Andreas ROMBERG (1767-1821)
Der Messias (1802) [64:20]
Veronika Winter (soprano), Markus Schäfer (tenor)
Ekkehard Abele (bass), Bernhard Scheffel (tenor)
Rheinische Kantorei
Das Kleine Konzert/Hermann Max
Rec. 20-22 February 2007, Studio Stolberger Strasse, Cologne, Germany.
CPO 777 328-2 [64:20]
This title was reviewed by Johan van Veen back nearer its original release in 2008, but for some reason it re-emerged on one of the recent lists, and I happen to be writing this on Easter Sunday 2021 which seems entirely appropriate. Andreas Romberg’s chamber music has had some attention on the MDG and Naxos labels, and CPO have also recorded his symphonies, so while still relatively obscure he is by no means an unknown quantity these days. Romberg was celebrated in his lifetime as a violinist and a composer, but his oratorio Der Messias was rejected by his publisher Simrock, and it languished in an archive until 2003. This is in contrast to the text, taken from an eponymous epic poem by Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock which enjoyed wide popularity throughout Germany.
Der Messias describes the fall of Adam and Eve in paradise, providing a backstory for Christ’s coming and mankind’s redemption. The Passion of Christ is described in the third of three sections, with a concluding general mood of uplifting praise to release us from those moments of suffering. There are a few quite dramatic sections, the orchestra responding to and illustrating fear and trembling as well as providing restrained accompaniment to Romberg’s sublimely lyrical style. This is a work that has a foot in the Empfindsamer Stil of C.P.E. Bach while at the same time looking towards the more romantic sensibilities of Schubert and Mendelssohn. There is a certain amount of accompanied recitative, but the emphasis is on arias, duets and some very fine choruses that go a great deal further than J.S. Bach’s illustrative chorales without becoming secular and operatic.
This is a fine work, with plenty of good music and an involving narrative. All of the soloists are excellent, the significant role of Elboa taken with great clarity by the admirable Markus Schäfer. The orchestra isn’t a huge one, but the sparingly used trumpets and timpani provide plenty of impact when required, and while the strings have the lion’s share of the score there is contrast on hand from a full double woodwind section. Romberg was no Haydn, but Der Messias is one of those works that grows on you the more you hear of it and the more you look into the ways this composer sets his words with highly effective harmonies and orchestral colours. CPO and Hermann Max once again deserve appreciation for bringing an obscure, indeed a ‘lost’ masterpiece to life, and one that deserves its place in any self-respecting collection of religious vocal music.
Dominy Clements
Previous review: Johan van Veen
