The Jephta und seine
Tochter is one of those pieces with
which to confound your friends; when
listened to with an innocent ear its
echoes of Brahms and Mendelssohn make
you wonder whether it is something by
them which you have overlooked. In fact
Reinthaler studied music in Berlin with
Adolf Bernhard Marx who imbued him with
a love of Handel, Beethoven and Wagner.
Reinthaler travelled to Rome, courtesy
of the King of Prussia, to studied old
sacred music at its source and it was
here that he began to sketch his oratorio
about Jephta. The success of the oratorio
led to his appointment as City Music
Director in Bremen and it has now been
enterprisingly recorded by forces from
Bremen.
When constructing his
libretto, Reinthaler used the oratorios
of Mendelssohn as his model and throughout
the piece the influence of Elijah
is never far away. Reinthaler assembled
his own libretto. He had originally
studied theology before going on to
study music full time. It tells the
familiar story of Jephta’s being chosen
as the Israelites’ leader, his vow to
God to sacrifice the first person he
sees on returning home if only the Lord
would grant him victory, his fateful
meeting with his daughter on returning
home and her plea that she might play
with her friends one last time. Like
Handel in his oratorio, Reinthaler alters
the biblical ending and an unnamed prophet
prevents Jephta from killing his daughter.
The work was written
just a few years after Mendelssohn’s
death and the parallels with Elijah
become more and more striking as you
listen. The sound-world of Elijah
never seems far away. Reinthaler uses
his chorus to striking effect, writing
many effective numbers for singer and
double chorus as well as using solo
numbers with choral backing, a device
beloved of Mendelssohn. The comparison
extends of course to the title role,
where Jephta is another dynamic Old
Testament character. Reinthaler characterises
him with much of the same vigour as
Mendelssohn does Elijah, both composers
use a bass voice. In fact Reinthaler’s
Jephta is far closer to Mendelssohn’s
Elijah than he is to Handel’s version
of the character.
The second part of
the oratorio opens with a consolatory
aria for soprano solo which evokes such
Mendelssohnian numbers as ‘O Rest in
the Lord’. There is even a vocal quartet
and a trio of female voices, two devices
used by Mendelssohn. Reinthaler neatly
and effectively balances the scene containing
the female trio and the women’s chorus,
with a parallel scene for the tenor
soloists and male chorus. Reinthaler
sits comfortably within this Mendelssohnian
tradition, creating a fine new fabric
from the master’s cloth. The piece is
well constructed and Reinthaler has
a good ear for orchestral and vocal
timbres, you never feel him straining
to write something beyond his ability.
Where he shows some
dramatic weakness is in the crucial
scene when Jephta acknowledges his vow
to his daughter. This is a situation
which has no analogy within Elijah.
Whereas you feel that Mendelssohn would
have created a remarkable dramatic moment,
Reinthaler is content to rely on dramatic
recitative. This is his weakness. He
is content to exist within his world
and does not innovate. His melodic invention
is also apt to let him down, he writes
effectively but his melodies are never
quite as memorable as they should be.
After Reinthaler’s
death, the piece was not performed again
until 1979 when it was revived in Bremen
Cathedral, where there have been a number
of performances since. This recording,
by Bremen Cathedral Choir, arose after
performances in 1997.
Reinthaler uses the
choir boldly and extensively; this is
a big choral piece. Bremen Cathedral
Choir sings with subtlety and vigour,
though they cannot disguise the occasional
moments when they sound a little too
small for the music. Though hard working
they can lack the necessary amplitude
of sound. No matter how significant
the vocal soloists, this is a work which
stands or falls by its choral contribution
and Bremen Cathedral Choir does rise
to the challenge.
As the protagonist,
English baritone Richard Salter has
a firm grasp of the drama required of
him and projects Reinthaler’s vigorous
drama well. Unfortunately, to my ears,
his voice sounds a little too baritone
and lacks the sort of bass darkness
which I think the role seems to require.
There are moments when his voice, though
dominating proceedings easily, could
have done with more heft to make him
a believable Old Testament general.
As his daughter Miriam, soprano Sabine
Ritterbusch has a clear but rich voice,
reminiscent a little of Heather Harper.
She copes well with the sometimes high
tessitura of the role, though her voice
is apt to go steely at the top. She
projects well the rather consolatory
nature which Reinthaler gives Miriam
and she shapes her music well.
Neither Ritterbusch
nor Salter quite manage to make Reinthaler’s
dramatic recitative come alive in Jephta’s
confrontation with his daughter. But
without listening to other performances,
I am not sure whether the fault is the
composer’s or theirs; they certainly
try to project the drama with conviction.
Waltraud Hoffman-Mucher has a light
and attractive voice and shapes her
one aria well. Tenor Jurgen Sacher has
an important, quasi-narrator role and
he fulfils this well. His voice is apt
to be tight at the top and it could
be freer.
Both chorus and soloists
are well supported by Kammer Sinfonie
Bremen under Wolfgang Helbich. The work
lacks an overture. Reinthaler provides
a simple, rather Brahmsian prelude,
but the orchestra acquits itself with
honour in the larger scale numbers.
If these artists were
recording Elijah then the recording
would be creditable but would not leap
to the fore in a crowded market. But
they more than make a case for the viability
of Reinthaler’s work, singing with commitment,
subtlety and enthusiasm and I enjoyed
the performance immensely.
Robert Hugill
Bremer Domchor 
