It is often thought that Johann Sebastian Bach composed a large number of
cantatas. However, even if we consider that a part of his oeuvre in this
genre has been lost, he is easily surpassed by his colleague Christoph
Graupner who wrote 1,400 cantatas. He did so in his capacity as
Kapellmeister at the court of Darmstadt where he was in the service
of Landgrave Ernst Ludwig from 1711. It was his duty to compose sacred
music, instrumental works and operas. In the latter genre he had acquired
experience in Hamburg where he had worked since 1707 as a harpsichordist at
the Oper am Gänsemarkt. Unfortunately his own operas have been lost. In 1719
the court opera closed for financial reasons and since that year Graupner
concentrated on the composition of sacred music.
He composed a number of solo cantatas, among them 47 for bass. This can be
explained by the presence of Gottfried Grünewald who was
vice-
Kapellmeister, and also a bass singer. He had started his
career as a singer at the Hamburg opera and there Graupner met him. In
Darmstadt he also acted as a composer: he and Graupner shared the duty of
composing cantatas.
The librettos derive from two sources: Georg Christian Lehms (1684-1717)
whose texts were also used by Bach, and Johann Conrad Lichtenberg
(1689-1751), Graupner's father-in-law who first was a pastor in
Ober-Ramstadt and later became church superintendent in Darmstadt. He was
the author of 23 cantata cycles, comprising around 1,600 texts. Between 1719
and 1754 Graupner set about two thirds of them. In the latter year his
activities as a composer came to an end because of blindness.
The cantatas have the then common texture: a sequence of recitatives and
arias. Some open with a
dictum, a quotation from the Bible.
Chorales also play an important role in Graupner's cantatas. In
Bach's cantatas the chorales in solo cantatas are for four voices,
which means that additional singers are needed. In these cantatas by
Graupner the bass sings the melody whereas the strings play an independent
ornamental accompaniment. In
Ach Herr, mich armen Sünder such
chorale settings open and close the cantata and the harmonic progressions
eloquently illustrate their respective content. The last cantata on this
disc,
Zähle meine Flucht, is a little different in that it omits
any recitatives. The first aria is followed by an
accompagnato and
an
arioso, and the closing aria is very short and is a setting of
verses from Psalm 4. In
Frohlocke gantzes Rund der Erden the first
aria is repeated after a short recitative.
The basic instrumental scoring is for two violins, viola and basso
continuo. In
Frohlocke gantzes Rund der Erden this scoring is
extended with two
violettas and two bassoons. It is not quite clear
what the term
violetta refers to as it was used for different
instruments at the time. In
Angenehmes Waßer Bad the strings are
joined by an oboe. In
Zähle meine Flucht the arioso includes an
obbligato part for violin.
The cantatas are all connected to a Sunday or feast in the ecclesiastical
year.
Frohlocke gantzes Rund der Erden is for Whit Monday and
focuses on the working of the Holy Ghost.
Ich bin zwar Asch und
Koth is for Sunday Rogate; the gospel reading of the day is from John
16, where Jesus talks about the power of prayer. The second recitative
explains the meaning of the Lord's Prayer. The gospel reading for the
11th Sunday after Trinity is from Luke 18, including the parable of the
Pharisee and the publican, and that comes to the fore in
Ach Herr, mich
armen Sünder. The content is comparable with Bach's cantata BWV
199,
Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut, written for the same Sunday.
Kommt, last uns mit Jesu gehen links up with the gospel reading of
the day which tells of the disciples accompanying Jesus on his final journey
to Jerusalem (Luke 18): "Come, let's go with Jesus, though he
may go on suffering's path". The cantata is for Sunday Estomihi,
the last Sunday before Lent.
Angenehmes Waßer Bad is for the fourth
Sunday of Advent: "Pleasant water bath, you show me the way to
heaven". This refers to the work of John the Baptist which is the
subject of the gospel reading of the day (from John 1).
Zähle meine
Flucht is for the 13th Sunday after Trinity, but the text seems not
connected to the readings of the day. It is about the distress of the
believer as is expressed in the first aria: "To you, my God, my
distress is known".
Klaus Mertens is probably the best interpreter of this kind of repertoire.
His diction and articulation are excellent, and as a result any German
speaker will be able to understand every single syllable without looking at
the lyrics in the booklet. He doesn't overdo the expressive elements
in these texts. Everything sounds completely natural, including his
ornamentation and his emphasizing of single words. It is just a joy to hear
him and I can't imagine a stronger case for these cantatas than
Mertens' interpretations. The Accademia Daniel delivers appropriate
performances of the instrumental parts but the strings would have benefited
from a little more intensity. At several moments I found them a little
ineffectual.
Johan van Veen
www.musica-dei-donum.org
twitter.com/johanvanveen
