A Festive CPE Premiere

The CPO label is well-known for recording rarely heard (and sometimes rather obscure) pieces of music, and continues this tradition with the present release. CPE Bach, the second son of Johann Sebastian, has in the last two decades been able to step out of his father’s shadow, with many of his works now released on CD. However, his church music is still rather neglected – for example, the cantatas recorded here, written for inauguration services of clergymen in Hamburg, have been looked upon as ‘occasional compositions’ (booklet, p 9), and therefore not worthy of much interest.

Ludger Rémy is a conductor who likes recording pieces that are otherwise neglected by the recording industry. He is a daring artist, and his unconventional character is nicely illustrated by the photograph on the back of the booklet, in which he is shown smoking a cigarette! Rémy combines the musician with the musicologist: he wrote the booklet text himself, in which he gives a good background to the music and to his recording project. It is implied (though not described in detail) that the music for the present recording was only discovered in 2000, when the archive of the Berlin Singakademie was returned to Germany from Kiev, where it had been taken after the Second World War. The music is not printed, and Rémy presumably prepared the material himself.

In the notes, Rémy draws a lively picture of CPE’s work in Hamburg. CPE had gone there, already more than 50 years in age, after a long period of service for Frederik the Great in Berlin, where he exclusively composed secular music. In Hamburg, he became the Musikdirektor, and was responsible for the church music in the town – a position very similar to that held by his father in Leipzig. In fact, he was to be one of the last composers to perform such a role in the traditional way; the changes in society and theology in the eighteenth century (the Enlightenment) resulted in considerable changes in the role of music in divine services.

Rémy explains in great detail both how and when the present cantatas were sung in the inauguration services. The first part, an elaborate and festive setting, including trumpets and timpani, was sung before the sermon. In contrast, the second part, after the sermon, was set in a more contemplative mood without the representative instruments. Rather exceptionally for a booklet text, Rémy even gives references in footnotes. However, this academic-looking feature is slightly dimmed by the fact that his references do not include page numbers, which is an annoyance to the interested reader.

The selection of pieces recorded on the CD is neither obvious nor explained. The English title implies that they are all 'Cantatas for Inaugurations'. However, there are only two full cantatas: Herr, Gott, du bist unsre Zuflucht H821m/ W 253, and Der Herr lebet, und gelobet sei mein Hort H821g/ W251. These are mixed with three single movements taken from other works. Except for the first of these ‘extras’, the listener is told that they all belong to some other Sunday cantatas (the origin of the first one remains obscure). However, one is left wondering what the relationship of these movements with the 'Inauguration Cantatas' might be. Perhaps there is none? Indeed, Rémy’s comments on the first single movement (‘Leite mich nach deinem Willen’ H835/ W227) imply that all three are based on earlier keyboard songs. However, the notes regarding this point are very unclear, and one is simply left to enjoy the pieces without fully understanding the reason for their inclusion, or seeing an overall concept. Perhaps the solution is found in the original German title, which only speaks of festive music from Hamburg, but does not specifically refer to the cantatas.

After further investigation, the choice of music for the CD becomes even more puzzling. In his notes, Rémy states that at the inauguration services, the sermon was always followed by the singing of Veni, Sancte Spiritus before the second part of the cantata (p 10). He points out that it ‘remains unclear what composition Bach chose for it’, but suggests that CPE ‘drew on a Veni by Telemann, his predecessor as music director.’ This sounds convincing and raises the question of why Rémy did not include a recording of this Telemann’s Veni to complement the cantatas, rather than the cryptic single movements from other works by CPE.

The pieces are ordered on the CD in a symmetrical way: three choruses frame the two cantatas (chorus-cantata 1-chorus-cantata 2-chorus). Unfortunately, this order does not work quite as effectively as might be imagined: the first chorus (‘Leite mich nach deinem Willen, H835) is not one of CPE’s more stirring compositions. With its minor mode and sombre tone, it is a questionable choice for the opening of a CD called ‘Hamburger Festmusiken’ – which literally means ‘Hamburg Celebration Music’. Perhaps it would have been better to abandon the idea of symmetry and open the CD with track 2 for instance – the first cantata, which has a very festive opening.

The booklet bears some further weaknesses. For instance, the absence of the numbers from Wotquenne’s catalogue of CPE’s works in the initial track-listing must be a mistake: they are included later, in the comments on each of the pieces. Also, the first cantata is ascribed, in the track-listing, to the inauguration of ‘Pastor Joh. Jacob Schäffer’, but in the later notes he becomes ‘Diakon Schäffer’ (p 12). A final revision would have helped to eliminate such mistakes, and to improve this booklet text, which undoubtedly has lots of potential.

However, despite certain scholarly concerns with the production, it is hard not to enjoy listening to the music. (And, indeed, given that we are talking about booklet-notes accompanying a CD, and not about an academic paper, the information provided is impressive anyway). First of all Rémy deserves special thanks for recording these pieces. They fill a gap in the recordings of CPE’s works and are interesting for a variety of reasons. Just to give an example: the opening of the second cantata on this disc, ‘Der Herr lebet, und gelobet sei mein Hort’ (track 17), bears a striking resemblance to the final chorus of the first part of J.S. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio (‘Ach, mein herzliebes Jesulein’). This is interesting as it shows how CPE looked back to his father’s works even as late as 1775, when this cantata was written. Such things are not mentioned in the booklet, and the listener can have his own sense of achievement at finding them.

Another example might be the aria ‘Schon hör ich die Posaune schallen’ and the ensuing chorale ‘Springt, ihr Grabesfesseln, springt’ from the first cantata (tracks 9 and 10): the text speaks of a ‘Posaune’ (‘trombone’), but CPE deploys a trumpet. This reminds us of the discrepancy that arose when Handel’s Messiah was performed in Germany at the time. Handel set the English Bible text, which says ‘the trumpet shall sound’, and thus used a trumpet. In the German translation, however, the instrument of the Last Day is a trombone. Handel’s setting, therefore, clearly clashed with the text with which it would have been sung in Germany. CPE may well have known Handel’s Messiah, but might have been unaware of the different English translation. It seems possible that he considered Handel’s use of the trumpet to be an artistic means of expression, and thus followed him using a trumpet in his own setting.

The trumpet player in track 9 deserves special mention, displaying a stunning virtuosity and yet full and clear sound. Unfortunately, his or her name is not specified in the notes – there are three trumpet players in total: Susan Williams, Christoffer Wolf, and Thomas Friedlaender. To one of them, special applause is due.

The choir of the ‘Himlische Cantorey’ (the name going back to a Hamburg publication of Psalm settings from 1604) is stunning. It consists of only two singers per part, eight in total, who deserve to be named: Veronika Winter and Julia Kleiter, soprano; Henning Voss and Ulrike Anderson, alto; Jan Kobow and Henning Kaiser, tenor; Sebastian Noack and Ralf Gorbe, bass. In his notes, Rémy gives evidence that such a small number of musicians is in fact moving towards authenticity: he reports (p 11) that one document mentions 12 or 13 singers for performances under CPE. The full ensemble of Rémy’s singers is strong enough to present convincingly the big choruses, which include trumpets and timpani, and at the same time it is subtle in the more intimate chorales. The numerous solos are sung by the same singers, all of whom are excellent and sound convinced of the text. According to the track listing, all singers apart from alto Henning Voss get their fair share of work. However, for the aria ‘Nun, so tritt mit heiterm Sinn’ in the second cantata (track 32), tenor Henning Kaiser is named as the soloist. This is either an extraordinarily high tenor aria, or the names of Voss and Kaiser were confused in print. The latter possibility seems more plausible. If that is the case, then it is a shame that Voss’s excellent singing in this aria is not acknowledged.

The musicians of ‘Les Amis de Philippe’, a group that was founded by Rémy, complement the singers very well. All the musicians – singers and instrumentalists – seem to share the same enthusiasm for the recording project that Rémy expresses in his notes. Not only is the performance outstanding, but so is the quality of the recording itself: the different instruments are very clearly distinguishable, the reverb is neither too much nor too little, and everything is well-balanced.

Altogether, this release is excellent. Even though the booklet notes do not always quite meet the academic ambitions of the project satisfactorily, one should acknowledge that, in the end, a CD is a recording enterprise, not a scholarly writing. And this most certainly is a wonderful CD to listen to!