Upbeat, brilliant-sounding Cantatas for Advent

A chance encounter with musicologist and singer Christoph Koop in Leipzig when Liz Robinson was working on the Hofmeister XIX Project introduced her to the Vocal Concert Dresden and their energetic and enterprising conductor Peter Kopp. Kopp is the conductor of her favorite CD with cantatas by Homilius – a recording which greatly expanded her view of choral music.

A chance encounter with musicologist and singer Christoph Koop in Leipzig when I was working on the Hofmeister XIX Project introduced me to the Vocal Concert Dresden and their energetic and enterprising conductor Peter Kopp. Like anyone brought up in the English choral tradition, I might justifiably have been be accused of having a rather insular view of choral music. So I was thrilled and fascinated to learn about the cultural riches of baroque Saxony, composers I had never heard of, not to mention architectural riches such as the intriguing looping vaults in the Schlosskapelle in Dresden, the like of which simply do not exist anywhere in the British Isles.

My chance encounter with the Vocal Concert Dresden took me on an extraordinary 600km journey in 2011 from Berlin by overnight sleeper to Königsberg (now Kaliningrad), when they travelled there to launch their CD Preussische Festlieder in Kaliningrad Cathedral. This was the culmination of a project to record works by Eccard and Stobaeus to mark the 400th anniversary of Eccard’s death. The pieces range from simple strophic settings (which could be sung by congregations) to double choir works. The best-known (to German choirs) is Übers Gebirg Maria geht (Beyond mountains Mary goes), but there is great variety in the pieces, with some really catchy numbers which are well worth exploring, e.g. Der Heilig Geist vom Himmel kam (The Holy Ghost came down from Heaven) for Whitsun, or Maria, das Jungfräuelein (Mary, the young maiden). A trip “from Prussia to Russia” in every sense, and an insight into the cultural riches which once existed there.

Another very favourite CD of mine by the Vocal Concert Dresden features the music of Gottfried August Homilius – Weihnachten in der Dresdner Frauenkirche (Christmas in the Dresden Frauenkirche). Homilius (1714-85) was organist at the Frauenkirche from 1742, and Kantor of the Kreuzkirche from 1755. The composer of 180 church cantatas and over 60 motets, his music, pre-classical in style, was highly regarded in its day and disseminated widely throughout Europe, but he fell into obscurity in the 19th century. Carus has contributed greatly to the revival of Homilius’ works with its publications and CDs. This CD features four upbeat, brilliant-sounding cantatas for Advent, Christmas, and New Year, originally composed for performance in the Frauenkirche. One is for double choir, and the other three for SATB choir. All are first recordings, displaying great choral writing, solo arias and recitatives, and jubilant orchestral writing including trumpets and timpani. Ein hoher Tag kömmt (A great day is dawning), composed for the 1st day of Christmas, is really exciting to sing or listen to, with a truly lovely soprano aria Ich singe seinen Namen (I sing of his name), which ends with choral acclamations. A real tonic! The final chorale is based on Von Himmel Hoch. For me this music deserves to be much better known, and it is well within the capabilities of a competent choir keen to find something different for a Christmas concert or church performance.