C.P.E. Bach: Cantatas

In 1768 Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach succeeded his godfather Georg Philipp Telemann as director of music at Hamburg. The composer’s new position allowed him to devote more of his energies to composing choral works; this release details a selection of these engaging compositions, written for the Protestant church services at the Michaeliskirche as well as elsewhere in the Saxon city.

Emanuel was a product of the Enlightenment period, and his role as ‘cantor and director of music’ reflects the fundamental change in the philosophy of life and in society at around this time: whereas the cantorial office was the centre of his father’s musical life, Emanuel’s composition was mainly confined to the popular high spots of the ecclesiastical year (Christmas and Passion, for example), as highlighted in the first half of this release. The new age also heralded a new poetic aesthetic: Klopstock’s imaginative and emotive verse, which addressed the ‘natural piety’ typical of the Enlightenment, opened up new possibilities in rhythm and set a precedent for other authors to emulate – the hymnal pathos of Cramer’s Wer ist so würdig als du on CD2, for example, which also details two inauguration cantatas for clergymen at the Hamburg churches. Much of the music exhibits an almost operatic quality – highlights include the bass aria ‘Ach, als in siebenfältige Nacht’ in Anbetung dem Erbarmer. Powerfully scored chorales also abound, not to mention rich and exquisite harmonisation, and the release is pervaded by a sense of grandeur on the part of the brass and timpani, reflecting the ceremonial nature of the music.

Founded in 1977, the period performance-based Rheinische Kantorei is one of today’s leading vocal interpreters of early music, a choir which has been described as possessing an ‘unfailingly homogeneous, sparkling and lively sound’ (NGZ). Here it is joined by its orchestral counterpart, Das Kleine Konzert, and a first-class quartet of singer-soloists to present an all-German rendition of this affective and commanding music.

Other information:
- Recorded April & May 1987, Immanuelskirche, Wuppertal-Barmen.
- A valuable issue for the CPE Bach year 2014: a substantial selection of sacred Cantatas!
- Johann Sebastian’s most famous son, Carl Philipp Emanuel wrote an enormous oeuvre, in which the instrumental music (concertos for diverse instruments, keyboard works) form the most important part, but he also excelled in vocal music, and followed the tradition of his father in writing sacred Cantatas for the liturgical year. Beautiful, dramatic works, based on Baroque principles, but looking forward to the Classical style of Haydn and Mozart.
- Excellent performances by the Rheinische Kantorei, Das kleine Konzert conducted by Hermann Max, with superb soloists, specialists in this field: Barbara Schlick, Johanna Koslowsky, Hilke Helling.
- Booklet contains detailed notes on the music.