Johann Sebastian BACH (1685 - 1750)
Thomanerchor Leipzig - The Great Bach Tradition
St Matthew Passion (BWV 244)*/**:
Kommt, ihr Töchter, helft mir klagen [8:53]
Komm, Jesu, komm, motet for 8 voices (BWV 229)** [9:36]
St John Passion (BWV 245)**:
Herr, unser Herrscher [11:50]
Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, cantata (BWV 1)***:
Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, chorus [7:07]
Magnificat in E flat (BWV 243)***:
Magnificat [3:21]
Sicut locutus est [1:46]
Gloria patri - Sicut erat in principio [2:05]
Christmas Oratorio (BWV 248)**:
Fallt mit Danken, fallt mit Loben, chorus [6:29]
Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, cantata (BWV 140)***:
Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, chorus [7:27]
Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf (BWV 226)** [8:43]
St Matthew Passion (BWV 244)*/**:
Wir setzen uns mit Tränen nieder, chorus [6:52]
St John Passion (BWV 245)**:
Ach Herr, lass dein lieb Engelein, chorale [2:41]
Thomanerchor Leipzig/Günther Ramin, Kurt Thomas, Erhard Mauersberger, Hans-Joachim
Rotzsch
Dresdner Kreuzchor/Rudolf Mauersberger*; Gewandhausorchester Leipzig**, Neues
Bachisches Collegium Musicum***
No texts
BERLIN CLASSICS 0300224BC [77:02] 
In 1212 Dietrich the Oppressed, Margrave of Meissen, established a choral
foundation run by members of the St Augustine Order at the church of St Thomas
in Leipzig. It included a school where clerical musicians were trained. Soon
it became accessible to other boys as well. This has developed into what is
today the Thomanerchor of Leipzig. Its present Thomaskantor Georg Christoph
Biller, appointed in 1992, has many illustrious predecessors, like Johann
Hermann Schein, Johann Kuhnau, Johann Sebastian Bach and Johann Adam Hiller,
and in the 20th century internationally renowed masters like Karl Straube
and Kurt Thomas. The latter became an authority on choral conducting after
his defection to the West in 1960.
This event bears witness to the trials and tribulations of the choir during
the 20th century. Günther Ramin, who became Thomaskantor in 1939 during
the Nazi era, put much effort into keeping the choir independent from the
newly founded secular 'Artistic Grammar School of Leipzig'. After the war
he concentrated on restoring the former quality of the choir. When he died
in 1956 he was succeeded by Kurt Thomas, who during a visit to the West decided
to stay there as he couldn't live with the restrictions imposed by the regime
of the GDR in regard to foreign concert tours. From 1961 to 1972 the position
of Thomaskantor was held by Erhard Mauersberger, whose brother Rudolf
was Kantor of the other famous all-male choir of Eastern Germany, the
Dresdner Kreuzchor. In 1972 Mauersberger was succeeded by Hans-Joachim
Rotzsch who had frequently performed with the choir as a tenor soloist. After
Communist rule had come to an end in 1989 a process of democratization and
squaring up to history took place. Many people in high places were exposed
as former secret informants of the Ministry of State Security of the Communist
era. Rotzsch was one of them, and he resigned in 1991. This episode shows
the problems confronted by artists, scientists and others living under a totalitarian
regime: how to follow what you consider your vocation, without losing your
integrity. Many were unable to find the right balance and failed in one or
other department.
The political situation also had artistic implications. As artists didn't
have the freedom to travel at will, developments in the West in regard to
the performance practice of early music had little impact in East Germany.
Recordings of period instrument ensembles were hardly available and only sparingly
played by public radio. Some were able to listen to West German radio channels
and became acquainted with performances by the likes of Nikolaus Harnoncourt
and Gustav Leonhardt. These circumstances mean that some performances of Bach's
music by the Thomanerchor collected on this disc seem to be older than they
actually are.
Johann Sebastian Bach was the most illustrious predecessor of the above-mentioned
Kantors, and his oeuvre forms the core of the Thomanerchor repertoire.
That justifies a disc which specifically documents how his music has been
performed during the 20th century. Obviously the sound of the choir can only
be assessed on the basis of recordings. The booklet fails to mention the dates,
but the Bach Cantatas Website
provides us with these missing pieces of information. The oldest recording
dates from 1954: the St John Passion, directed by Günther Ramin. The
fact that the sound is not very transparent is partly due to the mono recording;
the recordings from the 1970s and 1980s are far better in this respect. But
it is also due to the performances which are slow and rather romantic. With
today's conventions in mind this recording is hard to swallow. The opening
chorus of the 4th cantata from the Christmas Oratorio dates from 1958
and was conducted by Kurt Thomas. It is not fundamentally different from Ramin's
approach. The two motets, also under the direction of Thomas, show more difference
in that considerably more attention has been paid to the text. Moreover, the
motets are not performed a cappella, but with instruments playing colla
voce. The liner-notes state that this is the only recording of the motets
by the Thomanerchor which is available on disc. That is incorrect: Archiv
reissued recordings of all the motets under Günther Ramin and these date from
between 1951 and 1955.
At that time the performances of Bach's vocal music by the Thomanerchor were
not that different from those in the West. However, with time performance
practice in East Germany increasingly fell behind. The recording of the St
Matthew Passion bears witness to the fact that the music scene in East
Germany was missing the change in performance practice in the West. The recording
dates from 1970 and was a unique collaboration between the two 'rivals', the
Thomanerchor and the Dresdner Kreuzchor, thanks to the fact that they were
directed by the Mauersberger brothers. Stylistically it is old-fashioned,
and as this recording was only released in 1975 the contrast with the ground-breaking
recording by Nikolaus Harnoncourt, released in 1971, is all the more striking.
It is only in the choruses from Cantatas 1 and 140 - recorded between 1981
and 1983 - that some influence of historical performance practice can be traced.
The tempi are swifter, there is more differentiation between the notes and
there are some cautious dynamic accents. The Neues Bachisches Collegium Musicum
played on modern instruments, and stylistically still lag behind West European
ensembles in baroque music. But it is a clear advantage in comparison with
the thick and romantic sound of the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. These choruses
also show some improvement compared with the three excerpts from the Magnificat
which were recorded in 1978.
The Thomanerchor is an institution in Leipzig and the eastern part of Germany
in general. It is understandable that the rich history of the choir is documented
on disc. Outside Germany those who have a special interest in matters of performance
practice or who are interested in all-male choirs may be tempted to purchase
this disc. It is a shame that the booklet gives no information as to the recordings
from which these excerpts were taken. Those who want to hear more after listening
to this disc should go to the Bach Cantata Website mentioned above which is
a rich source of information about virtually any recording of Bach's music
ever made.
Johan van Veen
http://www.musica-dei-donum.org
https://twitter.com/johanvanveen
An interesting disc documenting the interpretation of Bach's music by his
'own' choir during the 20th century.