Saturday July 12 2014 the compositions of Bruhns represent a stepping stone in the development of North German music. Bruhns studied composition with Buxtehude, and stylistic traits of the senior composer can be found through the works of the younger, even though only a dozen vocal concertos have survived. Additionally, the penchant for virtuosic display that Bruhns shared with both Buxtehude and Bach was carried forward in the compositions of Bruhns, resulting in demanding and rigorous passagework for voices and instruments alike. This separated Bruhns out from his mentor, Buxtehude, whose writing for voices and instruments rarely makes extraordinary demands on performers. That characteristic of demanding virtuosity especially from vocalists would be adopted by Bach, whose compositions— particularly at the start of his tenure at Leipzig—quickly proved to be essentially unperformable by the students at the St. Thomas School. In both cases, however, those technical requirements were never for the purpose of extravagance. Whether through the pen of Bruhns or Bach, the challenges were necessary to fully support the intended inflections and rhetoric in the minds of their composers. Mein Herz ist bereit is a perfect example of how Bruhns, and later Bach, required the utmost from their performers, but always
for the sake of proper delivery of the meaning of texts. The opening sonatina begins with a graceful and poised Adagio, establishing the instrumental sonority. Next, a lightly romping Presto begins to impress the listener, but in its modesty it sets up both the ardor and cheerfulness with which the singer will soon join the ensemble. That enthusiasm and sheer joyfulness expressed by singer and violinist in tandem is unmistakable, even infectious. Traversing a number of meters and rhythmic patterns, and giving way temporarily to a most florid bit of violin playing, the arrival at the central Adagio section, and its noticeably different affect, projects a deep solemnity to the texts about the expansiveness of mercy and the breadth of gloriousness. But the initial levels of energy cannot be held back anymore and a return to an Allegro tempo rounds the corner to the final “Alleluia.” The structure of this short work, especially considering its slow central “movement” and florid “Alleluia,” is hardly different from that of later Italian sacred cantatas and motets. Even though a direct link between Bruhns and Bach cannot be established, the vocal concertos (or cantatas) of Bruhns represent a significant development in the use of variation of tempos, affects, and difficult coloratura for sacred works, laying the groundwork for the multi-movement approach that would be taken by Bach only two or three decades later. [JT]
Sonatina Adagio - Presto [Allegro]
Mein Herz ist bereit, Gott, daß ich singe und lobe. Wache auf, meine Ehre, wache auf.
My heart is ready, O God: I will sing, and give praise. Awake up, my glory;
Presto
Wohlauf, Psalter und Harfen wohlauf! Früh will ich aufwachen.
Awake, lute and harp: I myself will awake right early.
Adagio
Herr, ich will dir danken unter den Völkern, ich will dir lobsingen unter den Leuten. Denn deine Gnade reichet so weit der Himmel ist und deine Wahrheit, soweit die Wolken gehen. Erhebe dich, Gott, über den Himmel und deine Ehre über alle Welt.
I will give thanks unto thee, O Lord, among the people: and I will sing unto thee among the nations. For the greatness of thy mercy reacheth unto the heavens: and thy truth unto the clouds. Set up thyself, O God, above the heavens: and thy glory above all the earth.
Allegro
Alleluja.
Alleluia.
Text: Psalms 57: 8-12, 108:1-5
Dieterich Buxtehude: Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin & Klaglied BuxWV 76 Alto & Bass Solo; Violin, 2 Violas da gamba, Violone
The Hamburg association of composers and theorists (Reincken, Theile, Weckmann, et al) were closely affiliated with Buxtehude, and together they were intrinsically fascinated with the idea and realization of canonic and contrapuntal writing. Their discussions and interests were often focused on exploring the possibilities of juxtaposing melodic lines with inverse versions of the same: upside down, backwards, sometimes starting at different times and beginning at different pitches within the scale, etc. All of these were explored and would eventually be taken up by Bach to masterful degrees, especially in his late work, the Musical Offering. Buxtehude’s Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin, was composed in the style of composition that is as much about form and compositional skill as it is about affekt and programmatic content. Four verses of a hymn text based on Luke 2:30-32, written in 1524 by Martin Luther (1483-1546), are given a four-part setting, but no specifics as to the
accompanying instruments are given in Buxtehude’s score as printed in 1674. Two of the verses are labeled “Contrapunctus,” a shortened form of “contra punctum” (“against note”). First used in 1320, by the time of the Baroque era the term was applied to a fugal movements or, more broadly, to any counterpoint (or polyphony), meaning the coherent combination of multiple independent melodic parts or voices. The first verse (Contrapunctus I) is realized in strict counterpoint, and the second verse (named Evolutio) is a clever rearrangement of the first: The top line and the bottom lines are switched, as are the middle parts, creating a kind of mirror image, and the entire verse is transposed down by a fifth in order to accommodate the range of the bass singer. The music has become, in fact, an evolution (or a mutation) of the verse that preceded it. For the third verse (Contrapunctus II) the chorale melody is retained, now 33