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CORO The Sixteen Edition CORO The Sixteen Edition Other Sixteen Edition recordings available on CORO Weihnachts Oratorium Victoria Requiem 1605 J. S. Bach Christmas Oratorio J. S. Bach cor16017 NEW RECORDING corsacd16033 Russell, Wyn-Rogers, Priest, scholar and Padmore, George singer, this remarkable Spaniard epitomised the Cantatas "Superlative, emotion and fervour demonstrating all of Renaissance Europe. 34, 50, 147 The Sixteen's familiar Victoria's lavish Requiem virtues." of 1605 became his most bbc music magazine famous and revered work. GILLIAN FISHER Esther Allegri Miserere DAVID JAMES G. F. Handel - 2 CDs cor16019 Palestrina: Missa Papae Marcelli, Stabat Mater IAN PARTRIDGE Lotti: Crucifixus Russell, Argenta, cor16014 MICHAEL GEORGE Chance, Randle, Padmore, George "Christophers draws brilliant performances from "...a new golden his singers, both technically age of Handel assured and vividly The Sixteen interpretation." impassioned." The Symphony of Harmony and Invention classical music the guardian THE VOICES OF (canada) HARRY CHRISTOPHERS To find out more about The Sixteen, concert tours, and to buy CDs, visit www.thesixteen.com cor16039 This disc was the direct result of a BBC Proms s Cantor of St. Thomas's School, and Cantata No.50 Nun is das Heil und die Kraft. appearance back in 1990. The controller of Radio 3, Leipzig's Director Musices Bach was This exceptionally powerful choral movement John Drummond, had asked me to perform some Ain charge of music both for the four is almost certainly a lone survivor from a principal churches and that required for lost cantata. Until fairly recently it had been of Bach’s cantatas in the Royal Albert Hall; he had any special occasion such as, for example, assumed that the piece dated from the later felt that, over the years, Proms programming had the annual election of the town council. Leipzig years, but it is probably unwise to neglected Bach and he wanted to address that. It was Between 1723 and 1729 he assembled three assign to it a particular period of composition an inspirational idea and John invited us back the complete annual cycles for the church year, even though, stylistically, it appears to be a following season for more of the same. Although a possibly four, while even a fifth may have work of maturity. Since its text is taken from very difficult venue for this type of music, performing been completed during the 1730s and 1740s. the appointed epistle for St. Michael's Day, Cantatas - Bach himself seldom used the it seems likely that Bach intended it for this in the Albert Hall was to prove a most rewarding term in the context of sacred works of this festival, one that on three other occasions experience, and it was even more of a delight to go kind preferring 'Concerto' or 'Stück' (piece) inspired music which contained pictorial into the rich acoustics of St Jude’s, Hampstead Garden - formed an integral part of the Lutheran imagery of an arresting kind. The epistle Suburb a week later to record the programme. liturgy in Leipzig; their texts were usually begins with the words, "There was war in related to the appointed Gospel and they heaven: Michael and his angels fought against It is the only occasion on disc when I needed a guest leader, so I turned to my good were sung after the Gospel reading before the dragon, and the dragon fought and his friend, Roy Goodman, who has since forsaken the violin for a burgeoning conducting the sermon. angels; and prevailed not, neither was their career. We were fortunate to capture his playing on disc and, quite frankly, one would be Although most of Bach's cantatas date place found any more in heaven. And the from the Leipzig years, mainly between 1723 great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, hard pushed to find in the recording catalogue a more exquisite rendering of the violin and 1729, a significant number belong to called the devil and Satan, which deceiveth obbligato in the soprano aria Bereite dir from Cantata 147. the period between 1708 and 1717 when the whole world; he was cast out into the he was employed at the Weimar court first earth, and his angel were cast out with him..." If you cast your eyes over the choir listing in this booklet, you will notice the names as Hoforganist then as Konzertmeister, too. This colourful story seems to have stirred of two singers who are now enjoying wonderful and richly deserved solo careers. Both Among the Weimar cantatas we find a rich Bach deeply in much the same way as it had Mark Padmore and Christopher Purves sang with The Sixteen for many years after variety of forms and techniques incorporating done Milton over half a century earlier. Here joining the group straight from university; The Sixteen has always been and indeed elements of motet, chorale, strophic aria and we have the only eight-part chorus in the continues to be a source of great and exciting talent. concerto. Their texts were mostly provided entire range of his cantatas. The ceremonial by the Weimar court poet and priest, orchestration consisting of three trumpets, Salomo Franck whose Pietistic inclinations timpani, three oboes, strings and continuo is emphasising subjectivity of thought, intimacy identical with that Bach used for the Sanctus of sentiment and preoccupation with death of the B minor Mass. The eight strand chorus as a longed for release from earthly suffering is presented in a fugue of vast and complex drew fervent musical responses from Bach. architectural splendour. The subject is 2 3 announced initially by the basses of the first colours of the choruses by introducing two and, perhaps the bass aria, too. In this form than the vocal part illustrates images of the group and taken up by the tenor, altos and transverse flutes with muted violins and viola he performed it on the Feast of the Visitation text. The soprano aria with violin obligato lastly the sopranos. As they complete the to accompany the alto voice. Bach's second of Mary the Virgin on July 2nd. The text for provides a lyrically expressive high point seven bar subject the four vocal strand of the biographer, Philipp Spitta, remarked of this the Weimar music was provided by Franck in the work. Here the vocal line suggests a second group enter together presenting the beautiful, transparently textured movement while an unidentified poet, perhaps Bach beguiling innocence and almost child-like initial scheme in inversion whilst all the time "in no part ...can the original bridal feeling himself may have been responsible for the simplicity while the violin, the contours of the movement gains momentum from the pass unnoticed. For its pure and ardent words of the remaining sections of the cantata. whose melody can be found in several other growing profusion of quaver and semi-quaver atmosphere, its magic charm of tone, its lovely The cantata begins with a radiant, of Bach's compositions provides an elaborate motives, culminating in a glittering D major melodies, it is indisputably fitted to rank at the elaborately constructed chorus introduced by accompaniment, predominantly in triplets. close. head of all Bach's works of this kind, and to trumpet fanfares with bassoon, followed by The first part of the cantata concludes with a be considered an unapproachable model". A strings whose divided violin parts are doubled verse of a hymn by Martin Jahn, Jesu, meinem Cantata No.34 O ewiges Feuer, o Ursprung bass recitative follows before a second chorus, by oboes. The vocal element, predominantly Seelen Vonne (1661). Bach's celebrated setting, der Liebe. Although this work belongs similarly scored to the opening one, with fugal, falls into two sections. In the first the inspired by and ingeniously derived from the to Bach's last phase of activity as a sacred brilliantly coloured instrumental figures brings four strands enter from the top downwards chorale melody requires no introduction. cantata composer all its music but that of the the cantata to a festive conclusion. (S-A-T-B), but in the second Bach reverses Part Two begins with a declamatory tenor two unaccompanied recitatives goes back to After Bach's death in 1750 the score of the scheme, starting with the bass strand and aria with a busy continuo accompaniment the mid 1720s when it served as a wedding this cantata passed into the hands first of working upwards. The chorus is masterly and whose initial supplicatory four-note statement cantata. In its later "parody" version, dating his eldest son, Wilhelm Friedemann, then a splendid example of Bach's consummate is taken up by the voice. Here the love of from 1740 or perhaps a little after, Bach into the possession of Anna Amalia (1739- skill in sensitive and affective deployment of Christ is expressed with considerable intensity performed it at Leipzig on Whitsunday. The 1807), Duchess of Saxe-Weimar and niece of vocal instrument resources to create a unified and economy of means. The alto recitative, unidentified librettist, perhaps Bach himself Frederick the Great. She had lively intellectual ensemble. whose vocal line is gently punctuated by was involved, made a skilful adaptation of the interests, above all in literature and music, and The tenor recitative which follows the two oboes da caccia, evokes the atmosphere original text to suit the Whitsuntide Festival. was a noted patron of poets and musicians. opening chorus is accompanied by the strings of Bach's Passion recitatives and contains The opening movement is lavishly scored and is a tenderly expressive piece of writing passages which engagingly colour the words for three trumpets, drums, a pair of oboes, Cantata No.147 Herz und Mund und Tat in striking contrast with the preceding of the text.

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