Vivit! CHORAL WORKS by MAX REGER & RUDOLF TOBIAS
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Vivit! CHORAL WORKS BY MAX REGER & RUDOLF TOBIAS ESTONIAN PHILHARMONIC CHAMBER CHOIR DANIEL REUSS 2 he beginnings of professional composition in Estonia are largely associated with Rudolf Tobias T(1873–1918), who at the end of the 19th century was the first Estonian composer with a diploma in composition. Although the era of ethnic musical tales might be over, it is still interesting to explore how these ethnic and cultural labels are defined and ascribed to works and their composers. Rudolf Tobias has been regarded as both an Estonian and a German composer. The former is due primarily to his ethnic origin, whereas the latter is the result of the broader musical education, cultural space and role models that were the basis of his works. At the turn of the 19th and early 20th centuries, the central institution for educating Estonian musicians was the St. Petersburg Conservatory. Students initially studied organ there, and, from Tobias’s time onwards, composition as well. Tobias graduated from the conservatory in 1897 with a diploma in both organ and composition and worked as the church organist and conductor at the Estonian St. John’s Church in St. Petersburg from 1898 to 1904. A detail which suggests the importance of this position was the fact that at the beginning of the 20th century the city of St. Petersburg had the largest Estonian community in the world: around 50,000 Estonians, compared to the 40,000 living in Tallinn. Tobias’s first work for orchestra, which was also the first Estonian symphonic composition, was the overture Julius Caesar (1896), completed in St. Petersburg. Tobias also composed the first Estonian cantata (Johannes Damascenus [St. John of Damascus], 1897), piano concerto (Concertstück, 1897), oratorio (Des Jona Sendung [Jonah’s Mission], 1909) and string quartet (1899). His Estonian qualities are emphasised in the texts of several of his works, such as the ballade Of the Beautiful Air Maiden for soprano and orchestra, Kalevipoeg at the Gates of Hell for speaker and orchestra and the Fantasy on Estonian Folk Tunes for piano. Tobias is most strongly linked to Estonia through his work as a music critic and conductor in Tartu from 1904 to 1908. During that period, in addition to teaching music, he also performed as an organist and pianist and organised performances of various large-scale compositions. Even after moving to Germany at the end of 1908, he remained in contact with Estonian musicians and continued to be interested in Estonian contemporary music. The musical language of Tobias’s compositions belongs to a much broader, German cultural space, however. The fact that his main musical role models were Bach and Beethoven not only reflects his personal preferences but also the priorities of music education during that era. Thus, it is natural that Tobias’s music follows the classical-romantic tradition for the most part, although in some of his works 3 more modern impressionist and expressionist harmonies are also found. A further reason why Tobias could be considered a German composer is the fact that from 1908 he lived in Germany and, among other things, taught music theory at the Royal Academy of Music in Berlin. He also acquired German citizenship in 1914. The value of Tobias’s music is more important than the question of ethnicity. As a deeply religious person, sacred choral pieces make up a significant part of Tobias’s repertoire, and his thoughts on contemporary church and sacred music in general were also published. In the article “Andante religioso”, published in the German magazine Allgemeine Musikzeitung in August 1910, Tobias wrote1: “Mysterious strings invisibly connect aural art and the religious world and run between the superhuman and the mystical. All other art forms usually lack this transcendental ability, perhaps with the exclusion of poetry, however: how many verses, how many gusts of emotion are wasted by Dante when explaining empeiria by using the colourful facets of the history of the world. Modern musical artists lack the ability to be interested in everything transcendental, however, mostly they are unable to find material for the traditional forms of church music of the era. This is clearly reflected in the text choices.” Tobias found it unreasonable that only four main themes were considered appropriate for the texts of sacred music: humility, trust in God, praise and gratitude. In his opinion many more general secular topics, with examples from the Bible, were also suitable for musical settings. Tobias’s two most famous choral songs are “Eks teie tea” [Know Ye Not] and “Otsekui hirv” [As a Deer]. The musical leitmotif of “Know Ye Not” was probably the result of improvisation when the composer searched for suitable musical material for a Pentecost service at St. John’s Church in St. Petersburg, as later recounted by the church school teacher at that time, Julius Kaljuvee. Over the following years, many settings of the work were made for various ensembles: mixed choir and orchestra, organ and orchestra, male choir and organ. Since the scores are partially lost, however, it is difficult to date them and therefore not possible to present a complete overview of the original or arranged versions of the songs. The first known performance of “Know Ye Not” took place at St. John’s Church in St. Petersburg on 5 November 1900; it was set for male choir and organ, conducted by 1 The Estonian translation of the article was published in Muusikaleht in 1928. The quote is taken from the book Rudolf Tobias. In puncto musicorum (Ilmamaa, 1995), compiled by Vardo Rumessen. 4 Tobias and accompanied on the organ by composer Artur Kapp. The song was first published in 1909 by F. E. C. Leuckart, both in German and Estonian, as “Pfingstgesang. Wisset ihr nicht” [Whitsun Song. Know Ye Not], for male choir, small orchestra and organ. Composers August Topman, Cyrillus Kreek and Eduard Tubin have also made arrangements of the work. “As a Deer” for mixed choir and organ was performed for the first time in St. Petersburg in 1904; Tobias also made several settings of it. Like “Know Ye Not”, the work was first published by Leuckart in 1909 as “Chor aus dem Psalm 42” [Chorus from Psalm 31]. The recordings of both songs are based on the versions for mixed choir and organ; these arrangements were made by the most knowledgeable authority on Tobias, pianist and musicologist Vardo Rumessen. Tobias also composed unaccompanied choral songs during his St. Petersburg years when, as the conductor of the concerts held at St. John’s Church, he needed additional repertoire. Their level of technical difficulty and performance requirements indicate that they were significantly different from works by other Estonian composers of that time, which were primarily in the style of the Liedertafel [male choral societies]. The motets on this album were probably composed in Berlin in 1915; there is no record of their being performed during Tobias’s lifetime, however. Tobias’s organ piece “Nun ruhen alle Wälder” [Now Rest Beneath Night’s Shadow] is the tenth work in the series of twelve chorale preludes (1914). It is based on the evening chorale of the same name by one of Germany’s most famous hymn writers, Paul Gerhardt (1607–1676), who wrote the text, and Heinrich Isaac (1450–1517), who wrote the music. Tobias composed it more as a meditation based on the text and substance rather than a literal prelude to a chorale, thus it can be called an organ chorale. The work is also known as “Nachtstück” [Night Piece]. Max Reger’s (1873–1916) sacred choral songs also generally represent the German late Romantic tradition. However, as a whole and across different genres, the style of his compositions is more varied than those of Tobias; while Reger’s organ music and choral compositions stick to the traditions of their era, his orchestral and chamber pieces reflect a more avant-garde sound. Arnold Schoenberg even referred to Reger as one of the most innovative composers of his time. Reger’s works were performed often during his lifetime. After his death, the canon of his works consisted primarily of organ pieces, including extensive chorale fantasias, two sonatas and the Fantasia and Fugue on B-A-C-H. Reger’s 5 “Melody” is part of the cycle of twelve pieces for organ, op. 59 (no. 11, 1901). His typically restless and colourful harmonies are supplemented by interval leaps and chromatic melodies. The credit or blame for Reger’s understanding of counterpoint can be given to his most influential teacher, Hugo Riemann, the most outstanding musicologist at the turn of the 19th and early 20th centuries. After studying the organ in his home town of Weiden in the Upper Palatinate of Bavaria, Reger moved to Sondershausen and Wiesbaden, where he studied under Hugo Riemann from 1890 to 1893. During the final years of the 19th century, Reger taught music theory, piano and organ at the Wiesbaden Conservatory. From 1901 Reger taught in Munich and, from 1907 until his death, in Leipzig, where he was also professor of composition and organ at the conservatory. The integration of Bachian polyphony and Brahmsian emotionality, often typical in Reger’s music, is clearly reflected in his sacred choral works. The cycle of eight sacred songs, op. 138 (1914), is composed to texts by various poets, and its character reflects the brighter side of Reger’s choral compositions. The texture of these choral settings for four to eight voices is generally chordal, while the rhythm is simple enough to easily follow the text. The first work of the collection is the double chorus “Der Mensch lebt und bestehet nur eine kleine Zeit” [Man Lives and Exists for Only a Brief Time], on a text by Matthias Claudius (1746–1815), in which a chordal texture and a surprisingly diatonic melody, unusual for Reger, create the atmosphere of a chorale.