Whether one uses the slightly anachronistic term »cantata«, or the more appropriate geistliches Konzert (»sacred concert«) to describe the form of sacred vocal music created during the course of the 17th century in the northern German lands, one is struck, above all, on listening to this music, by the depth of feeling — a blend of humility, pain and anguish — on the one hand, and by the power of the musical composition itself on the other. The Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) was the stage for bloody clashes, joined in the name of religion, attended by their cortege of atrocities, famines and epidemics, resulting not only in destruction, but also, above all, a deep demoralisation. What faith could reside in Man, when his spirit could only hope to find rest in the afterlife? It was a period for reflection on the misery of the human condition, on the precariousness of life, on the futility of engagement, somewhere between culpability and mortification, lucidity and cynicism, doubt and despair.The 17th century in Germany witnessed a power struggle between the solidly anchored traditions and a renewing musical trend, and over the course of a few decades the forces of innovation would move from a marginal position to one of dominance.Religious musical practice consisted largely of plainchant melodies, supplemented by the polyphonic repertoire from the beginning of the century, or even of the previous one. The stile antico was considered more suitable for devotional and reflective purposes. A certain hostility towards the new Italian style, generally considered to be artificial and contrived, was expressed most clearly by the Pietists, led by Johann Arndt. This group — flowing from their conviction that the scriptures and their theological commentary were at first sight impenetrable to the laity, and so were failing to fulfil their pastoral task - insisted on the need for better guidance in bible-reading, encouraged group discussion and individual study of specialist literature, and demanded simplification of the texts and their musical setting. They took issue with the inadequacy, in their ears, of Italian music, comprised as it was of »animal noises«, and recommended rather the use of polyphonic music in the sacred sphere to promote reflection and devotion. Flowing logically from their principles, they also promoted a new form of »spiritual song«, ironically inspired by the Italian strophic aria — the only concession to the stile moderno — as a melodically simple and musically sober form in exclusive service of the comprehension of the text.Opposed to the Pietists in the debate about the role music was to be afforded within the protestant liturgy was an orthodox current decidedly more open to new developments in music. The expressive content of the text as a whole, and its Affekt, were considered more important than its word-by-word comprehensibility. Music, as a gift of God, was the principal conduit for fitting homage to him. An increasingly important element in sacred music would be the representation of emotional drama, requiring a compositional method unashamedly elaborate, even virtuosic, one reinforcing further the role of instruments — and gratifying an existing predilection in Germany for instrumental music.
- Wykonawca Kooij Peter , L'Armonia Sonora
- Data premiery 2011-05-01
- Nośnik CD
