German Sacred Cantatas

This recording, whose title is here embodied in an instrumental version by Georg Böhm of the renowned chorale Vater unser, brings together sacred works and Lutheran cantatas for the alto voice. The concertante role allotted to the instruments is particularly important in these works and contributes to their deeply expressive character; these works were heavily influenced by Italian styles of the period. All of the instrumental works are closely linked to sacred music, the majority of them being constructed around chorale melodies.

Johann David Heinichen (1683–1729) is without a doubt one of the most important composers from North and Central Germany in the same generation as Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) und George Frideric Handel (1685–1759). For a long time, he was known mostly for his two musical theory treatises – Gründliche Anweisung zur vollkommenen Erlernung des General-Basses (Complete instructions on learning basso continuo perfectly – Hamburg 1711) and Der Generalbass in der Composition (The basso continuo in composition – Dresden 1728) – as well as his activities as conductor at the Saxon-Polish court in Dresden. Later, modest attention was also given to his instrumental works, operas, sere- nades and (Catholic) sacred music written from 1721. However, the conditions under which Heinichen was able to develop his many talents as a lawyer, composer and music theorist have remained largely unknown until now. The same applies to his Protestant sacred music that was composed before 1710, the year he began his travels to Italy.

Georg Philipp Telemann (1681–1767) is one of the most outstanding German Baroque composers and was an influential musical force in the first half of the 18th century. After initial success as a musician in Leipzig, in 1712 he was appointed the city director of music and Kapellmeister in Frankfurt am Main. He gained widespread international fame by 1737/38 at the latest by performing several concerts in Paris. Of his over 1,400 extant sacred cantatas, the maestro composed at least 54 for bass solo.

When he died, Nicolaus Bruhns was just 31 years old, and only twelve of his vocal works and five organ compositions have survived. On the strength of these, he is nevertheless considered one of the most prominent North German composers of the generation between Buxtehude and Bach. Buxtehude was in fact Bruhns teacher, and thought so highly of him that recommended him for a position in Copenhagen. There he worked as a violin virtuoso and composer until 1689, when he returned to Northern Germany to become organist in the main church of Husum. It was here that most if not all of the extant works were performed.

The year ends in fine style with a programme of cantatas by J.S. Bach performed by Vox Luminis. The Belgian group directed by the bass Lionel Meunier is now acknowledged as belonging among the world’s elite vocal ensembles, especially for its interpretations of German Baroque sacred music.

Handel wrote little for his native tongue, but what he did demonstrates a particular level of contemplative piety while still employing the familiar techniques of Italian opera. Praise for the beauty of nature and eternal life are the subjects of the sacred poems by his contemporary Barthold Heinrich Brockes which Handel set to music in his 'Nine German Arias'. Each aria celebrates an aspect of nature, from the beauty of a flaming rose to the sweetness of silence, with extraordinary tenderness and sincerity.

According to German theological tradition, which Bach knew very well, the alto voice was the very symbol of the Holy Ghost. Bach's three solo cantatas for alto demand enormous vocal virtuosity. Their extraordinary musical variety embraces sublime consolatory lullabies, a faithful echo of an organ concerto and the dramatic qualities of an oratorio. Andreas Scholl is the featured soloist in this reissue, backed by Philippe Herreweghe and the Collegium Vocale Gent.

Deep remorse and the longing for divine redemption are two of the central topics in the cantatas of Northern German Baroque composers. Griet de Geyter and Il Gardellino have selected three exemplary works in this genre by Dieterich Buxtehude, Georg Philipp Telemann and Johann Sebastian Bach, giving special emphasis to the clearly led voice and striking expressivity of the young Belgian soprano.

The recipient of the 2012 City of Leipzig Bach Medal, Masaaki Suzuki has earned an enviable reputation as an interpreter of the music of J. S. Bach as a reviewer in Intl Record Guide has put it: 'With Suzuki you can hear Bach's heart beat'. To a wide audience he is known as the director of Bach Collegium Japan, and the moving force behind the ensemble's acclaimed recordings of Bach's complete sacred cantatas.

Masaaki Suzuki and his Bach Collegium Japan made their first recording of the St Matthew Passion in March 1999. Twenty years later, in April 2019, it was time once again, as the singers and players gathered in the concert hall of the Saitama Arts Theater in Japan. ‘A profound joy’ is how Masaaki Suzuki describes his emotion at the opportunity to record Bach’s great fresco of Christ’s Passion for a second time.