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Homilius COMPLETE ORGAN CHORALES
Felix Marangoni
GOTTFRIED AUGUST HOMILIUS (1714-1785) Organ Chorales and Preludes CD1 51’30 1. Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland HoWV VIII.38 2’43 2. Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ HoWV VIII.37 – Mesto 2’25 3. Ach bleib mit deiner Gnade HoWV VIII.34 – Col affetto Trio à 2. Claviere col Pedal 2’05 4. Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten HoWV VIII.41 2’20 5. Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ HoWV VIII.36 2’38 32 Praeludia zu geistlichen Liedern vor zwey Claviere und Pedal (HoWV VIII.2-33) 6. 1. Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ HoWV4 7. 2. Hilf, Herr Jesu, lass gelingen HoWV5 8. 3. Christ lag in Todesbanden HoWV6 – Un poco allegro ma non molto 9. 4. Christ lag in Todesbanden HoWV7 10. 5. Wer nun den lieben Gott lässt walten HoWV3 – Allegro 11. 6. Straf mich nicht in deinem Zorn HoWV2 – Adagio 12. 7. Herr Jesu Christ, du höchstes Gut HoWV8 – Adagio 13. 8. Wir Christenleut habn jetzund Freud HoWV9 14. 9. Sei Lob und Ehr dem höchsten Gut HoWV10 15. 10. Meine Hoffnung steht auf Gott HoWV11 16. 11. Herzlich lieb hab ich dich, o Herr HoWV12 17. 12. O grosser Gott, du reines Wesen (Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten) HoWV13 18. 13. Komm, Heilger Geist, Herre Gott HoWV14 19. 14. Meinen Jesum lass ich nicht HoWV15 – Vivace 20. 15. Christ lag in Todesbanden HoWV16 – Vivace ma non presto
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1’40 2’32 2’27 1’56 2’00 3’08 3’13 3’12 3’15 3’14 2’35 2’40 2’43 1’36 3’08
CD2 69’20 1 16. Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele HoWV17 2’55 2 17. Erbarm dich mein, o Herre Gott HoWV18 2’23 3 18. Jesus, meine Zuversicht HoWV19 2’06 4 19. Erschienen ist der herrlich Tag HoWV20 1’53 5 20. Mache dich, mein Geist, bereit (Straf mich nicht in deinem Zorn) HoWV21 2’47 6 21. Jesus, meine Zuversicht HoWV22 3’06 7 22. Der am Kreuz ist meine Liebe HoWV23 3’38 8 23. Helft mir Gottes Güte preisen HoWV24 2’16 9 24. Mein Gott, das Herze bring ich dir HoWV25 2’31 10 25. Ach Herr, mich armen Sünder HoWV26 2’49 11 26. Nun komm der Heiden Heiland HoWV27 1’40 12 27. Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ HoWV28 1’48 13 28. Wo soll ich fliehen hin HoWV29 4’16 14 29. Dies sind die heilgen zehn Gebot HoWV30 2’46 15 30. Der am Kreuz ist meine Liebe HoWV31 3’46 16 31. Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme HoWV32 4’32 17 32. Wie soll ich dich empfangen HoWV33 4’51 18. 19. 20. 21. 22.
Nun freut euch, lieben Christen gmein HoWV1 1’60 Ach Herr, mich armen Sünder HoWV42 1’44 Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten HoWV40 3’24 Weg, mein Herz, mit den Gedanken (Freu dich sehr, o meine Seele) HoWV39 6’29 Christ lag in Todesbanden HoWV35 5’38
Felix Marangoni organ Recording: 11-14 June 2011, Sant’Antonio Abate church, Padua, Italy Producer, recording engineer, balance engineer and mastering: Michael Seberich Musical assistance: Antonio Scavuzzo Digital editing: Corrado Ruzza Front cover painting: Bernardo Bellotto, The Neuer Marktplatz in Dresden, 1747 Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia p & © 2015 Brilliant Classics
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Gottfried August Homilius
The Choral Preludes
The greatest organist I ever listened to» and «With no doubt he was our greatest church music composer.» That was respectively said at the end of 18th century by the two esteemed German musicians Johann Friedrich Reichardt and Ernst Ludwig Gerber. Gottfried August Homilius based his studies on Latin, Greek and Liberal Arts like his teacher Johann Sebastian Bach did. In his youth he was organist at the Annenkirche in Dresden and then in Leipzig, among Bach’s pupils, at the Nikolaikirche. From 1742 to 1755 he became organist and music director at the Frauenkirche in Dresden at one of the best available Silbermann organs. Afterwards, for thirty years (1755-1785), he was appointed as cantor at the Kreuzkirche in Dresden, which was as important as the famous Leipzig St. Thomas Cantorei. Most of his organ compositions were written during this period. His pupils, Daniel Gottlob Türk and Johann Adam Hiller, reported that Homilius usually improvised preludes, trios and phantasias at the organ during the afternoon vespers. He composed both vocal and instrumental sacred music such as 11 oratorios, 64 motets and 180 church cantatas which comprise two whole liturgical years.
Homilius’ choral preludes denote Bach’s contrapunctual tradition and are well bound to his aesthetic, with the addition of few elements of the so called upcoming Empfindsamen Stil. The three choral preludes (HoWV VIII.1-3) were composed for the organist’s place competition (which Homilius did not pass) held in Bautzen in 1741. These ones are his oldest organ works. The 32 Praeludia zu geistlichen Liedern vor zwey Claviere und Pedal (HoWV VIII.2-33) were composed during his thirteen years period as organist at the Frauenkirche. This was the only collection to be published by Breitkopf in 1761. The choral prelude Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele (HoWV VIII.17) was in the past falsely attributed to J.S. Bach. The chorales HoWV VIII.34-41 are some other great organ choral preludes found in autographs in the Conservatory of Brussels and in the Northampton University and are not included in any collection of organ chorales. HoWV VIII.43-46 are littler manualiter choral preludes, more suitable for home music on spinets, clavichords or harpsichords than on the organ. However they don’t demonstrate the mastery and skillfulness of the great pedaliter choral preludes, therefore they are intentionally not included in this recording. An exception to the former ones is the choral Ach Herr mich armen Sünder (HoWV VIII. 42), which seems to be especially written for an organ with two manuals and pedal. The choral settings types are mainly: a) three voices chorals with or without cantus firmus in the middle voice, b) four voice settings with cantus firmus in the middle voice, c) three voice settings with two cantus firmi voices in canon and d) ‘Choral fugue’. In comparison to Bach’s production, Homilius has not composed in the so called ‘melismatic’ style. There are somehow several singularities in Homilius’ organ choral production, such as the back and forth modulation from C minor to C sharp minor in Ach Herr, mich armen Sünder (HoWV VIII.26), or the quite unusual B flat minor key of Wer
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nur den lieben Gott lässt walten (HoWV VIII.6). Often, in the whole piece, only a part of the entire melody of the cantus firmus appears, and some similarities with the choral preludes of J.S. Bach are easily discoverable: not only the trios belonging to the a) type call back to the first and third movements of Bach’s Triosonatas, but also some settings evoke the Orgelbüchlein or the Schübler chorales. There are other two organ choral books with thorough bass, meant for home or congregational singing: one is lost and the other one, consisting of over 200 choral settings, is conserved in the Bach Archive in Leipzig. As far as is known, this is the first recording to include all the great organ chorales discovered by now. Some of them have not been published yet. © Felix Marangoni Translation: Silvia Marsella
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ORGAN SPECIFICATIONS The Organ Built by Francesco Zanin in 2007 after North German 18th century organ tradition, the organ is located on the balcony of the Sant’Antonio Abate church at the Collegio Don Nicola Mazza in Padua. Tuning: Werkmeister III
Hauptwerk
Rückpositiv
Pedale
9 Bordone 16’ 10 Principale 8’ 1 Viola 8’ 2 Flauto 8’ 11 Ottava 4’ 3 Flauto 4’ 4 Nazardo 2’ 2/3 12 Ottava 2’ 5 Tierce 1’ 3/5 13 Mixtur IV 14 Tromba 8’
24 Bordone 8’ 25 Quintadena 8’ 26 Flauto 4’ 27 Sesquialtera 28 Flautino 2’ 17 Principale 4’ 18 Ottava 2’ 19 Cembalo III 20 Dulzian 8’
6 Subbasso 16’ 7 Principale 8’ 8 Ottava 4’ 15 Trombone 16’ 16 Tromba 8’ 21 RP-ped 22 HW-ped 23 tremolo
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Registrations CD1 1. 613,15,17,18, 22. manual coupler; 2. 6, 10, 21, 23, 25; 3. 6, 7, 11, 20, 23, 25, manual coupler; 4. 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 17, 24, 27; 5. 613,15, 22, 27, manual coupler; 6. 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 24, 27; 7. 1, 37, 17, 24; 8. 2, 8, 9, 20, 24; 9. 619, 21, 22, 24, manual coupler; 10. 6, 7, 8, 11, 14, 17, 18, 24, 25, 27; 11. 1, 2, 6, 17, 22, 23, left hand octave lower; 12. 6, 11, 21, 23, 25; 13 7, 8, 9, 11, 14, 15, 17, 18, 20, 24, 25, 27; 14. 6, 8, 16, 17, 18, 24; 15. 6, 7, 10, 17; 16. 6, 7, 11, 20, 23, 25; 17. 6, 7, 10, 17; 18. 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 17; 19. 35, 10, 15, 24, 26, 27; 20. 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 17, 18.
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CD2 1. 1, 6, 7, 23, 25; 2. 6, 7, 8, 14, 17, 18, 24; 3. 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 14, 1619, 24; 4. 6, 7, 10, 20, 23, 24; 5. 6, 7, 10, 17, 23, 25; 6. 6, 7, 11, 23, 24, 26, left hand octave lower; 7. 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 20, 24, 26; 8. 1, 3, 6, 7, 23, 25, 26; 9. 2, 3, 6, 7, 24, 26; 10. 28, 14, 17, 18, 24, 25, 27; 11. 6, 7, 10, 24, 27; 12. 6, 7, 8, 23, 24, 25; 13. 4, 5, 8, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16; 14. 1, 6, 7, 8, 10; 15. 6, 8, 10, 14, 16, 20, 24, 25, 26, 28; 16. 7, 10, 17, left hand octave lower; 17. 68, 1013, 16, 21, 22, 27, manual coupler; 18. 1, 6, 20, 22, 23, 25; 19. 1, 6, 7, 10, 20, 24, 25; 20. 1, 6, 22, 23, 25; 21. 613, 1519, 22, 24, manual coupler; 22. 2, 6, 22, 23, 26.
Felix Marangoni, born in Venice, got his organ and harpsichord degrees at Padua and Verona conservatories. He graduated at University in Venice cum laude with a master’s degree in «Musicology and musical heritage» with a dissertation on Luca Marenzio published by Il Levante Editions. He won many international competitions with prestigious juries such as the «1st International Buxtehude Organ Competition» (Lübeck 2007) and the «International Organ Competition» in Herford (Germany, 2008). His great interest in baroque and renaissance music has brought him to attend several masterclasses with many renowned teachers. He was professor of «Organ practice and Gregorian chant» at the Conservatory of Mantua, held a masterclass about German baroque organ music at the Organ Academy of Udine and was juror at the «3rd International Organ Competition Johann Joseph Fux» in Graz (Austria). Actually he is professor of Philosophy of Music, Gregorian Chant, Aesthetics of Music and Ancient Music Notation at the Conservatory of Bologna. Beside his soloist activity as organist, harpsichordist, clavichordist and continuist he collaborates with various ensembles. More info at www.felixmarangoni.com
Special thanks to: Uwe Wolf, Ellen Exner, Francesco Zanin, Collegio Don Nicola Mazza Padova, Ruggero Livieri, Francesco Zane, my parents Brigitta and Lorenzo and Silvia. 10
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