Georg Österrich’s Resurrected Treasures
North-German Cantatas around 1700
- Johann Theile: Gott, sei mir gnädig
- Heinrich Bokmeyer: Me miserum!
- Michael Österrich: Vater unser
- Georg Österrich: Ich bin Auferstehung und das Leben
- Johann Philipp Förtsch: Das weiß ich fürwahr
- Johann Friederich Meister: Ach daß die Hülfe aus Zion
- Giulio Guiliani: Plaudant caeli exsultent spherea
- Georg Österrich: Weise mir, Herr, deinen Weg
The origin of the music on this album, and how it was put together for this recording, is an interesting pair of stories. Musica Gloria uses two directors, and Nele Vertommen is an oboe player, who by means of a publication by the late Bruce Haynes, came to discover in the Berlin library the collection of vocal works (with oboe) by Georg Österrich. The pieces presented here are world-premier recordings. They provide a fascinating look into German sacred music before the “late baroque” period dominated, at least in Germany, by Bach and Telemann.
Co-director Beniamino Paganini indicates that the ensemble has received favorable reception to these works in concerts. Which is encouraging that those who find an affinity for early music are open to newly discovered treasures.
I think they act as a type of time capsule into the past. This music represents a particular place and while diverse in ideas and approaches, also has a palpable similarity to it that becomes familiar the more you listen, certainly unified by a finite period of time.
One of the choices made by the ensemble was where to record this music; the pictures in the booklet illustrate the lengths they went to, recording in the choir loft of a German church, one that featured a baroque organ from the period in excellent condition. The resulting recording for me has depth with real emphasis on the singers. The instruments, singers, and organ are all well-integrated. I wouldn’t say the image we get is from sitting below in the church, but I’m happy to say that I enjoy the modern-day opportunity to feel as if I’m up in the loft with these young and enterprising musicians. Credit goes to Martin Rust for the quality of this recording, which I admire. The liner notes for this album are well-done.
Musical Style
My first reference for the sound and style of this music was the Alt Bach Archiv, the collection assembled by Johann Sebastian Bach of his past family’s own works. But after getting into this album, the contributions from the singers and instrumentalists shows a definite evolution in style. The style of some of the instrumental contributions reminded me a bit of Schmelzer’s music for strings, which I’d always thought was influenced a bit from church music in the way many of the parts play together.
Each piece features different forces, from the more intimate needs from Guiliani’s four-movement piece for an alto singer, two violins, and continuo including bassoon. The second piece penned by Österrich, for instance, features four soloists, 2 oboes, to violins, a tenor viola, obligato cello and bassoon, with organ. The movements in this pieces are each short.
The vocal production of this ensemble, comprised of a total of nine singers, I think fits the music well with clear diction. I especially liked the sound of Maria Ladurner’s voice, which appears clean and clear. There is some use of vibrato in the female voices, but over all, they adopt what I’m likely to call a religious vocal style, as opposed to an operatic one. There are however flourishes in the music for the vocalists that speak to advances in religious music borrowing from the stage in its use of filigree.
The organ has a central role in many of these works. Just as we know in Bach’s time, the ensemble plays with this organ tuned at a high pitch (a = 465) with instruments playing transposed, set a lower pitch.
Theile
This work opens with a minute-long sinfonia, with expressive string playing. The next movement provides foundation for all voices with the continuo joining the texture. A soprano solo comes before the full choir comes back. Text doesn’t seem to dictate the change in forces between these short movements, but the change in flavor helps keep things interesting, for sure. The liner notes describe this piece, from Österrich’s own teacher, as a “psalm concerto.” The character of the last piece, which breaks the choir down with their entrances (rather than all singing together, in chorale style), I’m guessing is based upon the melodic theme from a hymn. The piece ends grandly, with the choir singing in tandem with instrumental support. It’s easy to see how this might relate to a Bach cantata, ending with a chorale.
Meister
I recognize Meister by way of the instrumental recordings made by Musica Antiqua Köln and Ensemble Diderot. I very much liked his musical style. The opening of his work is borrowed from two Psalms, then, like many of these pieces, it volleys between verses and instrumental ritornelli.
Rejoice, my heart, you have been heard, Jesus is entering into you, He comes towards you, You need only welcome him. Les Hosanna in the highest resound throughout the world…
This particular piece features two tenors. The singers sing in tandem, but also get each their own solo arias. The use of oboes and bassoon mix well, of course, with organ; I’d have to think the scoring also helps to make the most out of small forces; the oboe’s timbre makes it carry, and even though strings are part of the band here, the buzzy nature of double reeds helps the instruments to be heard.
The second solo aria was my favorite from this work; sensitively sung before the instruments and other singer come back in. The two tenors in this case are well-matched in their vocal style. When vibrato is used, it’s expressively applied.
The work ends with more singers added; many of these works build up to their final movements that end with big finishes.
Guiliani
This piece is written in Latin and features a solo alto voice; in this case a male alto is used. Three short arias are combined with a second movement recitative. There’s a dance like quality to this composer’s music, which is easy to hear in the opening and third movements, with some dotted rhythms and a lilt in the first. The third is the more active, starting with an instrumental number, the vocal line echoing the melodic material heard first by the instrumental ensemble. Because these movements are each so short, the musical themes don’t develop greatly. Instead they might be appreciated as miniatures.
The final movement is only one word: Alleluja, which contrasts with the instrumental forces. The balance here favors the instruments. But it’s hard not to appreciate the composer’s stylish writing, even if the ideas are only briefly explored.
Österrich: Weise mir Herr, deinen Weg
The opening of one of Österrich’s own compositions speaks to a more advanced style. The opening instrumental sinfonia is festive in nature. The tenor aria provides some rather advanced writing for the oboe and bassoon and cello; it speaks to having advanced players who can tackle these solo interjections.
For me this exploration was interesting, considering that I’ve been working on a project looking at Corelli’s opus 5, his famous violin sonatas published in 1700; these pieces are very different in style, but the virtuosity called for by both instruments and voice is in alignment with what we think we know about how Corelli’s music was played, not as simply as written, but with great improvisational graces.
In the case of this music, the virtuosic requirements are written out. But unlike Corelli, who adopts some what regular styles between fast and slower movements, this music is more firmly rooted in the “fantastic” style, with short movements that change flavor on a dime.
The tenor solo’s (track 48) oboe accompaniment sounds quite modern, compared to the Theile piece that opens the recording. The poor singer is given quite a long line, with no place to breathe! It’s well executed, however unkind the composer was!
The recitative in the penultimate movement uses drama that might be borrowed from the opera stage. It’s cool how the composer uses his modest forces to create the drama, well executed here by Musica Gloria. The style here, which dominates this recording, is singing that directly speaks to the churchgoers. It is written many times in the first person, “Turn to me, have mercy on me,” in this work, and “Teach me your way, Lord.”
Final Thoughts
This album, lasting nearly 80 minutes, presents, as you can see, quite a few pieces. I can’t speak to the larger collection from which they were chosen, but they collectively showcase a variety of musical styles that have in common varied stylistic motifs between short movements, that give the limelight to the instrumental ensemble, and with some works, quite virtuosic parts. These are for sure not grand works (in terms of required forces for performance, or length), but rather pragmatic ones. These represent what you might have heard at your small church as fresh music to extrapolate from the sermon of the day. I’m gathering that more traditional faire would have also been heard. But these concerted pieces help model one’s feelings, dedication, and admiration for God in a direct, and many times tasty way.
I was very impressed with the willingness of Musica Gloria to record these pieces and to bring them to light. They are excellent interpreters of this music. I am not expert enough to speak to the pronunciation of the texts, but I appreciated the vocal style that was direct and clear without the operatic excesses of continuous vibrato.
The instrumentalists, including the excellent organ playing (and voicing!), only adds value to this production. Wherein this music may not stick with you as much, as say, Handel’s Messiah, I found value in pairing my listening to later music, to see how musical style evolves.
For those that have invested time and money into the vocal works by Bach, Handel, and even Vivaldi, these provide a far more intimate and direct style that although new to your ears, provides satisfaction, even in short doses.
