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Georg Philipp Telemann 1681–1767
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Passions-Oratorium Das selige Erwägen des bittern Leidens und Sterbens Jesu Christi CD 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 2
Sonata Choral: Schmücke dich Aria (Jesus): Gute Nacht, ihr meine Lieben Recitativo (Jesus): Doch, dass ihr möget Aria (Die Andacht): Sollt ich deiner wohl vergessen Recitativo (Jesus): Ich will euch noch Choral: Dein Blut der edle Saft Recitativo (Die Andacht): Gottlob es ist das Alte nun vergangen Aria (Die Andacht): Sollt ich deiner nicht gedenken Recitativo (Jesus): Nun werd ich bald erfahren Aria (Petrus): Foltern, foltern Recitativo (Jesus): Es wird der Hahn Aria (Petrus): Foltern, foltern Recitativo (Die Andacht): Ach Petre Aria (Die Andacht): Denke nach Choral: Gott gross über alle Götter Aria (Jesus): Vater, Vater Accompagnato (Die Andacht): O Anblick Aria (Die Andacht): Ihr blut’gen Schweissrubinen Choral: Tritt her Aria (Caiphas): Recht und Gerechtigkeit Rectativo (Caiphas/Jesus): Gefangener, was hören wir Aria (Jesus): Wenn die Gerichtsposaune Recitativo (Caiphas): Wie, dass doch Gott Aria (Die Andacht): Menschemhände Menschenlippen tun Recitativo (Die Andacht): Doch denke nach Choral: Du edles Angesichte
60’52 3’15 1’00 3’45 0’52 3’57 0’52 0’36 1’41 3’55 1’07 4’16 0’22 1’30 0’49 4’52 0’55 2’38 1’30 4’59 0’45 3’51 1’28 4’10 0’45 5’00 0’37 0’54
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Accompagnato (Petrus): Ach, ach, was hab ich Aria (Petrus): Mir ist die ganze Welt Accompagnato (Petrus): Ach, könnt ich doch Aria (Der Glaube): Tränen, die der Glaube Choral: Straf mich nicht Recitativo (Die Andacht): So rufet ihr Aria (Die Andacht): Droht der Satan Recitativo (Die Andacht): Wen seh ich dort Aria (Die Andacht): Ich treff auf deinen blut’gen Rücken Choral: O Haupt, voll Blut Recitativo (Jesus): Nun schliess ich bald Aria (Jesus): Ich will kämpfen Recitativo (Die Andacht): So wirst du Lebensbaum Aria (Die Andacht): Jese wird ans Holz geschlagen Choral: Jesus unter deinem Kreuz Aria (Jesus): Es ist vollbracht Choral: O grosse Gott Recitativo (Zion): Ihr Gottesmörder Aria (Zio): Erstaunet Choral: Nun gibt mein Jesus Aria: (Die Andacht): Jesus spannt die Gnadenflügel Recitativo (Die Andacht): Nun endlich hat mein Jesus Choral: Erscheine mir zum Schilde
50’52 0’55 5’51 1’23 4’10 0’39 0’34 2’36 0’42 4’42 1’00 0’30 5’48 0’41 3’48 0’51 2’14 0’30 0’45 4’58 0’35 4’34 1’35 0’56
Barbara Locher soprano (Der Glaube, Die Andacht) Zeger Vandersteene tenor (Die Andacht) Stefan Dörr tenor (Petrus) · Berthold Possemeyer baritone (Jesus) Johan-René Schmidt baritone (Caiphas)
Freiburger Vokalensemble · L’Arpa festante München Wolfgang Schäfer 3
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Telemann: Passions-Oratorium Das selige Erwägen des bittern Leidens und Sterbens Jesu Christi, probably written in 1722, is an example of a Passion-oratorio, a retelling of the story of the Passion (Jesus’ Crucifixion) through literary and operatic techniques. Despite the biblical subject matter, Telemann’s work blends sacred and secular elements, and is based on a slightly adapted version of the story. Jesus is portrayed as a human being who has committed himself to mankind, enabling Telemann to change the Passion into a human drama that could be fitted into an operatic framework. In addition, the composer’s libretto follows a Protestant tradition by featuring allegorical figures (Pious Attention, Faith, Daughter of Zion) as well as biblical, human characters (Jesus, Petrus and Caiphas). This mixing of religious and secular elements is not surprising given Telemann’s broad and varied career; his operas were some of the most popular written during his lifetime, and the Passions-Oratorium is one of seven long compositions devoted to the story of Jesus. The text itself is remarkably simple in style and clearly influenced by both the famous librettist Barthold Heinrich Brockes and Christian Friedrich Hunold’s (1681–1721) text on the same subject, on which Reinhold Keiser created his opera Der blutige und sterbende Jesus. The oratorio is divided into nine sections, each with its own title: The Last Supper, Petrus’ Recklessness, The Praying and Bleeding Jesus, The Jesus Brought to Trial, Petrus Committing Guilt, The Bleeding Jesus, The Crucified Jesus, The Dying Jesus, Jesus Laid in his Grave. Each section ends with a choral and is preceded by a recitative and an aria. The music obeys the conventional patterns of Telemann’s era, with an opening overture, recitatives that tell the story and arias that reflect upon the action. As in the Passions and cantatas of J.S. Bach, the choral movements are often derived from old Protestant melodies; the hymn O Haupt voll Blut wunden, famous for its appearances in Bach’s Matthäus-Passion, is heard here three times.
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These melodies are set simply, as if Telemann was encouraging the religious community attending the Passion services to participate in the drama. Telemann’s experience as an opera composer is revealed in many details of the Passions-Oratorium, particularly in his orchestral writing and text expression. Sadness, for example, is depicted in the chromatic lines of the aria ‘Mir ist die ganze Welt’, whereas the text of ‘Jese wird ans Holz geschlagen’ is matched by a musical symbol of the cross. Telemann’s instrumental compositions also influenced his vocal and religious music, and can be heard in this work’s simple forms, clear and beautiful melodies, unadventurous harmonies and conventional, even clichéd, approach to the expression of emotions. Virtuosity is almost always confined to the vocal parts, which present no real challenge to professional performers. The premiere of the Passions-Oratorium probably took place in 1724 in Hamburg, performed in a working house to benefit the city’s poor. Despite the sacred nature of the text, the main performers were well-known opera singers, and it is likely that Telemann wrote some of the parts with these specific singers in mind. During his lifetime it became one of his most popular pieces, with frequent performances in churches and secular buildings, and musicians often took the liberty of adapting the work to their particular preferences or circumstances. Its decline in popularity after 1750 can be attributed to its use of characteristic Baroque instruments like the harpsichord and recorder, which fell out of use during the Classical era – it took the Telemann Renaissance of the 20th century to rediscover this dramatic, fascinating work. © Emanuel Overbeeke, 2012
Recorded: Stuttgart, 2003 Cover photograph: Thinkstock / iStockphoto Licensed from Bayer Records 훿 2012 Brilliant Classics
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Also available in the Musica Sacra series
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Rachmaninoff: Liturgy of St John Chrysostom Russian State Symphony Capella Valery Polyansky 9253 2CD
Haydn: Die sieben letzten Worte Chamber Choir of Europe Nicol Matt 94290
J.S. Bach: Johannes-Passion Choir of King’s College, Cambridge Stephen Cleobury 93942 2CD
Berlioz: Te Deum Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra Eliahu Inbal 93945
J.S. Bach: Oster-Oratorium Motettenchor & Kammerorchester Pforzheim / Rolf Schweizer 94350
Haydn: Stabat Mater Stuttgart Chamber Chorus Frieder Bernius 93949
Handel: Messiah Choir of King’s College, Cambridge Stephen Cleobury 93948 2CD
Purcell: Funeral Music for Queen Mary Choir of Clare College, Cambridge Timothy Brown 93981
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