Evelyn Gemkow (EG), who helps us with the IF blog by making it possible for readers all over the world to understand our articles, has a very special hobby: she sings with the “Arcis Vocalisten”, a choir of outstanding quality. And now, they are again preparing for a very special concert, along with producing a CD:
CD production and concert of the “Arcis Vocalisten” – “Der Tod Jesu” by Carl Heinrich Graun
CD production and concert of the “Arcis Vocalisten” – “Der Tod Jesu” by Carl Heinrich Graun
For quite a few years, the Arcis-Vocalisten have now been cooperating with the “L’arpa festante” ensemble when performing pieces of the baroque and classic eras – to the huge benefit of the Munich concert audience.
With Carl Heinrich Graun’s “Der Tod Jesu“, the two ensembles, supported by the Bayerische Volksstiftung, now attend to a piece which – for good reasons – has been performed practically on a yearly basis on Good Friday in Berlin for almost three-quarters of a century. This is the third CD production realized by the baroque orchestra L’arpa festante and the Arcis Vocalisten in cooperation with the Bavarian Radio Station:
After Johann Sebastian Bach’s cantatas ”Aus der Tiefen“ (BWV 131) and ”Himmelskönig, sei willkommen“ (BWV 182), which were recorded in 2011, as well as the cantatas recorded in 2012 ”Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen“ (BWV 12) and ”Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben“ (BWV 147), the two ensembles are now working on a joint project with a composer who, today, is only rarely heard: ”Der Tod Jesu“ by Carl Heinrich Graun (* May, 7th, 1704, † August, 8th, 1759). And the joint project again promises to turn into a huge musical success.
During the now numerous instances of cooperation between the Arcis-Vocalisten and L’arpa festante, it turned out that these two ensembles each found their ideal match. They are in perfect harmony when it comes to working on and performing old music. On the one hand, we have the Arcis-Vocalisten, about whom the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” wrote that they have a “huge repertory of finely tuned ways of expression”, along with “a constantly precise diction and narrative and musical homogeneity”.
On the other hand, there is the baroque orchestra L’arpa festante – one of the most traditional German ensembles specializing in old music. They stand out through the huge musical experience and virtuosity of every individual instrumentalist, as well as through their fabulous richness of colour and expression.
The two ensembles complement each other in an ideal way, and each new cooperation is a huge experience for all parties concerned, both on the musical and social level. So now the Arcis-Vocalisten and L’Arpa Festante turn towards Carl Heinrich Graun’s ”Tod Jesu“ – which is an impressive work, even if you only look at it from the perspective of its performance history. First performed on March, 26th, 1755 in the Berlin Cathedral, Graun’s Passion Cantata regularly was the constitutive factor of the musical Good-Friday program in the Prussian Capital for more than seventy years. This is even more remarkable because, in those days, remembering the works of composers from the early times was rather the exception from the rule. The audience generally was more fascinated by musical novelties.
This long-lasting popularity will immediately become understandable for the music lover of today as he enjoys listening to the work. While the libretto on which it is based is clearly a concession to the tastes of the time (which today sometimes might look over-affected), Graun’s composition still moves the senses of the contemporary listener very directly. The range of musical technique and musical expression used by Graun is huge – from the seemingly rather archaic double-fugue strictly in the old style for choir through arias in the gallant style as it started flourishing during Graun’s time, down to the opera-like, over-enthusiastic, exulting tenor aria.
At the same time, the work, as far as the underlying theological and narrative concept are concerned, is opposed to – or better: it complements – the Passions by Bach in a fascinating way. Naturally, the latter are the non-plus-ultra for the music lover of today when it comes to passion music.
On the one hand, Bach’s Passions mirror the events of the passion as a “historical” event, at the same time making the salvation history – the completion and execution of the divine plan with Christ as its centre and pivotal point – the focus of everything. Graun’s approach is totally different: Jesus is more a human among humans, a virtuous hero and benefactor in the middle of everyone, rather than the actor of an eschatological plan. Individual emotions of the divine human being Jesus are reflected and brought to the attention of the audience.
The actual events of the passion as a historical happening, however, are only mentioned as side-lines and indirectly. Music lovers need not wait for the CD to be produced by the Arcis Vocalisten and L’arpa festante, because the two ensembles will also give a performance of their joint Graun Project on
Sunday, May, 18th, 2014, at 8 p.m. in the Sendling Himmelfahrtskirche
under Professor Thomas Gropper.
As early as 7 p.m. Thomas Gropper will give an introduction to the concert, which is free for members of the Bayerische Volksstiftung.
The Death of Jesus – a passion oratorio of many facets with an impressive performance history, performed by the Arcis-Vocalisten and the Baroque Orchestra ”L’arpa festante“ in the Sendling Himmelfahrtskirche.
Tickets for 28.- Euros plus advance-booking fee are available at all the usual advance-booking outlets, under www.muenchenticket.de or by telephone: 089- 54 81 81 81. Students: 12.- Euros (concert evening only). Introduction to concert: 5.- Euros
RMD
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