| Review by JJ June 13, 2007 (5 of 9 found this review helpful)
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Voici en première mondiale l'enregistrement d'une œuvre exceptionnelle de Gottfried August Homilius (1714-1785). Homilius naquit en saxe et fit des études de droit avant de tenir l'orgue de l'église Saint-Nicolas de Leipzig. Admis dans le chœur interprétant notamment les œuvres de Jean-Sébastien Bach, il sera bientôt l'élève de ce dernier avant de parfaire son apprentissage de l'orgue et de devenir l'organiste en titre de celui de l'église Notre-Dame de Dresde. Puis, environ vingt ans avant sa mort, il occupera le poste vacant de cantor de la Croix et finira ainsi son existence. Homilius composa plus de 60 motets, 180 cantates d'église, 11 oratorios, 4 magnificats ainsi que nombre de partitions pour orgue. La Cantate de la Passion enregistrée ici est basée sur un texte du pasteur de Löbnitz, Ernst August Buschmann (1725-1775). "Ce n'est pas, précise Uwe Wolf, un texte inspiré du récit biblique de la Passion, mais une pure contemplation. Il manque les dialogues bibliques et les acteurs connus, mais il manque aussi le style narratif neutre de l'évangile. Le Texte de la Cantate de la Passion est beaucoup plus émotionnel et personnel que celui des passions-oratorios...". C'est en effet ce que l'on constate à l'écoute de cet album remarquable dans lequel, chanteurs solistes, chœur et orchestre respirent d'un même souffle pour offrir les beautés, la lumière et la fraîcheur d'une œuvre inspirée. Fritz Näf dirige avec ferveur et sobriété tout en préservant la clarté d'ensemble. Un double SACD véritablement enchanteur.
Jean-Jacques Millo
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| Review by canonical March 24, 2009 (3 of 3 found this review helpful)
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As other reviews have noted, this is the world premiere recording of the Passion Cantata 'Ein Lämmlein geht und trägt die Schuld' by Gottfried August Homilius of Saxony (1714-1785).
This is the first I have heard of Herr Homilius, and a splendid and delightful find it is too.
In style and timbre, I would suggest his music is quite similar to that of CPE Bach (for example, CPE's 'The Last Suffering of the Saviour'). Intrigued by the musical similarity, I went off to check the details, and the parallels in their real lives are almost uncanny: both Homilius and CPE Bach were born in 1714, both were 'pupils' of J.S. Bach, both then studied law at the University of Leipzig (graduating in 1734 (CPE) and 1735 (H)), both wrote numerous passion oratorios, and both continued to use polyphonic fugal structures long after they went out of fashion after Bach's death in 1750.
This is a magnificent oratorio, famous in its own time, ... and for anyone who enjoys the uber baroque, with floral dramatic passages interspersed with wunderbar choral fuga, this SACD is really highly recommended.
The detail ...
The Passion
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The SACD notes do not say what the titular 'Ein Lämmlein geht und trägt die Schuld' translates as, but my German-English autobot translator suggests: 'A lamb goes and carries the debt'.
The financial crisis? I suspect the concept is much the same ... to find some external body to carry away the problem. In that age, faced with the unhappy prospect of a never-ending afterlife of fire and brimstone, finding a way to absolve spiritual guilt was THE problem of the day. The cover features a rather gruesome picture by Matthias Grunewald (1475-1528) of a lamb carrying a cross in its right front foot, and bleeding its blood into a cup. Similarly, the chorus of the text (which does not use a biblical account of the Passion) begins (albeit in German):
"A little lamb goes bearing the guilt
of the world and its children
It goes patiently atoning
for the sins of all sinners.
It goes out, grows ill and weak,
bows its head to the slaughter,
denying itself all pleasures;
it takes upon itself shame, scorn and mockery,
fear, wounds, welts, Cross and death,
and says: This will I gladly suffer."
Poor little thing. Lest all this put one off ... far from it. This is a magnificent piece of late-Baroque, with floral and dramatic passages (the furies, thunder and such), yet in a serious oratorial context. The chorales are particularly interesting: some, such as track 18, are very much in the gloriously solemn style of the J.S. Bach Passions, while others are brilliant and exciting choral fugues (e.g. track 17 at 1min10secs: Er Wird Israel erlosen) with the parts of the choir taking up the fugal roles.
Sonics/ Recording
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This is a joint production of Carus-Verlag and Swiss Radio DRS2, recorded in the Reform Church of Arlesheim in March 2006. This is the same radio company that did the fine Rathgeber recording (Oct 2006) at:
Rathgeber: Messe von Muri, Concertos - Cappella Murensis
The Homilius recording is generally of a high standard, though not quite as clean as the Rathgeber. The arias and recitatives seem very transparent, but there is a bit of granularity in the sonically more demanding chorales.
The 2 SACDs are issued in a cardboard fold-out package --- a standard SuperJewel Box would have been more appropriate.
The performance
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Superb. Crisp. Spritely. Clean. Very more-ish. Markus Brutscher makes a splendid Baroque tenor (try CD 2: track 3 for an absolutely exhilirating adventure in uber tenorial Baroque gallivant 18thC -style):
--- Bewaffne dich, Machtger, mit Schrecken und Grimme ...
--- (Arm yourself, mighty one, with terror and wrath ...)
There is a minor intonation issue at CD2 track 11 (3min25secs) which should really have been edited, but in the grand scheme, tis a trifle, and the overall performance is superb.
In summary: It grows and grows upon one. Highly recommended.
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