walhout bass violin Marenzio, and many others, and he studied rius dubbed a later series Polyhymnia after the Eric Milnes organ — intermission — treatises on the practice of basso continuo by muse of sacred poetry and hymns; a catalogue Charles Weaver Agostino Agazzari and others. Although Prae- at the end of Syntagma musicum lists volumes theorbo & bass torius never traveled outside Germany, during (most unknown today) called Polyhymnia he- CHRISTMAS the course of his career he visited numerous roica (Heroic Polyhymnia), Polyhymnia exer- DARK HORSE CONSORT Giovanni Gabrieli (c. 1555-1612) cities and courts in German lands, meeting and citatrix (practicing), Polyhymnia jubilaea (ju- sometimes working alongside the most famous bilant), Polyhymnia miscellenea, Polyhymnia Kiri Tollaksen Canzon XIV a 10 (Canzoni et sonate, 1615) Alexandra Opsahl German composers of his time, including Hi- eulogodoiaca (eucharistic), and more. cornetto Samuel Scheidt (1587-1654) eronymous Praetorius (no relation), Hans Leo Greg Ingles Duo seraphim Hassler, Heinrich Schütz, and Samuel Scheidt. Like his near-contemporary Monteverdi, Prae- Erik Schmalz Puer natus in Bethlehem Mack Ramsey He died on his fiftieth birthday in 1621. torius was trained in the polyphonic style of trombone Gelobet seystu, Jesu Christ (Cantiones sacrae, 1620) the sixteenth century—Monteverdi called it Praetorius was a largely self-taught musician the prima pratica—and remained a master of Giovanni Gabrieli Blue Heron is funded in part whose enormous surviving output includes traditional counterpoint even as he enthusi- by the Massachusetts Cultural Canzon primi toni a 10 (Sacrae symphoniae, 1597) over one thousand works based on Protestant astically embraced the new, text-driven style Council, a state agency. chorales, hymns adapted from Catholic tradi- that was developing south of the Alps—Mon- Blue Heron Praetorius 950 Watertown St., Suite 8 Es ist ein Roeß entsprungen (Musae Sioniae VI, 1609) tion (such as Nun komm der Heiden Heiland, teverdi’s seconda practica—and adopted, with West Newton, MA 02465 Puer natus in Bethlehem (Polyhymnia caduceatrix et panegyrica, 1619) Martin Luther’s verse adaptation of Veni re- considerable zest and imagination, the Italians’ (617) 960-7956 [email protected] In dulci jubilo (Musae Sioniae II, 1607) demptor gentium), the Latin liturgy of the Lu- proclivity for mixing instrumental forces with www.blueheron.org Singet und klinget (Puericinium, 1621) 2 3 vocal. He is very fond of alternating styles as a was performed in early 17th-century Germa- be heard and observed more effective- “In place of the sinfonia … one can quite suit- way of keeping his listeners (primarily Luther- ny. Praetorius concerns himself with the con- ly from a distance. In this way the en- ably use a fine and delicate pavan, mascarada, an congregants) engaged. In the Magnificat su- trast between soloists and the full ensemble, tire composition appears as if it had ballet, or a short madrigal that is pretty ardent, per Angelus ad pastores, for example, he sets the with instrumental and vocal color, and, always, been written for four separate choirs.… and attractive…. Instead of theritornello one even-numbered verses of the Latin Magnificat with balance and the proper expression of the may use a galliard, saltarello, courante, volta, or in five-voice counterpoint, basing his music on words—insisting that the text should always In all of these styles and methods the similarly happy canzonette …” a motet by the 16th-century master Orlando di be clearly audible and never obscured by the whole essence of the intended work lies Lasso (from his Sacrae cantiones quinque vocum instruments, which must play more softly than in the solo voices, whose parts must be Our remaining set is drawn from the Cantiones of 1582) whose text paraphrases Luke 2:10-11 the voices and should usually be positioned sung and enunciated clearly.… For this sacrae by the great organist Samuel Scheidt. Al- (“And the angel said unto them, Fear not; for, away from them. reason one must select the best singers though all three works are in eight parts, each behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, for these parts, ones who are not only employs its forces differently. The cheerfulGe - which shall be to all people. For unto you is In this style four boys must be posi- secure, dependable, and unconstrained, lobet seystu is scored the most conventionally, born this day in the city of David a savior, which tioned in four separate locations in the but who are also able to sing in the cur- pitting two identical SATB four-part choirs is Christ the Lord.”). The odd-numbered vers- church—opposite each other or wherev- rent new manner, with elegance and against each other in antiphonal exchange, es are replaced by stanzas of popular Christmas er it is convenient.… Each boy must sing good skill… whereas Puer natus in Bethlehem divides the songs in German and Latin. Another type of his part in a pure and lively manner with eight parts as unequally as possible, setting alternation may be observed in his Puer natus clear, distinct pronunciation and evenly We have followed his principles and prescrip- one soprano against seven voices in an exhila- in Bethlehem, which sets the song verse by verse articulated notes.… tions insofar as possible. rating, if brief, call-and-response. In Duo sera- in alternation with a choral ritornello, “Singet, phim Scheidt distributes his voices into higher jubiliret!” Each boy should also have an instrumen- No sonatas or canzonas by Praetorius survive, (SSAT) and lower (ATBB) choirs, but much of talist assigned to him. For instance, the although one of the projected volumes of sec- the work plays with combinations of two voic- A tireless pedagogue as well as composer, Prae- first boy might have a violin, the second a ular music was to contain some. In fact, the es (for “Duo seraphim”) and three (at “Tres torius provided detailed instructions as to the cornett, the third a violin as well, and the sonata remained almost exclusively an Italian sunt”), both between and within the choirs, myriad ways his music might be scored and fourth a recorder or transverse flute or phenomenon until the second half of the sev- reserving two-choir antiphonal writing for cli- how one ought to arrange the performers, es- even a sopranino recorder, which would enteenth century. Germans enjoyed dance mu- maxes. pecially in the later collections of large-scale not sound at all bad in the full ensemble sic by French composers, such as the Passameze concerted works for multiple vocal and instru- when played by a good player.… pour les cornetz by Pierre-Francisque Caroubel —Scott Metcalfe mental choirs, like Polyhymnia caduceatrix et published in Praetorius’s Terpsichore; and they panegyrica (“Festive and peace-bringing Poly- For variety, the placement of the en- also wrote their own, such as the suites in Jo- hymnia”) and Puericinium (“compositions for sembles in this and similar methods can hann Hermann Schein’s
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