Mahler Booklet

BACH &
A RIAS
DUETS
476 118-3
SARA
SALLY-ANNE
MACLIVER
RUSSELL
ORCHESTRA OF THE ANTIPODES • ANTONY WALKER
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
1
0
1685-1750
Lass, Seele, kein Leiden (O soul, let no suffering) from Cantata No. 186
!
Den Tod niemand zwingen kunnt
(Nobody could overcome death) from Cantata No. 4
3’42
Schafe können sicher weiden (Sheep may safely graze) from Cantata No. 208 4’28
Vergnügte Ruh’, beliebte Seelenlust
(Contented rest, beloved inner joy) from Cantata No. 170
5’52
£
ALTO
5
Wir eilen mit schwachen, doch emsigen Schritten
(We hasten with faint, but eager steps) from Cantata No. 78
Christe eleison (Christ, have mercy) from Mass in B Minor, BWV 232
$
7
%
Ich folge dir nach (I follow after thee) from Cantata No. 159
4’42
DUET
8
Mein gläubiges Herze (My believing heart) from Cantata No. 68
3’17
SOPRANO
solo violoncello piccolo: Daniel Yeadon
9
6’35
Kommt, ihr angefochtnen Sünder
(Come, ye troubled sinners) from Cantata No. 30
Wenn des Kreuzes Bitterkeiten
(When the bitterness of the cross) from Cantata No. 99
Herr Gott Vater, mein starker Held!
(Lord God Father, my champion strong!) from Cantata No. 37
ALTO
solo violin: Anna McDonald
2
6’10
3’25
2’29
DUET
^
Entziehe dich eilends (Retire quickly) from Cantata No. 124
3’59
DUET
Total Playing Time
Erbarme dich (Have mercy) from St Matthew Passion, BWV 244
5’42
DUET
solo flute: Melissa Farrow; solo oboe d’amore: Antony Chesterman
4’52
DUET
Weichet nur, betrübte Schatten
(Hence, dismal shadows) from Cantata No. 202
ALTO
solo flute: Melissa Farrow
5’01
DUET
solo violoncello: Daniel Yeadon
6
2’39
SOPRANO
solo oboe: Antony Chesterman
SOPRANO
4
Er kennt die rechten Freudenstunden
(He knows the proper time for joy) from Cantata No. 93
DUET
@
DUET
3
5’04
DUET
solo oboe: Antony Chesterman
3’26
DUET
2
Flösst, mein Heiland, flösst dein Namen
(Doth, my Saviour, doth thy name) from Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248/IV
Sara Macliver soprano • Sally-Anne Russell alto
Orchestra of the Antipodes • Antony Walker conductor
3
72’51
‘I have seen things by the famous organist
... Herr Joh. Sebastian Bach, both for the
church and for the fist [keyboard music]
which are certainly of such a quality that
one must highly esteem the man.’
Johann Mattheson,
Das Beschützte Orchestre, 1717
‘I consider it unnecessary to describe the
singular merit of Sig. Bach since it is too
well known and admired not only in
Germany but all over Italy. I will say only
that I find it difficult to find a better
Professore since every day he can claim to
be among the finest in Europe.’
Padre Martini, correspondence, 1750
4
Cantatas were typically performed
within the context of the principal service
(Hauptgottesdienst). In Leipzig the service
began at 7am and generally lasted for about
four to five hours, finishing just before
noon. The music included organ preludes
and voluntaries, Latin motets, hymns,
plainchants and the cantata itself.
The gospel reading was normally
related to the text of the cantata, which was
performed after the intoning of the Latin
Credo. The sermon came after this, lasting
an hour or more, and is known to have
begun at sometime around 8am. Malcolm
Boyd (Bach, Oxford, 2000) has pointed
out that this means that the first part of the
cantata began around 7.30am, ‘not the best
time of day,’ he comments, ‘for young
choristers and instrumentalists to get to
grips with some of the most demanding
new music in the whole of western Europe!’
Bach himself notated the order of
service, possibly to remind himself, on the
front of his score of Nun komm, der Heiden
Heiland, BWV 61 (Now come, saviour of
the gentiles) in his first year at Leipzig
in 1723.
D
uring his lifetime Johann Sebastian
Bach’s concerted music for the
Lutheran church was variously
labelled ‘Concerto’, ‘Motetto’, ‘Dialogus’,
‘Stück’ (piece), ‘Hauptmusik’ (principal
music), ‘Kirchenstück’ (piece for the church)
or sometimes it was just simply ‘Musik’.
Bach seems to have reserved ‘Cantata’ for
pieces that were Italianate in structure and
inspiration. The writing of these works
occupied Bach for most of his career and his
obituary states that, at Leipzig, he composed
‘five annual cycles [Jahrgänge] of church pieces
[cantatas] for every Sunday and feast day [of
which there are about 60 each year]’. This
output was by no means extraordinary for a
typical North German Cantor such as Bach.
Johann Theodor Römhild (1684-1756)
composed twelve cycles of which only two
hundred or so are known; Georg Philipp
Telemann (1681-1767) wrote three in addition
to 1150 other cantatas; Johann Christoph
Frauenholtz (1684-1754) completed five
cycles (only fifty survive); and Johann
Friedrich Fasch (1688-1758) and Gottfried
Heinrich Stölzel (1690-1749) each wrote
twelve annual cycles. Two-fifths of Bach’s
cantatas are no longer extant.
5
in Bach’s order), but they had to remain if
the cantata was constructed in two parts (as
in No. 14 of Bach’s schedule). Not surprisingly,
the cantatas written for winter services are
generally much shorter than those destined
for the warmer months. The cantata was
sung by the first choir of the Thomasschule
(where Bach was Cantor and Director
Musices) at the two main churches in
Leipzig on alternate Sundays. For the first
day of the three major festivals (Christmas,
Easter and Whitsun) it was sung in the
morning at the Nikolaikirche and at the
Thomaskirche in the afternoon, the venues
were reversed the next day and finally on
the third day only the Nikolaikirche
congregation heard the work. There were
four choirs resident at the Thomasschule
with the all-male student body providing
the music for five churches. To assist the
Cantor, a prefect was assigned to each of
these choirs because, as Bach said in 1737,
‘I cannot be in all the churches at once, and
I have special duties of inspection and
supervision over the First Choir.’ There
were about 55 pupils at the Thomasschule
and in return for board and lodging they
were expected to ‘provide the forces for
church music and also accompany funerals
and, three times a week ... go street singing,
as the residents will then let them have
It reads:
Order of the Divine Service in Leipzig on
the First Sunday in Advent: Morning
[November 28, 1723]
1. Preluding
2. Motet
3. Preluding on the Kyrie, which is
performed throughout in concerted manner
4. Intoning before the altar
5. Reading of the Epistle
6. Singing of the Litany
7. Preluding on [and singing of] the Chorale
8. Reading of the Gospel and intoning of
the Creed [this crossed out]
9. Preluding on [and performance of]
the principal music [i.e. the cantata]
10. Singing of the Creed [Luther’s
Credo Hymn]
11. The Sermon
12. After the Sermon, as usual, singing of
several verses of a hymn
13. Words of Institution [of the Sacrament]
14. Preluding on [and performance of] the
music [probably the second part of the
cantata]. After the same, alternate
preluding and singing of chorales until
the end of Communion, [and so on].
On especially cold mornings, the boys
were allowed to leave the choir loft after the
cantata (i.e. after No. 9 or more properly 10
6
recognised for its incredible originality and
seemingly inexhaustible invention. His
craftsmanship and contrapuntal mastery
was consummate and his attention to detail
immaculate. Bach’s word setting, in particular,
demonstrates his quite touching pursuit of
finding the appropriate musical structure to
compliment the texts he had to set, week
after week. The seminal complete recording
of the cantatas on period instruments
begun by Gustav Leonhardt and Nikolaus
Harnoncourt in the 1970s did much to bring
these works to the attention of the music-lover.
Ever since its rediscovery and publication
in the 19th century, Bach’s church music
has been the subject of rigorous scholarship
and continues to be performed and recorded.
Certain theories and attitudes that emanate
from 19th century thought are just now
beginning to be reassessed and re-evaluated.
The traditional view of Bach as a fervent
Lutheran has come under scrutiny by
scholars since World War II; as has Friedrich
Smend’s famous ‘number symbolism’ theory,
first espoused in the 1950s. Statements like
those of Charles Stanford Terry, who said in
the 1920s that at his court position in
Cöthen Bach ‘surrendered the declared
object of his life [religious music] and
divorced his art from the exalted purpose to
which he had dedicated it’, have become
something for their sustenance.’ Students
were admitted when they were about 13 or
14 (as sopranos and altos) and would
remain at the school for at least six years.
Contemporaries remarked that the usual
age when an alto became a tenor was 18 –
a combination of diet and living conditions
meant that boys approached puberty much
later than today. Bach himself, it was
reported, was 15 when he was a soprano at
Lüneburg and his voice broke ‘some time
later’. Andrew Parrot (The Essential Bach
Choir, Boydell, 2000) has surmised that
experienced tenor and bass voices must
have been in short supply. And so the
original voices for all of the works on this
recording (with the exception of the secular
cantatas and the Mass in B minor, parts
of which were written for the court at
Dresden, which permitted female singers in
church) were those of boys and young men
between the ages of around 13 and 21.
Bach’s liturgical music has been studied,
performed and enjoyed by musicologists,
musicians and countless music-lovers almost
continually since the late 19th century and,
as Boyd notes, it is ‘astonishing, and in the
end inexplicable ... that music which makes
so few concessions to the listener should
enjoy an immense popular following.’
Bach’s formidable craft was, and still is,
7
11 repetitions in St Matthew Passion of
‘Herr, bin ichs?’ (Lord, is it I?) for each
of the disciples except Judas as well as
the ten fugal entries emphasising the ten
commandments in his organ prelude Dies
sind die heil’gen zehn Gebot, BWV 679. But
Tatlow, in particular, has demonstrated
convincingly that the ‘natural-order number
alphabet’ would not have been Bach’s first
choice even if he were to indulge in a spot
of cryptology, and that Smend and his
followers often employed not only faulty
arithmetic but outright, blatant speculation.
What remains, however, is the undeniably
magnificent and awe-inspiring output of
the composer, admired for over 200 years.
For many, Bach and his music are
synonymous with the very transcendent
nature of music itself.
The duet Den Tod niemand zwingen
kunnt (Nobody could overcome death)
from one of Bach’s earliest cantatas (BWV 4,
written around 1707/8) paints Martin
Luther’s words in the kind of transparent
counterpoint that characterised the period
when Bach was studying the works of
Georg Böhm (1661-1733), Johann Adam
Reincken (1643-1722), Dieterich Buxtehude
(c.1637-1707) and Johann Pachelbel (16531706). A particularly beguiling moment
occurs with the final ‘allelujas’ – the
increasingly difficult to reconcile with new
research on chronology, borrowings and
parody. As a result Bach has assumed a
persona more pragmatic, craftsmanlike and
very much of his time – in contrast to the
image of the lofty inspired visionary so
beloved of his early 19th-century admirers.
Ruth Tatlow and others have demonstrated in the last 20 years the speculative
nature of the theologian Smend’s ‘naturalorder number alphabet’ theory, in which he
argued that, according to the method,
the letters ‘BACH’ add up to 14 and
‘J.S. BACH’ equates to its palindrome: 41.
Smend extended this theory and posited
that Bach also seemed to be referring to
biblical references on occasion. Many
writers, musicians and biographers have
been taken with this tempting theory – a
1985 study concluded that in one work
Bach had foretold the exact date of his death!
Like Mozart, Haydn, Purcell and others,
Bach liked musical puzzles (some use
patterns of 14, hence Smend’s hypothesis),
canons and other mathematical games and
one can find his name written out in pitch
notes in some later works (BACH in
German nomenclature = B-flat, A, C and
B-natural). Indeed, a kind of dramatic
symbolism occurs at various moments in
his liturgical music; examples include the
8
composer has decided to set the word in
such a way that its meaning seems to be less
exultant and more introspective and heartfelt.
A flute and oboe d’amore join forces
with the soprano and alto in the extraordinary
Wenn des Kreuzes Bitterkeiten (When the
bitterness of the cross) from the chorale
cantata BWV 99 of 1724. The text mirrors
St Paul’s words regarding the struggle
(‘streiten’ – here vividly portrayed) between
spirit and flesh as described in the Epistle
for this Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity.
Entziehe dich eilends, mein Herze, der
Welt (Retire quickly, my heart, from the
world) comes from the cantata Meinen
Jesum lass ich nicht, BWV 124 (I shall not
leave Jesus) that belongs to the exclusively
chorale cantata annual cycle of 1725. This
da capo duet portrays the joy of heaven
with a dance-like continuo accompaniment:
‘Retire quickly, my heart, from the world;
you find in heaven your true delight.’
The duet chorale Herr Gott Vater,
mein starker Held! (Lord God Father, my
champion strong!) from BWV 37 of 1724
takes as its theme the fifth verse of Philipp
Nicolai’s hymn of 1599. Florid ornamentation
in both voices seems to accord with the
ecstatic text, ‘Thy Son is my treasure’. Alfred
Dürr identifies in this movement a new
kind of thematic characterisation using
counterpoint as well as a fluid instrumental
quality that differs from Bach’s previous
essays in the form. The duet aria Er kennt
die rechten Freudenstunden (He knows
the proper time for joy) is part of the
chorale cantata Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt
walten, BWV 93 (The man who leaves to
God all power), composed for the fifth
Sunday after Trinity in 1724. This masterly
movement is the focal point of the work
and the chorale appears in the violins and
violas as well as being paraphrased in
diminution by the two voices themselves.
The enchanting duet Wir eilen mit
schwachen, doch emsigen Schritten
(We hasten with faint, but eager steps)
follows immediately on from one of Bach’s
great monumental choral movements – the
passacaglia opening of BWV 78, Jesu, der
du meine Seele (Jesus by thy Cross and
Passion) of 1724. The small, almost fragile
scoring (‘pizzicato e staccato’ for violone
and continuo organ only) emphasise the
weak steps of the persona whilst his
eagerness is portrayed in the rising melody
as well as in the escalating canonic entries.
The duet Arie mit Choral, Ich folge dir
nach (I follow after thee) from BWV 159,
Sehet! Wir gehn hinauf gen Jerusalem (See
now! We’re going up to Jerusalem) from
1729, contains the chorale tune well9
known to English audiences as ‘O Sacred
Head, Sore Wounded’ and is here sounded
by the soprano. Beneath this the alto sings ‘I
follow Thee still through scoffing and
shame’. Dating from 1723, the duet Lass,
Seele, kein Leiden von Jesu dich scheiden
(O soul, let no suffering divide you from
Jesus) from BWV 186, is a sprightly dancelike movement that occurs near the end of
this lengthy, bipartite cantata. Cross-rhythms
further energise the joyous declamation of
the text: ‘crown through mercy as reward’.
The great Mass in B minor, BWV 232
has a complex history – parts of it seem to
have been written as a potential ‘audition’
piece for the post of Kapellmeister (left
vacant since Johann David Heinichen’s death
in 1729) at the wealthy, influential and
cosmopolitan court at Dresden. Although
Bach travelled to Dresden in 1733 with his
son Wilhelm Friedemann to present his
credentials, the post was granted to the
internationally famous composer Johann
Adolf Hasse (1699-1783) whose music, in
contrast to Bach’s, was much more in
keeping with the progressive trends of the
time. Wilhelm Friedemann did obtain a
position as organist at the Sophiekirche,
however, with Bach returning to his cantorship
at Leipzig. In the later years of his life Bach
returned to the torso and completed a missa
tota – a large mass that encompassed every
aspect of the Mass Service and so, essentially,
was unusable in either a Catholic or a
Protestant context. Why Bach composed a
Mass that could never be performed has
puzzled scholars ever since – possibly he
thought it to be a summation of his art.
The Christe eleison (Christ, have mercy) is
one of those movements that comprised
part of the ‘audition’ material and so it was
probably written with Dresden in mind.
Lithe, compact and melodious, it relieves
the awe-inspiring tension generated by the
movement that precedes it, ‘Kyrie eleison’.
The inviting alto aria with flute and
pizzicato strings Kommt, ihr angefochtnen
Sünder (Come, ye troubled sinners) from
BWV 30, Freue dich, erlöste Schar (Rejoice,
redeemed flock) of 1735, reproduces the
lilting, syncopated rhythm of the opening
chorus except now within the gavotte topic.
The pleasing nature of this graceful aria
seems to have upset scholars used to, it
seems, a different appraisal of Bach’s
melodic invention – William Gillies Whittaker
(and later, Alec Robertson) complained in
1959 that in this particular aria ‘there is
absolutely no relation between text and music
... It is the worst crime Bach committed
against himself.’ Its captivating orchestration
and gentle demeanour, however, need
no apology.
10
‘weeping bitterly’, remembering Jesus’
prophecy. Bach uses a solo violin to heighten
the weeping figures and overall lamenting
quality of this aria.
The appealing and attractive soprano
aria Mein gläubiges Herze (My believing
heart) from the cantata BWV 68, Also hat
Gott die Welt geliebt (God so loved the
world) of 1725, is a reworking of an aria
from the so-called Hunting Cantata (BWV
208), originally written for the birthday
of the hunt loving Duke Christian of
Weissenfels around 1713. The originally
‘secular’ nature of the aria accords well with
the new text supplied by Marianne von
Ziegler: ‘My believing heart, be glad, sing,
be merry’. The addition of the violoncello
piccolo coupled with Bach’s decision to
retain the marvellous concluding ritornello
in the original further contribute to the
joyous atmosphere.
The Hochzeitskantate, BWV 202
(Wedding Cantata) that begins with the
words Weichet nur, betrübte Schatten
(Hence, dismal shadows) was presumably
written after Bach’s move to Leipzig but it is
still uncertain for whom it was destined or
for what occasion. Reinhard Goebel
intriguingly suggests that perhaps Bach was
inspired, after his journey to Dresden in
1733, by the successful composer and
The solo alto cantata BWV 170,
Vergnügte Ruh’, beliebte Seelenlust
(Contented rest, beloved inner joy) was
composed in 1726 and was presumably
sung by one of the young boys of the
Thomasschule. This unidentified young man
(some commentators think it may have
been the falsettist Carl Gotthelf Gerlach)
seems to have particularly inspired Bach
because three of his four alto cantatas date
from this time. The image of a heavenly
contented rest (vergnügte Ruh’) away from
the troubles and angst of an earthly realm
was an image that featured prominently in
much Pietist religious poetry. Whereas the
harmonic rhythm and graceful shapes of
the first movement befit the vision of
eternal rest, the rest of the cantata is
troubling, startling and painful. The oboe
d’amore further contributes to the quiet
repose of this opening movement.
The great St Matthew Passion, BWV 244,
needs no introduction here – ever since its
revival by Carl Friedrich Zelter (17581832) and the youthful Felix Mendelssohn
(1809-1847) it has perhaps become one of
the most performed and admired of Bach’s
works. The alto aria, Erbarme dich (Have
mercy) follows the intensely dramatic
recitative in which Peter betrays Christ
three times, the cock crows and Peter flees
11
undoubtedly given great pleasure to its
dedicatee. The great Weihnachts-Oratorium,
BWV 248 (Christmas Oratorio) of 1734
contains many beauties of which the soprano
movement with echo and obbligato oboe,
Flösst, mein Heiland, flösst dein Namen
(Doth, my Saviour, doth thy name), is one
of the most novel and enchanting. Pizzicato
bass and continuo organ add to the intimate
nature of this charming piece, where the
exclamations of ‘Ja!’ and ‘Nein!’ were originally
echoed in another part of the church by, we
can imagine, one of the soloist’s schoolmates.
singer team, Johann Adolf Hasse and his
wife Faustina Bordoni. Could this piece
(and the other ‘Wedding Cantata’, BWV
210) be intended as a ‘showpiece’ for Bach’s
own singing wife? The opening Adagio
(curiously lacking the usual ‘aria’ appellation)
is a ravishing duo for oboe and soprano
with a lush accompaniment that consists of
rising arpeggios in the strings. Goebel sees
this as less of an aria and more as a kind of
descriptive ‘sinfonia’. The text, ‘Hence, dismal
shadows, frost and winds, be no more!’, is
intensely dramatic and the entire cantata is
set in a theatrical fashion that is unusual, or
at least uncommon, in Bach’s output.
The much loved da capo aria Schafe
können sicher weiden (Sheep may safely
graze) has, over the centuries, undergone
numerous transcriptions and arrangements
but was originally scored by Bach for two
recorders, soprano and continuo. It is sung
by the character Pales in the Hunting
Cantata, Was mir behagt, ist nur die muntre
Jagd, BWV 208 (What gives me pleasure is
the merry chase alone) of 1713 and is
charmingly placed in the context of this
most galant work, which would have
Erin Helyard
12
Ärgre dich, o Seele, nicht, BWV 186
(Am 7 Sonntag nach Trinitatis)
10. Arie (Duett: Sopran, Alt)
1 Lass, Seele, kein Leiden
Von Jesu dich scheiden,
Sei, Seele, getreu!
Dir bleibet die Krone
Aus Gnaden zu Lohne,
Wenn du von Banden des Leibes nun frei.
Vex thyself o spirit not
(The Seventh Sunday after Trinity)
10. Aria (Duet: Soprano, Alto)
O soul, let no suffering
Divide you from Jesus,
O soul, be true!
The crown awaits thee
Reward of his mercy,
When you are free from the body’s chains.
Christ lag in Todes Banden, BWV 4
(Am 1 Osterfesttag)
3. Arie (Duett: Sopran, Alt)
2 Den Tod niemand zwingen kunnt
Bei allen Menschenkinden,
Das macht alles unsre Sünd,
Kein Unschuld war zu finden.
Davon kam der Tod so bald
Und nahm über uns Gewalt,
Hielt uns in seinem Reich gefangen.
Halleluja!
Christ lay in death’s bonds
(Easter)
3. Aria (Duet: Soprano, Alto)
Nobody could overcome death
Among all mankind’s children,
This was all caused by our sin,
No innocence was to be found.
Therefore from this came death so quick
And seized power over us,
Held us in his kingdom as captives.
Alleluja!
Was mir behagt, ist nur die muntre Jagd!, BWV 208
9. Arie (Sopran)
3 Schafe können sicher weiden,
Wo ein guter Hirte wacht.
Wo Regenten wohl regieren,
Kann man Ruh’ und Frieden spüren
Und was Länder glücklich macht.
What gives me pleasure is the merry chase alone!
9. Aria (Soprano)
Sheep may safely graze,
Where a worthy shepherd watches.
Where the rulers are ruling well,
May one rest and discover peace
And all that makes nations happy.
13
Vergnügte Ruh’, beliebte Seelenlust, BWV 170
(Am 6. Sonntag nach Trinitatis)
1. Arie (Alt)
4 Vergnügte Ruh’, beliebte Seelenlust,
Dich kann man nicht bei Höllensünden,
Wohl aber Himmelseintracht finden;
Du stärkst allein die schwache Brust.
Drum sollen lauter Tugendgaben
In meinem Herzen Wohnung haben.
Contented rest, beloved inner joy
(The Sixth Sunday after Trinity)
1. Aria (Alto)
Contented rest, beloved inner joy,
We cannot find thee midst hell’s mischief,
But rather in the heavenly concord;
Thou only makest the weak breast strong.
Thus I’ll let only virtue’s talents
Within my heart maintain their dwelling.
Jesu, der du meine Seele, BWV 78
(Am 14. Sonntag nach Trinitatis)
2. Arie (Duett: Sopran, Alt)
5 Wir eilen mit schwachen, doch emsigen Schritten,
O Jesu, o Meister, zu helfen zu dir.
Du suchest die Kranken und Irrenden treulich.
Ach höre, wie wir
Die Stimmen erheben, um Hilfe zu bitten!
Es sei uns dein gnädiges Antlitz erfreulich!
Jesus by thy Cross and Passion
(The Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity)
2. Aria (Duet: Soprano, Alto)
We hasten with faint, but eager steps,
O Jesus, o Master, to come to aid thee.
You seek the ailing and erring most faithful.
Ah, hear us, as we
Our voices are raising to beg thee for succour!
Let on us your countenance smile ever gracious!
Messe in h-Moll, BWV 232
2. (Duett: Sopran, Alt)
6 Christe eleison.
Mass in B minor
2. (Duet: Soprano, Alto)
Christ, have mercy.
Sehet! Wir gehn hinauf gen Jerusalem, BWV 159
(Am Sonntag Estomihi)
2. Arie mit Choral (Duett: Sopran, Alt)
7 Ich folge dir nach
Ich will hier bei dir stehen,
Verachte mich doch nicht!
Durch Speichel und Schmach;
Von dir will ich nicht gehen,
Am Kreuz will ich dich noch umfangen,
Bis dir dein Herze bricht.
See now! We’re going up to Jerusalem
(Quinquagesima Sunday)
2. Aria with Chorale (Duet: Soprano, Alto)
I follow after thee
I follow thy path,
Do not treat me with scorn!
Through scoffing and shame;
From thee I will not venture,
On the cross will I once more embrace thee,
As now thy heart doth break.
14
Dich lass ich nicht aus meiner Brust,
Wenn dein Haupt wird erblassen
Im letzten Todesstoss,
Und wenn du endlich scheiden musst,
Alsdenn will ich dich fassen,
Sollst du dein Grab in mir erlangen,
In meinen Arm und Schoss.
I will not let thee from my breast,
And when thy head grows pallid
Upon death’s final stroke,
And if thou in the end must part,
Even then will I enfold thee,
Thou shalt thy tomb in me discover,
Within my arm’s embrace.
Also hat Gott die Welt geliebt, BWV 68
(Am 2. Pfingstfesttag)
2. Arie (Sopran)
8 Mein gläubiges Herze,
Frohlocke, sing, scherze,
Dein Jesus ist da!
Weg Jammer, weg Klagen,
Ich will euch nur sagen:
Mein Jesus ist nah.
God so loved the world
(Whit Monday)
2. Aria (Soprano)
My believing heart,
Be glad, sing, be merry,
Thy Jesus is here!
Hence sorrow, hence grieving,
I will simply say to you:
My Jesus is near.
Matthäuspassion BWV 244
39. Arie (Alt)
9 Erbarme dich,
Mein Gott, um meiner Zähren willen!
Schaue hier,
Herz und Auge weint vor dir
Bitterlich.
St Matthew Passion
39. Aria (Alto)
Have mercy,
My God, because of this my weeping!
Look thou here,
Heart and eyes are now for thee weeping
Bitterly.
Weihnachts-Oratorium, BWV 248
Parte IV: Fallt mit Danken, fallt mit Loben
(Kantate am Neujahrstag)
4. Arie mit echo (Sopran, Alt)
0 Flösst, mein Heiland, flösst dein Namen
Auch den allerkleinsten Samen
Jenes strengen Schreckens ein?
Nein, du sagst ja selber nein. (Nein!)
Christmas Oratorio
Part IV: Fall and thank Him, fall and praise Him
(The Holy Name, January 1)
4. Aria with echo (Soprano, Alto)
Doth, my Saviour, doth thy name
Have even the very smallest kernel
Of that powerful terror now?
No, thou sayest no. (No!)
15
Sollt ich nun das Sterben scheuen?
Nein, dein süsses Wort ist da!
Oder sollt ich mich erfreuen?
Ja, du Heiland sprichst selbst ja. (Ja!)
Shall I shun death now?
No, thy gentle word is here!
Rather, ought I rejoice?
Yes, O Saviour, thou say’st yes. (Yes!)
Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten, BWV 93
(Am 5. Sonntag nach Trinitatis)
4. Arie (Duett: Sopran, Alt)
! Er kennt die rechten Freudenstunden,
Er weiss wohl, wenn es nützlich sei;
Wenn er uns nur hat treu erfunden
Und merket keine Heuchelei,
So kömmt Gott, eh wir uns versehn,
Und lässet uns viel Guts geschehn.
The man who leaves to God all power
(The Fifth Sunday after Trinity)
4. Aria (Duet: Soprano, Alto)
He knows the proper time for joy,
He knows well when it brings profit;
If he hath only found us faithful
And notices no hypocrisy,
Then God comes, before we know,
And allows much good to happen to us.
Hochzeitskantate, BWV 202
1. (Sopran)
@ Weichet nur, betrübte Schatten,
Frost und Winde, geht zur Ruh!
Florens Lust
Will der Brust
Nichts als frohes Glück verstatten,
Denn sie träget Blumen zu.
Wedding Cantata
1. (Soprano)
Hence, dismal shadows,
Frost and winds, be no more!
Flora’s mirth
Will fill our breasts
With naught but merry joy,
For she draws with flowers nigh.
Freue dich, erlöste Schar, BWV 30
(Am Feste Johannis des Täufers)
5. Arie (Alt)
£ Kommt, ihr angefochtnen Sünder,
Eilt und lauft, ihr Adamskinder,
Euer Heiland ruft und schreit!
Kommet, ihr verirrten Schafe,
Stehet auf vom Sündenschlafe,
Denn itzt ist die Gnadenzeit!
Rejoice, redeemed flock
(The Nativity of Saint John the Baptist)
5. Aria (Alto)
Come, ye troubled sinners,
Haste and run, children of Adam,
This your Saviour calls and cries!
Come, all ye errant sheep,
Rise up from sin-filled slumber,
For now is the time of grace!
16
Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan, BWV 99
(Am 15. Sonntag nach Trinitatis)
5. Arie (Duett: Sopran, Alt)
$ Wenn des Kreuzes Bitterkeiten
Mit des Fleisches Schwachheit streiten,
Ist es dennoch wohlgetan.
Wer das Kreuz durch falschen Wahn
Sich vor unerträglich schätzet,
Wird auch künftig nicht ergötzet.
What God does is with reason done
(The Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity)
5. Aria (Duet: Soprano, Alto)
When the bitterness of the cross
With the weakness of the flesh struggles,
It is nevertheless rightly done.
That person who through ignorance
Believes the cross cannot be borne,
Will in the future have no pleasure.
Wer da gläubet und getauft wird, BWV 37
(Himmelfahrt)
3. Choral (Duett: Sopran, Alt)
% Herr Gott Vater, mein starker Held!
Du hast mich ewig vor der Welt
In deinem Sohn geliebet.
Dein Sohn hat mich ihm selbst vertraut,
Er ist mein Schatz, ich bin sein Braut,
Sehr hoch in ihm erfreuet.
Eia! Eia!
Himmlisch Leben wird er geben mir dort oben;
Ewig soll mein Herz ihn loben.
Those who believe and are baptised
(Ascension Day)
3. Chorale (Duet: Soprano, Alto)
Lord God Father, my champion strong!
Thou hast me ever before the world
In thine own Son beloved.
Thy Son is my treasure,
He is my store, I am his bride,
Most high in him rejoicing.
Eia! Eia!
Life in heaven shall he give to me supernal;
Ever shall my heart extol him.
Meinen Jesum lass ich nicht, BWV 124
(Am 1. Sonntag nach Epiphanias)
5. Arie (Duett: Sopran, Alt)
^ Entziehe dich eilends, mein Herze, der Welt,
Du findest im Himmel dein wahres Vergnügen.
Wenn künftig dein Auge den Heiland erblickt,
So wird erst dein sehnendes Herze erquickt,
So wird es in Jesu zufriedengestellt.
I shall not leave Jesus
(The First Sunday after Epiphany)
5. Aria (Duet: Soprano, Alto)
Retire quickly, my heart, from the world,
You find in heaven your true delight.
When one day thine eye shall the Saviour behold,
At last shall thy languishing heart be restored,
Where it will in Jesus contentment receive.
17
first CD If Love’s a Sweet Passion, which was
a finalist for the prestigious Australian
Record Industry Association (ARIA) Award
for Best Classical Release in 2000.
Career highlights include a performance
in the presence of the Diana, Princess of
Wales, a recital concert in Japan, a five-city
tour of Italy with Ola Rudner and the
Haydn Orchestra, performances of a musical
rendition of Captain Corelli’s Mandolin for
Musica Viva, and Mahler’s Symphony No. 4
with Edo de Waart and the Sydney Symphony.
Sara Macliver has a number of recordings
on ABC Classics including the Fauré Requiem
and Birth of Venus, Orff ’s Carmina Burana
and the title track for a trilogy of Christmas
albums, the third of which has just been
released. Also recently released is a CD of
Haydn arias with the Tasmanian Symphony
Orchestra and Ola Rudner. Most recently
she has completed a recording of Handel’s
Messiah for a joint ABC Classics and ABC
Television production. This was screened
on ABC TV on Christmas Eve and has
been released on both CD and DVD.
Future engagements include Pinchgut
Opera’s The Fairy Queen, tours with Musica
Viva with the Australia Bach Ensemble and
with pianist Bernadette Balkus, a recital in
Melbourne and concerts with the Melbourne
and Sydney Symphony orchestras.
Sara Macliver
S
ara Macliver is one of Australia’s most
popular and versatile artists, appearing
in opera, concert and recital performances
and on numerous recordings. She is regarded
as one of the leading exponents of Baroque
repertoire in Australia.
Sara Macliver trained in Perth, where
she was a pupil of the renowned soprano
Molly McGurk. During that time she was a
Young Artist with the West Australian Opera
Company. Her roles for the company have
included Micaela (Carmen), Papagena (The
Magic Flute), Giannetta (The Elixir of Love),
Morgana (Alcina), Ida (Fledermaus), Nannetta
(Falstaff), Vespetta (Pimpinone) and she
understudied Zerlina in Opera Australia’s
production of Don Giovanni. She recently
performed the role of Angelica in Orlando
with West Australian Opera and covered
the role of Zerlina in the Opera Australia
production of Don Giovanni.
Sara Macliver regularly performs with
Symphony Australia orchestras, as well as
Musica Viva, Melbourne Chorale, the
Australian Chamber Orchestra, the Australia
Bach Ensemble and Sydney Philharmonia
Choirs among others. She has a particular
association with the Australian Brandenburg
Orchestra, with whom she recorded her
18
Christchurch Symphony and Seoul
National Symphony Orchestra. She also
frequently records recitals and performs in
live broadcasts for the ABC Network.
Her extensive repertoire includes the
major vocal works of Bach, Handel, Pergolesi,
Scarlatti, Vivaldi, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven,
Mendelssohn, Brahms, Bruckner, Mahler,
Rachmaninov, Duruflé, Vaughan Williams
and Berio.
Recent engagements include Britten’s
Spring Symphony with Christchurch Symphony,
de Falla’s El Amor Brujo with Tasmanian
Symphony, St Matthew Passion with Sydney
Philharmonia, Rossini and Mozart Arias
with Melbourne Symphony, Bach’s Magnificat
touring nationally with the Australian
Chamber Orchestra and return concerts in
Canada, St Louis and the Netherlands.
Forthcoming engagements include
Ursule in Béatrice et Bénédict for Washington
Concert Opera, Respighi’s Il Tramonto and
Haydn’s Nelson Mass with the Melbourne
Symphony, Hansel in Hansel and Gretel for
Singapore Lyric Opera, Elijah for Sydney
Philharmonia, Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer
Night’s Dream with Christopher Hogwood
and Adelaide Symphony, and returns to
America with Bruno Weil at the Carmel
Bach Festival again.
Sally-Anne Russell
E
qually at home on the concert platform
and the operatic stage, Adelaide-born
Sally-Anne Russell has performed
with many companies, including the Oper
der Stadt Köln, the Spoleto Festival in Italy,
Victoria State Opera, State Opera of South
Australia, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide
International Festivals and Canterbury Opera
in New Zealand. Her roles include Rosina
(Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Suzuki (Madama
Butterfly), Mistress Quickly (Falstaff), Dido
(Dido and Aeneas), Lucienne (Die Tote Stadt),
Ino/Juno (Semele) and Siebel (Faust).
She was Finalist at the 1999 Belvedere
International Singing Competition in Vienna
and has won prizes in competitions
including the Royal Overseas League 46th
Annual Music Competition in England,
and the Herald-Sun Aria and the Australian
Singing Competition. Sally-Anne Russell is
also a member of the International jury for
the International Kathaumixw Festival
in Canada.
She has presented concerts and recitals
in the Netherlands, Austria, England, Canada,
Japan and New Zealand. Sally-Anne Russell
regularly performs with all the Symphony
Australia orchestras, Australian Chamber
Orchestra, Australian Bach Ensemble,
19
to Joy. He has recently embarked on a project
to record all of the Beethoven piano
concertos with Gerard Willems and Sinfonia
Australis. Most recently released is a CD
and DVD recording of Handel’s Messiah
with Cantillation and Orchestra of the
Antipodes on period instruments.
He has conducted all the leading
symphony and chamber orchestras and
instrumental ensembles around the country,
and many of Australia’s finest contemporary
ensembles and for Opera Australia, and was
Musical Director of Sydney Philharmonia
Choirs from 1993 to 1997.
Antony Walker’s commitment to
contemporary composition and performance
are evidenced by more than 100 premiere
performances of works by Australian
composers and many Australian premieres
of significant international compositions
including Arvo Pärt’s St John Passion,
Poulenc’s Figure Humaine and Iannis Xenakis’
Idmen A and B.
In addition to being the founder and
music director of Cantillation and Sinfonia
Australis, Antony Walker is a co-artistic
director of Pinchgut Opera, and conducted
their inaugural critically acclaimed performances of Handel’s Semele last year. This year
he will conduct Purcell’s The Fairy Queen
for them.
Antony Walker
B
orn in Sydney, Antony Walker is at
the forefront of a new generation of
Australian musicians, having established
a reputation for artistic excellence in
direction and performance over the last
decade. Recently appointed Music Director
to Washington Concert Opera, he covers
the range of opera, choral and symphonic
repertoire.
Antony Walker’s skill in raising technical
and artistic standards of performance is
widely acknowledged, and he was appointed
Chorusmaster and house conductor to the
prestigious Welsh National Opera in 1998.
Conducting engagements with WNO
included Madama Butterfly, Carmen, Rigoletto,
The Barber of Seville and Queen of Spades
which he also conducted in performances
throughout Italy. Since 1997 he has been
an annual visitor to the USA, this year
conducting at Wolf Trap Opera and the
North American premier of Poul Ruders’
The Handmaid’s Tale for Minnesota Opera,
as well as Béatrice et Bénédict and Stiffelio for
Washington Concert Opera.
Antony Walker’s growing list of recordings
includes Fauré’s Requiem and La Naissance
de Vénus, Carmina Burana, Prayer for Peace,
a CD of contemporary sacred music, Ode
20
Orchestra of the Antipodes
Violin
Anna McDonald
Giovanni Grancino, Milan, c.1690
Alice Evans
Sebastian Klotz, Mittenwald. c.1750
Mark Ingwersen
Anonymous, after Guarnerius
Leigh Middenway
Peter Wamssley, 'Ye Golden Harp', London, c.1750
Elizabeth Pogson
Anonymous, after Sebastian Klotz
Lisa Stewart
John Johnston, Sydney, 1986, after Stradivarius
‘The Messiah’, 1716
Anna McDonald leader
A
ustralia’s newest early music orchestra,
the Orchestra of the Antipodes,
comprises Baroque and Classical era
specialists performing on period instruments.
Led by Anna McDonald, who has also led
the Hanover Band and the Gabrieli Consort
and Players, its members include internationally renowned continuo players Neal
Peres da Costa, Daniel Yeadon, and Erin
Helyard (not playing on this recording).
The orchestra’s debut recording was Handel’s
Messiah, featuring a star line-up of Australian
soloists and Australia’s finest professional
choral group, Cantillation. This recording
has been released on both DVD and CD
and was a joint project between ABC Classics
and ABC-TV. Future recordings by the
Orchestra of the Antipodes include the first
Australian recording on period instruments
of the complete Brandenburg Concertos,
Stabat Mater of Pergolesi and Mozart’s
Requiem.
Viola
Nicole Forsyth
Ian Clarke, Biddeston, 1998, after Maggini ‘Dumas’, 1680
Violoncello / Violoncello piccolo
Daniel Yeadon
Cello – Michael Watson, England, 1991, after Guarnerius
Violoncello piccolo – Zdenek Zadina, Czech republic,
1989, used courtesy of Zoltan Szabo
Double Bass
Kirsty McCahon
Giuseppe Abbati, Modena, c.1750
Recorder / Flute
Melissa Farrow
Recorder – David Coomber, New Zealand, 1990, after
Peter Bressan, London, c.1710
Flute – Rudolf Tutz, Innsbruck, after Godefried-AdrienJoseph Rottenburgh, c.1747
Matthew Ridley
Recorder – Michael Grinter, Victoria, 1996, after Peter
Bressan, London, c.1710
21
Executive Producers Robert Patterson, Lyle Chan
Editorial and Production Manager Hilary Shrubb
Recording Producer and Editor Ralph Lane
Recording Engineer Allan MacLean
Mastering Virginia Read
Project Coordinator Alison Johnston
German Language Coach Elisabeth Pillgrab
Vocal Coach Erin Helyard
Cover and Booklet Design Imagecorp Pty Ltd
Photography Paul Henderson-Kelly
Oboe / Oboe d’amore
Antony Chesterman
Oboe – Marcel Ponseele, after Thomas Stanesby jnr, c.1740
Oboe d’amore – Marcel Ponseele, after Johann Heinrich
Eichentopf, Leipzig, 1724
Kirsten Barry
Oboe – Toshi Hasegawa, c.1995, after Jacob Denner,
Nuremberg, c.1710
Bassoon
Peter Moore
Mathew Dart, London, after Johann Denner, c.1690
Recorded 9-13 October, 10 December 2002 in the
Eugene Goossens Hall at the Australian
Broadcasting Corporation’s Ultimo Centre.
Harpsichord / Chamber Organ
Neal Peres da Costa
Harpsichord – French double manual, Andrew Garlick,
Somerset, England, after Jean Goujon, 18th century
Chamber Organ – Bernhard Fleig, Switzerland, 1996,
used courtesy of Sydney Grammar School
Photographs taken in the Crypt of St Mary’s
Cathedral, Sydney, with thanks to Monsignor
Anthony Doherty and Mari Palomares
Lute
Tommie Andersson
Klaus Toft Jacobsen, Chiavenna, Italy, 2001, after Magno
Tieffenbrucker, Venice, c.1600
2003 Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
© 2003 Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Distributed in Australasia by Universal Classics & Jazz,
a division of Universal Music Group, under exclusive licence.
Made in Australia. All rights of the owner of copyright reserved.
Any copying, renting, lending, diffusion, public performance or
broadcast of this record without the authority of the copyright
owner is prohibited.
Orchestra Manager Alison Johnston
22