Prof. Jürgen Puschbeck - First Presbyterian Church

Prof. Jürgen Puschbeck - First Presbyterian Church

Sing Unto the Lord a
NewSong
Chamber Choir of the Liszt School of Music of Weimar, Germany
Under the direction of Prof. Jürgen Puschbeck
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Fest- und Gedenksprüche, Op. 109
Johannes Brahms (1833 – 1897)
,
Agnus Dei Op. 167
Egil Hovland (b. 1924)
Concerto for Solo Bassoon and Mixed Choir
Agnus Dei
Qui tollis peccata mundi
Miserere nobis
Dona nobis pacem
SanctusFrank Martin (1890-1974)
From: Mass for Double Choir
Marian Phantasies, Op. 87d
Ave Maria
Salve Regina
Bertold Hummel (1925-2002)
For Solo Bassoon
Prof. Frank Forst, Bassoon
Ich lasse Dich nicht, Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Du segnest mich denn,
BWV Appendix 159
(I Will Not Leave You, Unless You Bless Me)
Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, BWV 225
Johann Sebastian Bach (Sing Unto the Lord a New Song)
(1685-1750)
AlleluiaEric Whitacre (b. 1970)
Nachtlied Op. 138 Max Reger (1873-1916)
(Night Song)
(We ask that you please refrain from applauding until after the concert has come
to an end. We thank you in advance for your cooperation!)
Johannes Brahms
(7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897)
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading
musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his
professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene.
In his lifetime, Brahms’s popularity and influence were considerable; following a
comment by the nineteenth-century conductor Hans von Bülow, he is sometimes
grouped with Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven as one of the
Three Bs.
Brahms is often considered both a traditionalist and an innovator. His music
is firmly rooted in the structures and compositional techniques of the Baroque
and Classical masters. He was a master of counterpoint, the complex and
highly disciplined art for which Johann Sebastian Bach is famous, and also of
development, a compositional ethos pioneered by Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven. Brahms aimed to honor the “purity”
of these venerable “German” structures and advance them into a Romantic idiom,
in the process creating bold new approaches to harmony and melody.
Brahms also edited works by C. P. E. and W. F. Bach. He looked to older music
for inspiration in the art of counterpoint; the themes of some of his works are
modelled on Baroque sources such as Bach’s The Art of Fugue in the fugal finale
of Cello Sonata No. 1 or the same composer’s Cantata No. 150 in the passacaglia
theme of the Fourth Symphony’s finale.
He conducted choirs from his early teens, and became a proficient choral and
orchestral conductor. The musical and personal friendship Brahms enjoyed
with the Schumann family, he considered to be very important. The question of
Brahms and Clara Schumann is perhaps the most mysterious in music history,
alongside that of Beethoven’s “Immortal Beloved”. Whether they were actually
lovers is unknown, but their destruction of their letters to each other may point to
something beyond mere privacy.
In 1890, the 57-year-old Brahms resolved to give up composing. However, as
it turned out, he was unable to abide by his decision, and in the years before
his death he produced a number of acknowledged masterpieces. His admiration
for Richard Mühlfeld, clarinetist with the Meiningen orchestra, moved him to
compose the Clarinet Trio, Op. 114, Clarinet Quintet, Op. 115 (1891), and the two
Clarinet Sonatas, Op. 120 (1894). He also wrote several cycles of piano pieces,
Opp. 116–119, the Vier ernste Gesänge (Four Serious Songs), Op. 121 (1896), and
the Eleven Chorale Preludes for organ, Op. 122 (1896).
While completing the Op. 121 songs, Brahms developed cancer (sources differ on
whether this was of the liver or pancreas). His condition gradually worsened and
he died on 3 April 1897, aged 63. Brahms is buried in Vienna’s Zentralfriedhof
(the main cemetery in Vienna).
Brahms’s personal views tended to be humanistic and sceptical, though one of
his musical influences was undoubtedly the Bible as rendered in German by
Martin Luther. His Requiem employs biblical texts to speak words of comfort
to the bereaved while generally omitting statements concerning salvation or
immortality. Composer Walter Niemann declared “The fact that Brahms began
his creative activity with the German folk song and closed with the Bible reveals...
the true religious creed of this great man of the people.” Biographers and critics
more often understand Brahms’s appreciation of Lutheran tradition as cultural
more than existential.
There is reason to believe that Brahms was a religious freethinker. Being a star
of his age, he would frequently say deceptive things to the public. This means
that the most reliable accounts on Brahms’s innermost feelings may come from
the people in the close circle around him. Among these was the devout Catholic
Antonín Dvořák, the closest Brahms ever came to having a protégé. In a letter,
Dvořák disclosed his concerns regarding Brahms’s religious views: “Such a man,
such a fine soul—and he believes in nothing! He believes in nothing!”
During the last decade of his life, Brahms’ choral compositions were generally
for mixed groups--no longer do we find him writing for either a male or female
chorus. It seems Brahms sought to achieve a balance between the varied colors of
the mixed chorus. Furthermore, these late works tend to be a cappella.
Fest und Gedenksprüche, Op. 109
Unsere Väter hofften auf dich
Wenn ein starker Gewappneter
Wo ist ein so herrlich Volk
The Fest und Gedenksprüche were first performed on September 15, 1889 in
Hamburg. The three Fest- und Gedenksprüche (almost untranslatable; “festival
mottos” or “proverbs” gives some idea) came about as a kind of thank-you note to
Hamburg for conferring on him the honorary freedom of the city in 1889.
Unlike the motets, it celebrates rather than meditates. In general, the emotional
tone is less complex and less dark. Here, Brahms experiments with double choir,
following Bach in the motets “Singet dem Herren” and “Der Geist hilft unsrer
Schwachheit auf” (“the Holy Spirit helps our weakness”), as well as certain
motets by the Renaissance composer Heinrich Schütz. It’s not all that far-fetched.
Brahms personally owned a lot of music, particularly the music of Mozart and
Haydn.
In many of Brahms’ later choral works he abandoned the strict contrapuntal style
that marks his earlier pieces, looking to other models for inspiration. The first of
the set, “Unsere Väter hofften auf dich” (In you our fathers trusted), sets verses
drawn from Psalm 22:5-6 and Psalm 29:11. While bouncing bits of text between
the two choirs, Brahms creates an echo effect in which words declaimed in one
choir follow immediately in the other. In the second verse, “Zu dir schrien sie und
wurden erettet” (they cried to you and were saved), some of these brief passages
are imitative. Just before the third and final verse, “Der Herr wird seinem Volk
Kraft geben” (the Lord will give his people strength), Brahms shifts from the
fluid 3/2 meter of the first two verses to a more marked 4/4. The final cadence is
an unusual combination of plagal and dominant-to-tonic movement.
The text of No. 2 “Wenn ein starker Gewappneter” (When a heavily armed man
[guards his palace]) is also assembled from several different passages of scripture:
Luke 11:21, Luke 11:17, and Matthew 12:25. The message, that Germany should
defend itself and stand united, becomes clear in the second verse, “Aber jeglich
Reich, so es mit ihm selbst uneins wird, das wird wüste ... “ (Every kingdom
divided against itself is laid waste). In this ABA’ setting, Brahms pursues the
same antiphonal technique found in the first motet, although there is more text
repetition and the overlapping statements fall more closely together. For the
second verse, Brahms moves to the minor mode to convey the potential fall of a
house divided against itself. At the return of the first verse Brahms shifts back to
the major mode; however, he does not immediately return to the original music,
inserting instead a transitional section in the right key but the wrong meter.
Deuteronomy 4:7 and 9 constitute the text of No. 3, “Wo ist ein so herrlich Volk”
(Where is there such a great nation), which exhorts people to teach their children
well. Here, the writing is more continuous than in the previous motets, although
the independence of the two choirs is just as apparent. The piece is rounded by a
modified return to the music of the opening measures, but setting new text.
English Translation
No. 1 Our fathers trusted in thee:
they trusted and thou didst deliver them.
They cried unto thee, and were delivered:
they trusted in thee, and were not confounded.
The Lord will give strength unto his people;
the Lord will bless his people with peace.
No. 2 When a strong man armed keepeth his palace,
his goods are in peace.
But, every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation;
and a house divided against a house falleth.
No. 3 And what nation is there so great
that hath statutes and judgements so righteous
as all this law, which I set up before you this day?
Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently,
lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen,
and lest they depart from thy heart
all the days of thy life:
but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons.
Amen.
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Egil Hovland
Egil Hovland, born October 18th, 1924, is one of Norway’s most productive
contemporary composers, and also, perhaps, the one whose works are most
frequently performed. He graduated from the Oslo Conservatoire, and from 1949
until he retired, he held the position of organist and choir-master at the church of
Glemmen in the city of Fredrikstad. He studied composition with the late Bjarne
Brustad in Oslo, with Vagn Holmboe in Copenhagen, with Aaron Copland in
Tanglewood (USA) and with Luigi Dallapiccola in Florence.
As a composer, he has immersed himself in various styles - Norwegian
Romanticism, Gregorian chant, neo-classicism, dodecaphony, aleatory and serial
music - before returning to a highly simplified romanticism using elements of
many different styles to express himself. He has won several significant musical
awards and in 1983 was made a Knight of the Royal Order of Saint Olav in
recognition of his services to Norwegian music both as composer and performer.
Agnus Dei
1. Agnus Die
2. Qui tollis peccata mundi
3. Misere nobis
4. Dona nobis pacem
The texts for the four movements the encompass Agnus Dei are derived from
the last part of the Latin mass, called Agnus Dei. The second movement of the
work is deeply inspired by Selma Lagerlof’s short story “St. Peter and the Good
Lord”. The theme of the story, the struggle between good and evil, can also be
said to be the fundamental theme of the entire concerto. The three first movements
function as one long development of this thematic material, unlike the contrasting
movements of the traditional concertos. Hovland indicates that the bassoon could
be interpreted as the human voice, sometimes overrun by the dark forces of life.
In other parts of the work, one can imagine the bassoon and the choir joined in a
communal prayer. In the last movement Hovalnd uses the Olympic Hymn from
his Op. 143, and adds a simple obligato voice for the bassoon. The movement
is shorter than theprevious ones, but provides a conclusion to the work, both
necessary and fulfilling.
English Translation
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant us peace.
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Frank Martin
Frank Martin was born in Geneva, Switzerland in 1890. He lived in Paris in from
1923-1926 and returned to Geneva in 1927 to teach at the Institut Jaques-Delcroze
where he remained until 1938. In 1933 he founded the Technicum moderne de
musique in Geneva and served as its director until 1939. He moved to Cologne,
Germany in 1950 to assume teaching responsibilities at the Cologne Conservatory
of Music where he remained until 1957. His works are noted for their high quality,
delicate colouring, contrapuntal skill an expressive nature.
Like many Swiss composers before him, Martin felt the twin poles of France and
Germany dragging him one way or the other, affecting many of his artistic and
musical judgements. On the one hand, there is the rigour and discipline of AustroGerman music in his work, though strangely not the influence of Schoenberg
whose ideas permeated many composers of Martin’s generation; on the other
hand, there are the sensual, feline sonorities of French music, that of Debussy and
Ravel. Both of these influences can be seen in the Mass, but niether one is more
prominent than the other.
Mass for Double Choir
IV. Sanctus
Written in 1922-1926, it is hard to believe that this work would sit in Martin’s
drawer for nearly forty years until Franz Brunnert, the director of the Bugenhagen
Kantorei of Hamburg persuaded him, in 1963, to have the piece published and
performed. The question thus arises, why did he choose to let the work lie
hidden from the world for so long? It is suspected that the answer lies in his
strong Christian faith, which governed all aspects of his life. Born into a Calvinist
family, his work is largely indebted to his faith and would never stray far from
Christian themes and issues. To write a work which expresses the very essence of
his faith and then have it performed and open for public dissemination appeared
to be a step too far for Martin. As he wrote in the 1960s: “I did not want it to be
performed…I consider it…as being a matter between God and myself. I felt then
that an expression of religious feelings should remain secret and removed from
public opinion.” Not many composers can claim to have such strong beliefs about
their work and the relationship between artist and God, certainly not in the more
secular-leaning twentieth-century.
If there was one influence on Martin’s music that perhaps in some way rivalled
his faith, it would be the music of J. S. Bach, which acted as both a catalyst for
the composer’s career and as another obstacle for the publication of the Mass.
When Martin was ten he attended a performance of Bach’s St Matthew Passion,
an occasion that affected him so deeply that he decided to devote his life to music
from that point onwards. It did, unfortunately, provide a very high benchmark
which Martin sought to compare all his work to, it would be understandable if
faced with this comparison that he decided his own sacred choral works would
never reach the standard Bach had set.
English Translation
Holy, Holy, Holy
Lord God of Hosts.
Heaven and earth are full of Your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he, who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
Bertold Hummel
Bertold Hummel was born on November 27th, 1925 in Germany. During
his childhood, he developed a humanitarian ethos and liberal values, which
would often find expression in his compositions of later years. He recalled that
the purchase of a radio in 1934 became one of his most important sources of
information on modern music.
In 1936, Hummel began his music studies in Freiburg, and upon hearing a
performance of Bruckner’s 3rd Symphony, decided to become a composer. Later,
his exposure to Wagner helped reconfirm his decision. Hummel subsequently
submitted several of his compositions to Julius Weismann, who agreed to instruct
the boy. Unfortunately, WWII abruptly ended the lessons because Weismann
was denounced as a Jew and in 1943, Bertold was called up for military service.
During the war, Hummel was taken prisoner in France and helped form a prisoners’
orchestra. His first string quartet was performed in the camp along with several of
his orchestrations. In 1947, he escaped from the camp, returned to Freiburg, and
went on to finish his school education. Afterwards, Hummel entered the Freiburg
Conservatory of Music where he studied composition, cello, chamber music, and
conducting.
In 1954, he accepted an invitation from the South-West African Cultural
Association to participate in a ten-month concert-tour through the Union of South
Africa. Once back in Germany, he took the post of cantor St. Konrad in Freiburg,
where he composed more than 50 organ works for the Archdiocese of Freiburg.
In 1963 Bertold Hummel was appointed teacher of composition at the Bavarian
State Conservatory in Würzburg. The conservatory’s director, Hanns Reinartz,
had a new building erected for the school, and at the inauguration of the concert
hall in 1966, Hummel’s 2nd Symphony, “Reverenza”, was performed. In 1973,
Hummel became a permanent professor and director of a composition class. In
the years of teaching up to his retirement in 1988, he established the so-called
“Würzburg school of composition”, characterised by an ethos of accomplished
craftsmanship and striking practicality.
In 1979, Hummel replaced Reinartz to become the new director.
As cantor with the Archdiocese of Freiburg, Bertold Hummel also found
opportunities to compose sacred music. For example, he received a commission
in 1967 for a “German Mass” to mark the completion of the reconstruction of the
Würzburg Cathedral.
Toward the end of his life, Bertold Hummel continued composing and travelled to
a number of countries to be present at performances of his works. Honours such
as the Bavarian Order of Merit (1994), the Friedrich Bauer Prize of the Bavarian
Academy of Fine Arts (1996) or the Culture Prize of German Catholics (1998)
demonstrate the high level of appreciation and respect given his works. Hummel
died in Würzburg on August 9th, 2002, following a short, but severe illness.
Marian Fantasies, op. 87d (1990)
Ave Maria
Salve Regina
The “Marian Fantasies”, composed in 1990 are based on Gregorian Marian chants
and a melody from the 17th Century. The ornate fantasies on these melodies
permit the bassoon to exploit the full potential of its cantabile character. A
link is forged between the traditional chants and the music of the 20th Century
through the sonority of the bassoon which is detached from time and space to
represent otherworldly themes. The Marian Fantasies simultaneously reflect the
compositional present and illuminate its roots. This music acquires an additional
dimension through its spiritual-religious basis.
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Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Germany, in the city Eisenach, which is located
in the state of Thuringia, Germany, on 21 March, 1685 and died on 28 July, 1750
at the age of 65 in Leipzig, in the state of Saxony. His father, Johann Ambrosius
Bach, was the town piper in Eisenach, a post that entailed organizing all the
secular music in town, as well as participating in church music at the direction of
the church organist. Bach’s uncles were also all professional musicians ranging
from church organists and court chamber musicians to composers. In an era when
sons were expected to assist in their fathers’ work, we can assume J. S. Bach
began copying music and playing various instruments at an early age.
Bach’s mother died when he was still a young boy and his father suddenly died
when J. S. Bach was nine, at which time Bach moved in with his older brother
Johann Christoph, who was the organist in Ohrdruf, Thuringia, Germany. It was
at Ohrdruf that Bach began to learn about organ building. The Ohrdruf church’s
organ, it seems, was in constant need of minor repairs, and the young Bach was
often sent into the belly of the old organ to tighten, adjust, or replace various
parts. This hands-on experience with the innards of the instrument would provide
a unique counterpoint to his unequalled skill at playing it.
While in school and as a young man, Bach’s curiosity compelled him to seek
out Germany’s greatest organists, often taking journeys of considerable length to
hear them play. Shortly after graduation. Bach took a post as organist in Arnstadt,
Thuringia in 1703. Owing to his virtuosity, he was soon offered a more lucrative
organist post in Mühlhausen, Thuringia. Some of Bach’s earliest compositions
date to this period (including, according to some scholars, his famous Toccata
and Fugue in D Minor), but much of the music Bach wrote during this time has
been lost.
Still not content in Mühlhausen, Bach took a position as court organist and concert
master at the ducal court in Weimar, Thuringia in 1708. Here, he had opportunities
not only to play the organ, but also to compose for it and play a more varied
repertoire of concert music with the duke’s ensemble. A devotee of contrapuntal
music, Bach’s steady output of fugues begins in Weimar. The best known example
of his fugal writing is probably The Well-Tempered Clavier, which comprises 48
preludes and fugues, one pair for each major and minor key, a monumental work
not only for its masterful use of counterpoint but also for exploring, for the first
time, the full glory of keys — and the means of expression made possible by their
slight differences from each other.
Also during his tenure at Weimar, Bach began work on the Little Organ Book for
his son Wilhelm Friedemann. This collection of organ music contains traditional
Lutheran church hymns harmonized by Bach and compiled in a way to be
instructive to organ students. This incomplete work introduces two major themes
into Bach’s corpus: firstly, his dedication to teaching, and secondly, his love of
the traditional chorale as a form and source of inspiration. Bach’s dedication to
teaching is especially remarkable. There was hardly any period in his life when
he did not have a full-time apprentice studying with him, and there were always a
number of private students studying in his house. Even today, students of nearly
every instrument encounter Bach’s works early and revisit his works throughout
their careers.
Sensing increasing political tensions in the ducal court of Weimar, Bach began
once again to search out a more stable job conducive to his musical interests.
Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cöthen hired Bach to serve as his Kapellmeister
(director of music). Prince Leopold, himself a musician, appreciated Bach’s
talents, compensated him well, and gave him considerable latitude in composing
and performing. However, the prince was a Calvinist and shunned the use of
elaborate music in worship, so most of Bach’s work from this period is secular
in nature. The Brandenburg Concertos (so-called because they were dedicated
to Duke Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg,) as well as many other instrumental
works, including the suites for solo cello, the sonatas and partitias for solo violin,
and the orchestral suites, date from this period.
In 1723, Bach was appointed Cantor and Musical Director of the St. Thomas
Church in Leipzig. This post required him not only to instruct the students of the
St. Thomas School in singing, but also to provide weekly music at the two main
churches in Leipzig (the other being the St. Nicholas Church). Bach endeavored to
compose a new church piece, or cantata, every week. This challenging schedule,
which basically amounted to writing an hour’s worth of music every week, in
addition to his more menial duties at the school, produced some of his best music,
most of which has been preserved. Most of the cantatas from this period expound
upon the weekly Sunday readings from the Bible; yet others were written using
traditional church hymns as inspiration.
On holy days such as Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter, Bach produced cantatas
of particular brilliance, most notably the Magnificat in D for Christmas and the
St. Matthew Passion for Good Friday, which Bach, himself, considered among
his greatest masterpieces; in his correspondence, he referred to it as his ‘great
Passion’. Bach’s representation of the essence and message of Christianity in his
religious music is considered by many to be so powerful and beautiful that in
Germany he is sometimes referred to as the Fifth Evangelist.
Johann Sebastian Bach’s contributions to music are frequently compared to
William Shakespeare’s contributions to English literature and Isaac Newton’s
contributions to physics. When Bach died in 1750, he had composed over 1,000
pieces.
Ich lasse dich nicht, du segenst mich denn (BWV Appendix 159)
Bach quite frequently adds motet-like movements to his cantatas and, rather
confusingly, what we might think of as cantatas, he sometimes calls a motet.
The earliest source for the touching eight-voiced motet Ich lasse dich nicht, du
segenest mich denn is partly in Bach’s hand and was included in the Altbachisches
Archiv (The Old Bach Archive), the compendium of the Bach family’s musical
output rediscovered by Christoph Wolff in Kiev in 1999. Was Bach copying or
composing here? We cannot be totally sure, but from the evidence of the way the
score is presented, it suggest this was indeed composed by Bach, in which case it
is the earliest surviving motet of his, dating from ca. 1712 or 1713, or even earlier,
when he was employed at the Ducal court in Weimar. In terms of style, it gives
the impression of occupying a midway point between that of Johann Christoph
Bach and the motet Fürchte dich nicht (Fear Not). Indeed it feels almost like a
tribute from Bach to his elder cousin, whom he dubbed “the profound composer”.
The double-choir motet is thought to have been composed either for a funeral
(possibly for the funeral service of the wife of the Mayor of Arnstadt, Margarethe
Feldhaus held ond 3 July, 1713) or for a memorial service for the dead. The text
for section one is taken from Genesis 32:26, and the text for Section II is taken
from the 3rd verse of the chorale “Warum betrübst du dich, mein Herz” (My heart,
why are you so heavy) by Erasmus Alber.
(Genesis 32:36, Erasmus Alberus)
English Translation
I will not leave You, unless You bless me.
My Jesus!
I will not leave You, unless You bless me.
Because you are my God and Father,
You will not forsake your child,
O paternal heart!
I am a poor clod of earth,
And know no consolation on earth.
Chorale
You, Jesus, the Son of God, be praised.
That through your words, I know
What brings eternal bliss.
Grant, in this, that I will now with my faith
be steadfast and true
I bring You praise and honor
That through Your death,
You have bought my eternal salvation,
O Lord, grant me this salvation
And will I thank You evermore.
Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied by Johann Sebastian Bach, BWV 225
Singet dem Herr nein neues Lied, the most famous of all Bach’s motets, was
composed between June 1726 and April 1727. It is not known for what occasion
the piece was composed: perhaps a funeral or memorial service, a Reformation
feast, New Year’s Day, the birthday of Princess Charlotte Friederica Wilhelmine
von Anhalt-Köthen on 30 November 1726, or for August the Strong when he was
on his sojourn in Leipzig on 12 May, 1727. However, on a visit to the St. Thomas
School, Mozart happened to hear the piece and “hardly had the choir sung a few
bars when he sat up, startled. A few measures more and he called out: ‘What is
this?’ And now his whole soul seemed to be in his ears. When the singing was
finished, he cried out, full of joy: ‘Now there is something one can learn from!’”
In addition to being Bach’s most popular motet, it is also considerd the most
technically demanding of all his double-choir motets. However, the technical
difficulties of the piece are not what dazzled Mozart in Leipzig in 1789. Nothing
in Mozart’s previous experience of church music could have prepared him for this,
the most secular dance-impregnated vocal music Bach ever wrote and the most
orchestrally conceived of the motets, evoking instruments and percussive effects
beyond the drums and harps called for by the psalmist. At the outset, Bach assigns
chains of instrumental figures to Choir I, their imitative exchanges showing
signs of a distinctly Levantine ecstasy, while from the way he sets the single
word “Singet!” in Choir II he shows that he is out to extract a percussive edge
from the text. By the final section, “Lobet den Herrn in seinen Taten” (Praise the
Lord for his deeds), it feels as if Bach has gathered all the Old Testament temple
instruments into the service of praising the Lord. Bach saw himself as part of the
hallowed lineage of church musicians, starting with King David, responsible for
making songs of thanksgiving, and wrote in the margin of his personal copy of
Abraham Calov’s Bible commentary that “music… was especially ordered by
God’s spirit through David.”
Mozart might have also admired in Singet dem Herrn the reconciliation of
expressive rhetoric with long-range continuity. Its three movements resemble
those of an Italian instrumental concerto (fast-slow-fast), but beyond this, each
of the outer movements is loosely based on the prelude-and-fugue model. Bach’s
“first prelude” peaks with the collective effervescence of Israel’s rejoicing, before
Miriam and her maidens step forward to lead the fugal dance at “Die Kinder
Zion” (The children of Zion). Brilliantly, Bach chooses to persist with the
“Singet” motto that accompanied the imitative effusion of his prelude, but now
has an offbeat commentary to his four-part fugue. One by one, the voices of both
choirs re-enter emphatically, in reverse order (bass, tenor, alto, soprano); the rich
“accompaniment” redistributed among the fugally unoccupied voices.
In his second pairing, Bach achieves a different type of transition from prelude
to fugue, this time by narrowing the focus. Suddenly, without pause, eight voices
converge and become four. The united basses of both choirs begin a delicate dance
figure to the words, “Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord”. Several
episodes follow in quick succession, each with expectations of an imminent
conclusion. However, what promised to be a sprint to the finish line, turns out to
be a 1500 meter race, and in the final straight, a hurdle appears, which takes the
sopranos to a top B flat before they cross the finish line.
The central movement, meanwhile, is more of an aeronautical display.
English Translation
Sing unto the Lord a new song, the congregation of saints shall praise Him. Let
Israel rejoice in Him that made him. The children of Zion shall rejoice in their
King, they shall praise His name with dancing, and they shall play to Him with
drums and harps.
As a father takes pity
God, continue to take care of us,
on His own young children,
so does the Lord pity us all,
if we fear Him like pure children.
He knows our poor estate,
God knows that we are but dust,
for without You
all human endeavour is nothing.
like grass that is reaped,
the fading flower and falling leaf.
The wind only has to blow over it,
and it is there no more.
Be, therefore, our shield and light,
and if our hope does not deceive us,
You will continue to be so.
Man passes away,
and his end is near.
Blessed is he who steadfastly
Relies on You and Your grace.
God’s grace alone
God continues to take care of us,
is steadfast and lasts forever,
with His dear congregation,
that stands in fear of Him
and keeps His Testament.
He reigns in the Kingdom of Heaven.
for without Him
all human endeavour is nothing.
You, mighty angels, hold sway,
praise Him and serve Him,
honor the great God,
and obey His Holy Word.
Let Him, therefore, be our shield and light,
and if our hope does not deceive us,
He will continue to be so.
My soul will also continue
to praise Him everywhere.
Blessed is he who steadfastly
Relies on You and Your grace.
Praise the Lord for His mighty deeds, praise Him according to his excellent
greatness. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Alleluia!
(Psalm 149:1-3, Psalm 150: 2,6, Johann Gramann)
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Eric Whitacre
Eric Whitacre is one of the most popular and performed composers of our time.
His Grammy winning album of 2012, reaped unanimous five star reviews and
became the no. 1 classical album in the US and UK. His album, Water Night,
released in April 2012 features seven world premiere recordings and includes
performances from his professional choir, the Eric Whitacre Singers, the London
Symphony Orchestra, Julian Lloyd Webber and Hila Plitmann. Whitacre’s
ground-breaking Virtual Choir, Lux Aurumque, received over a million views
on YouTube in just 2 months (now more than 3 million), featuring 185 singers
from 12 different countries. Virtual Choir 2.0, Sleep, was released in April 2011
and involved over 2,000 voices from 58 countries. Virtual Choir 3, Water Night,
received 3,746 videos from 73 counties and was launched at Lincoln Center, New
York and revealed online in April 2012.
He has written for the London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Chanticleer,
Julian Lloyd Webber and the Philharmonia Orchestra, Berlin Rundfunkchor
and The King’s Singers among others. His musical, Paradise Lost: Shadows
and Wings, won both the ASCAP Harold Arlen award and the Richard Rodgers
Award, and earned 10 nominations at the Los Angeles Stage Alliance Ovation
Awards. A versatile musician, he has also worked with legendary film composer,
Hans Zimmer, co-writing the Mermaid Theme for Pirates of the Caribbean: On
Stranger Tides.
His latest initiative, Soaring Leap, is a series of dynamic workshops for singers,
instrumentalists, conductors and composers to read, rehearse and perform his
works, digging deep into the poetry and exploring compositional tools. Guest
speakers, other composers and musicians make regular appearances at Soaring
Leap events.
An exceptional orator, he was honoured to address the U.N. Leaders program in
March 2011. He has addressed audiences at Duke & Harvard, The Economist,
Seoul Digital Forum and JCDA Conference in Tokyo.
Many of Eric Whitacre’s works have entered the standard choral and symphonic
repertories and have become the subject of scholarly works and doctoral
dissertations. Whitacre has received composition awards from the Barlow
International Composition Competition, the ACDA and the American Composers
Forum. In 2001, he became the youngest recipient ever awarded the coveted
Raymond C. Brock commission by the ACDA, despite coming to classical music
relatively late in life when he joined his college choir in Las Vegas. The first piece
he ever performed – Mozart’s Requiem – changed his life. Inspired to compose,
his first piece Go, Lovely Rose, was completed at the age of 21. He went on to
the Juilliard School (New York), earned his Master of Music degree studying with
Pulitzer Prize and Oscar-winning composer, John Corigliano.
Alleluia
“I’m not an atheist, but I’m not a Christian either, and for my entire career I have
resisted setting texts that could be used in a liturgical context. After spending the
2010 Michelmas term in Cambridge (Sidney Sussex College), though, singing
with Dr. David Skinner and his marvelous Chapel Choir, I began to see the deep
wisdom in the liturgical service. I found myself suddenly open to the history and
the beauty of the poetry, and it was the single word Alleluia, ‘praise God’, that
most enchanted me. It seemed the perfect fit for the music of my wind symphony
work October, which to me is a simple and humble meditation on the glory of
Autumn.” (Whitacre)
Alleluia was written for Dr. David Skinner and the Sidney Sussex Chapel Choir
and they premiered it in the Sidney Sussex Chapel, Cambridge University, on
June 25th, 2011.
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Johann Baptist Joseph
Maximilian Reger
Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger was born in Brand, Bavaria (Germany)
on March 19th, 1873. He studied music with Hugo Riemann in Munich and
Wiesbaden. In September 1901 he settled in Munich, where he obtained concert
offers and where his rapid rise to fame began. During his first Munich season,
Reger appeared in ten concerts as an organist, chamber pianist and accompanist.
He continued to compose without interruption. From 1907 he worked in Leipzig,
where he was music director at the university until 1908 and professor of
composition at the conservatory until his death. In 1911 he moved to Meiningen in
Bavaria where he assumed the position of Hofkapellmeister at the court of Georg
II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. In 1915 he moved to Jena, Thuringia (Germany),
from which he commuted once a week to teach in Leipzig. He died on May 11th,
1916 on one of these trips of a heart attack at age 43.
Reger produced an enormous output over little more than 25 years, nearly always
in abstract forms. Few of his compositions are well known in the 21st century.
Many of his works are fugues or in variation form, including what is probably
his best known orchestral work, the Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Mozart
based on the opening theme of Mozart’s Piano Sonata in A major, K. 331. He also
wrote a large amount of music for organ, including the Fantasy and Fugue on
BACH. He was particularly attracted to the fugal form his entire life. He created
music in almost every muscial genre except opera and the symphony.
A firm supporter of absolute music, he saw himself as being part of the tradition of
Beethoven and Brahms. His work often combines the classical structures of these
composers with the extended harmonies of Liszt and Wagner, to which he added
the complex counterpoint of Bach. His organ music, though also influenced by
Liszt, was provoked by that tradition.
Some of the works for solo string instruments turn up often on recordings, though
less regularly in recitals. His solo piano and two-piano music places him as a
successor to Brahms in the central German tradition. He pursued intensively, and
to its limits, Brahms’s continuous development and free modulation, often also
invoking, like Brahms, the aid of Bach-influenced polyphony.
His works could be considered retrospective as they followed classical and
baroque compositional techniques such as fugue and continuo. The influence
of the latter can be heard in his chamber works which are deeply reflective and
unconventional.
Reger’s music did not often receive favorable reviews. It is said that after one
review he particularly disliked, he wrote the following: “I am sitting in the smallest
room of my house. Your review is in front of me. Soon, it will be behind me.”
Nachtlied op. 138 Nr. 3
When the 43-year-old Reger died, a working copy of his Opus 138 was found lying
on his desk. The first chorale is “Der Mensch lebt und bestehet nur eine kleine
Zeit” (Man lives and exists for only a moment). The third movement encompasses
that which was typical of Reger, the affinity for themes of death and eternity. One
can see from Petrus Herbet’s 16th century text, a clear parallel between sleep and
death – Death is Sleep’s brother.
English translation
The night has fallen,
And we should rest;
God is there, to care for us
By his good will,
So that we settle
In his company and blessing,
To maintain the peace.
Father, drive the evil spirits
Far away from us;
Keep the night watch;
Be our protector;
Shield both body and soul
Under your wings;
Send us your angels!
Let us go to sleep
With good thoughts,
Happily awaken
And never waver from you;
Let us, with rearing,
Focus our deeds and words
On your glory!
The
Chamber
Choir of
the Liszt
School of
Music
is made up
predominantly
of students studying music
education and conducting, and also includes students
from the Bauhaus University in Weimar. The choir was founded as a madrigal
choir in 1926 by Walter Rein, and, beginning in 1930, was directed by GMD
Dr. Ernst Praetorius, the principle conductor of the Weimar State Orchestra.
The director of the The Liszt School of Music, Dr. Felix Oberborbeck, assumed
leadership of the choir a few years later. The ensemble was eventually named
“The Chamber Choir” and was considered an “organ” of the university. During the
period after the Second World War, Prof. Günter Fredrich resumed conducting the
choir, and beginning in the 1970s, the position was held by Prof. Gert Frischmuth.
Under Prof. Frischmuth’s direction, the choir achieved international success
in the 1980s, with competitions in Hungary, Bulgaria, Finland and Austria.
After the political upheaval in 1989-90, the Chamber Choir – at that time The
Liszt School of Music’s premiere ensemble – benefited greatly from the newly
available, world-wide possibilities. Prof. Frischmuth, who also directed the MDR
Choir (Middle German Radio Choir) in Leipzig from 1988-98, transferred the
conducting responsibilities of the Chamber Choir to his successor and former
student, Prof. Jürgen Puschbeck, in October 1997.
The Chamber Choir performs regularly at festivals, competitions and other venues
within Germany and abroad, including Markoberdorf and Fulda in Germany;
Graz and Spittal/Drau in Austria; Belfort, France; and Tolosa, Spain. One of the
numerous prizes and honours it has received is 1st Prize at the 6th International
Choir Competition held at Riva del Garda, Italy in 2000 and confirms the
ensemble’s artistic quality. Concert tours have taken the choir to many European
countries, as well as to Japan. In 1998 and 2004, having been invited by the
American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), the choir traveled to the USA.
Collaborating with well-known conductors such as Kurt Masur, Fabio Luisi,
Max Pommer and Helmut Rilling has led to choral symphonic highlights that
have included works by Johann Sebastian Bach and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
First and foremost, however, the choir cultivates a cappella literature from the
16th to the 20th centuries. Of special importance to the choir is the inclusion
of works from Saxon and Thuringian composers. Concerts have been recorded
for broadcast by MDR, HR (Hesse Broadcasting Company), BR (Bavarian
Broadcasting Company) and ORF (Austrian Broadcasting Company). In addition
to its concert activities, the choir finds itself in great demand as an educational
ensemble for singers and choral conductors.
Prof. Jürgen Puschbeck
Prof. Jürgen Puschbeck was born in 1960 in Schneeberg,
Saxony, Germany. At the early age of five Jürgen Puschbeck
sang in the children’s choir in his home community,
and in 1970 he became a member of the `Kreuz´ Choir
in Dresden. As well as undertaking a choral education,
Jürgen Puschbeck received organ lessons with the Cantor
Ludwig at the Christ Church in Dresden-Strehlen. In the
years between 1977 and 1979 he had the position of choir prefect and took over
the assistance, as well as the management of the church services and vespers.
In 1981 he enrolled in the Liszt School of Music in Weimar, where he studied
choral conducting with Prof. Gert Frischmuth. Two years later, he took over
the directorship of the boys choir of the Jena Philharmonic, and in 1985, the
Philharmonic Choir Jena. He completed his studies in 1986 with a recital at the
Schauspielhaus Berlin and was subsequently appointed the position of Choral
Director of the Jena Philharmonic.
In the years between 1986 and 1990 he undertook additional studies in orchestral
conducting with Prof. Olaf Koch in Halle/Saale, Saxony-Anhalt. Shortly after
beginning studies with Prof. Koch, the directorship of the ‘Jena Madrigalkreis’
(Chamber Choir of the Jena Philharmonic) was transferred to him. As well as
conducting rehearsals and productions with professional Choirs in Leipzig and
Berlin, Puschbeck has gone on tour many times with choirs from Jena, Weimar
and Stuttgart to a number of European cities, as well as countries such as Japan,
Australia and The United States of America. He became director of the Chamber
Choir of The Liszt School of Music in 1997. In July 1998, Puschbeck was
awarded the title of Professor of Choral Conducting.
Prof. Frank Forst
Prof. Frank Forst, born in 1969 in Aalen, BadenWürttemberg, Germany, began his first bassoon lessons
there at the age of eleven. From 1981 – 1989 he studied
privately with Gerhard Hase in Stuttgart. When he was
only 18, he won first prize in the “Jugend musiziert”
competition, recognized as the most prestigious national
music competition for young German musicians.
He studied at the Academy of Music in Hannover, Lower Saxony, Germany, with
Prof. Klaus Thunemann from 1989 – 1992. At the age of 22, he won a prize
in the international music competition, “Prager Frühling”. In 1991, he received
a scholarship from the German Music Competition, was chosen as one of the
performers for the “Concerti of Young Artists”, and was simultaneously awarded
a recording contract. From 1990 – 1992 he was a member of the Junge Deutsche
Philharmonie.
In 1992 he was the principal bassoonist of the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, and
since 1997, he has appeared regularly as a soloist with the Camerata in Salzburg.
In 1996 he began teaching part-time at the Hanns Eisler Academy of Music in
Berlin as assistant to Prof. Klaus Thunemann. In 2002 he began teaching bassoon
at the Liszt School of Music in Weimar, and in 2003, the School awarded him the
title Professor of Bassoon.
Prof. Forst has appeared as a soloist with many orchestras including the Berlin
Symphony Orchestra, the Camerata Salzburg, the Bremen Philharmonic
Orchestra, the National Philharmonic Rhineland-Palatinate, the Northwest
German Philharmonic Orchestra, and the New Berlin Chamber Orchestra. He is
currently a member of the Soloists’ Ensemble of Berlin.