Dissertations and Theses @ UNI
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Open Access Thesis
Keywords
Cantatas, Sacred; Sacred vocal ensembles with instrumental ensemble; Academic theses;
Abstract
The development of sacred German baroque music is definitively illustrated in the works of its two greatest masters, Heinrich Schutz (1585-1672) and Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750). Schutz initiated the baroque movement in Germany when he infused the old polyphonic German style with elements of the Italian stile moderno and Venetian cori spezzati. The union of these styles subsequently became the predominant feature of German baroque music that reached its zenith in the works of J.S. Bach. The compositions on this recital, Schutz's Die sieben Worte Jesu Christi am Kreuz and Bach's Herr Gott, dich loben wir, represent two important musical genres of the German baroque style, the historia and the church cantata. Each of these works presents a unique challenge to the modern performer, who must interpret the music from a removed historical perspective. Several problems must be solved before performing Bach's cantata, Herr Gott, dich loben wir, S16 (1726). The question of which keyboard instrument to use as part of the continue has yet to be completely answered. It is known that Bach used the organ in a large percentage of the church cantatas because numerous transposed keyboard parts have survived. The transposition of a continue part indicates that it was intended to be played on the organ since the organ at the church of St. Thomas was pitched one step higher than normal. However, a harpsichord was always available for cantata performances. Scholars have suggested that it was probably used at times when the organ was being repaired. It has also been conjectured that the harpsichord may have been used along with the organ to support the chorus. The organ was used for this performance because a transposed organ part for this cantata is extant. Bach generally furnished only a figured bass for the continua player who then realized the part in performance. Since most modern keyboardists are not fluent in this practice, the task of writing out a figured bass realization was left to the conductor. In Schutz's historia, Die sieben Worte Jesu am Kreuz, the tradition of instrumental doubling, colla ~, raises the questions of which instruments may have been used and when they should play. Schutz expected instruments to double the voice parts in the two five-part choruses. However, he did not specify which instruments to use or when they should play. During Schutz's lifetime it was a common practice to use a group of similar instruments such as a family of viola da gambas or trombones. Since he used trombones in many of his other choral works, they were used in this performance. Trombones were used to double the four lower parts excluding the soprano. The practice of not doubling the top voice can be found in music as late as Mozart's Requiem. The trombones in this performance were used to help accentuate textural and motivic contrasts and to aid in emphasizing textual content. Both Schutz and Bach regarded the text as the most important part of these works. The music was conceived to enhance rather than dominate the written word. Since no English translations of the works were available, the conductor had to provide them. The most difficult task in preparing this recital was teaching the German to the singers. Since none of the singers speak or understand German, much time was devoted to learning literal text translations and developing the fluency to sing the text. With respect to the interpretation, it should be noted that the text contains many of the solutions to the problems of this performance. The recitatives in the historia form the largest part of the work. The natural rhythm of these recitatives dictates their interpretation. The choruses of both works are greatly affected when the texts, not just the notes, are considered. For this performance, much thought was given to the relationship between the text and the music. In the attempt to understand the composer's view of this relationship, many solutions to the problems of interpretation were discovered.
Year of Submission
1985
Degree Name
Master of Music
Department
School of Music
First Advisor
Graeme Cowen
Second Advisor
Peter Michaelides
Third Advisor
Marilou Kratzenstein
Date Original
1985
Object Description
1 audio file + 1 PDF file (16 leaves)
Copyright
©1985 John Alston
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Alston, John, "Conducting Recital" (1985). Dissertations and Theses @ UNI. 1915.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/etd/1915
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01 Bach - Herr Gott, dich loben wir, S 16.mp3 (14720 kB)
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