Bach, Schütz, Schein - Music of Consolation

BACH | SCHÜTZ | SCHEIN MUSIC OF CONSOLATION

MONTEVERDI CHOIR ENGLISH BAROQUE SOLOISTS JOHN ELIOT GARDINER St Martin-in-the-Fields, London 7.30pm, Thursday 16 June 2022

Thursday 16 June 2022 St Martin-in-the-Fields London Part of an international tour: Luxembourg Philharmonie Luxembourg Monday 6 June Palau de la Música Barcelona, Spain Wednesday 8 June Nikolaikirche, Bachfest Leipzig, Germany Friday 10 June St Martini Braunschweig, Germany Saturday 11 June Konzerthaus Dortmund, Germany Sunday 12 June Odeon of Herodes Atticus Athens, Greece Tuesday 14 June St Martin-in-the-Fields London, UK Thursday 16 June

The Monteverdi Choir & Orchestras presents

BACH | SCHÜTZ | SCHEIN MUSIC OF CONSOLATION Monteverdi Choir English Baroque Soloists John Eliot Gardiner conductor Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672) Freue dich des Weibes deiner Jugend, SWV 453 Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672) Ist nicht Ephraim mein teurer Sohn, SWV 40 Johann Hermann Schein (1586-1630) Da Jakob vollendet hatte Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672) Auf dem Gebirge hat man ein Geschrei gehöret, SWV 396 Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672) Musikalische Exequien, SWV 279-281 Interval: 20 minutes Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit (Actus tragicus), BWV 106 Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) O Jesu Christ meins Lebens Licht, BWV 118

All information in this brochure was correct at the time of going to press.

WELCOME This is a programme I have wanted to put together for a long time. Schütz has been a vivid presence on my radar ever since I was a child. I love his way with words, the sense of drama he finds in biblical texts, and the ways he grafts the vocal and instrumental colours he learnt from his two study trips to Venice, first with Gabrieli and later with Monteverdi, onto a German rootstock. He is so much more than just a shadowy but ‘important’ figure in the background of J.S. Bach.

In this the 450th anniversary of his death, Schütz’s music resonates with us most of all perhaps because it was composed at a time of unimaginable hardship midway during the Thirty Years’ War that left Germany devastated and in ruins. He showed immense fortitude and courage to write music that reflected the human misery and the bewilderment of the time, but also – and this is crucial – music that provided hope and consolation, just like Bach 60 or more years later, as you can hear in this programme.

More than anything, this programme shows that the world has previously experienced many of the same woes and horrors which seems so real and unprecedented in our time. Music by these exceptional composers is there to console us provided we choose to open ourselves to its extraordinary power to heal and inspire.

SIR JOHN ELIOT GARDINER ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

MUSIC OF CONSOLATION Both Bach and Schütz were, at different times, influenced by Italian musical models; Schütz in fact spent time in Venice, first as a pupil of Giovanni Gabrieli and later conferring with Claudio Monteverdi. Echoes of Gabrieli’s polychoral experiments can be heard in some of Schütz’s music tonight, and Monteverdi’s concerted vocal style, by which the music serves the words rather than vice-versa, clearly influenced his sensitive way of dealing with a text.

This concert begins with a work for a wedding: Schütz’s Freue dich des Weibes deiner Jugend sets a text from the book of Solomon, beginning with a solo voice, like a herald addressing the newly-weds.

Startling harmonic progressions underline the sensuality of the words ‘Sie ist lieblich’, and two cornetts embellish the texture,

adding impossibly clashing flourishes in the final cadence. Brass instruments also provide the rich colours in two other works by Schütz heard this evening. Ist nicht Ephraim mein teurer Sohn (1619) and Auf dem Gebirge (1648) are both settings of words from the 31st chapter of the book of Jeremiah; the first (using multiple choirs of voices and instruments) describes God’s dejection at the disloyalty of his chosen people, the other a mother’s grief over the murder of her children, prophetic of Herod’s Massacre of the Innocents.

Schütz’s contemporary Johann Hermann Schein was an early predecessor of Bach as Thomascantor in Leipzig. Unlike Schütz, Schein never visited Italy, but his Da Jakob vollendet hatte reveals the powerful influence of Italian style, in its powerfully expressive depiction of

a passage from Genesis, describing the weeping of Joseph over his father’s death.

The piece was one of 26 pieces composed in the ‘Italian-Madrigalische Manir’ which Schein published in a volume entitled ‘Israelsbrünnlein’ in 1623 – one of the most significant motet collections in German music of the 17th century.

IN LUTHER’S THEOLOGY, THERE IS NO PURGATORY; FOR HIM, A BENEVOLENT GOD AND THE GRACE OF JESUS CHRIST AWAIT ONE IN

Monteverdi Choir & Orchestras, 2022

THE AFTERLIFE.

THREE PIECES OF DIVINE BEAUTY Mortality, death, the process of dying and reawakening in paradise are themes in music that go back almost as far as the history of music itself. Indeed, we can assert without exaggeration that the preoccupation with death – an event which in our eyes is associated first and foremost with grief and pain – has produced some of the most beautiful works in the history of music. This is true particularly of compositions from the history of Protestant church music. In Luther’s theology, there is no purgatory;

for him, a benevolent God and the grace of Jesus Christ await one in the afterlife.

The musical reflections on death since Luther himself was writing hymns have always been correspondingly comforting.

Today’s concert centres on two of the most moving works on the theme of death and dying: the Musikalische Exequien by Heinrich Schütz and the Actus tragicus by Johann Sebastian Bach. Common to both works is that they were written for funerals.

Heinrich Schütz

We have very precise information about the genesis of the Musikalische Exequien which Schütz, then 51 years old, kapellmeister of the Dresden court, had published in Dresden in 1636. The actual occasion for the composition was the interment, or funeral procession, of Count Heinrich Posthumus of Reuss-Gera. This took place on 4 February 1636, the Feast of the Purification of Mary, two months after the count’s death – not least because of the latter’s adoration for the prophet Simeon and his song of praise – in St John’s Church in Gera. During his lifetime the count had carefully compiled verses from the Old and New Testaments and hymns on the subject of death and dying, as they were to decorate his coffin. On the count’s death (3 December 1635) the widow handed the compilation to Schütz – who was by birth a subject of the Reuss domain – so he could use it as the basis for his funeral music.

The first part of the Musikalische Exequien is therefore a setting of all these

quotations, divided into a 27-part concert in Form einer teutschen Begräbnis-Missa (Concert in the Form of a German Funeral Mass) for six singers and a larger choir called ‘capella’ that supports the soloists at selected points. This is followed in the second part by a large-scale, doublechoir motet based on verses 25 and 26 of Psalm 73 (‘Herr, wenn ich nur dich habe’ – ‘Whom have I in heaven but thee?’) – the psalm that the clergyman in charge had chosen for the funeral sermon. As the third and final part of the Exequien, Schütz presented his version of Simeon’s song, the words that, according to Luke 2: 29-32, the prophet exclaimed when he took the tiny, 40-day-old Jesus in his arms on the steps of the temple and in him saw his prophecy of the coming of a Messiah fulfilled. Simeon’s song, which is rather a farewell to his life on earth, is one of the biblical passages most frequently set to music. Among them, the version

by Heinrich Schütz is certainly one of the most compelling, as in it, he juxtaposes the five-voice choir representing Simeon and earthly life with a three-voiced choir of angels, consisting of two seraphim and the blessed souls (‘Beata Anima’) whose singing, in parallel with the hymn of praise, provide a foretaste of eternal life and heavenly sounds.

A PIECE OF ‘WORLD LITERATURE’ AND WORK OF GENIUS: BACH’S ‘ACTUS TRAGICUS’ Johann Sebastian Bach supplied a similarly moving depiction of a person’s final journey to paradise in his Actus tragicus.

The work, which has only survived in a copy not made by Bach – manifestly for a funeral – seems to have been written during Bach’s time in Mühlhausen, as it still clearly adhered stylistically to the tonal language of the late seventeenth century.

The text is also a compilation of verses from the Old and New Testaments, as well as from various chorales, offered up in the form of ‘quiet music’ for four singers, two

Johann Sebastian Bach

‘THE ACTUS TRAGICUS IS A WORK OF GENIUS SUCH AS EVEN GREAT MASTERS SELDOM ACHIEVE. HERE, IN ONE STROKE, THE TWENTY-TWOYEAR-OLD COMPOSER LEFT ALL HIS CONTEMPORARIES FAR BEHIND HIM…’ recorders, viols and basso continuo. In the chosen two-part sequence, the Actus tragicus depicts a person’s journey from death bed to paradise. In it, Bach brilliantly blends two well-known funeral chorales with settings of key Bible passages dealing with death and redemption. Between the two parts is a pause with a fermata – one of the most moving pauses in music history. It ‘sounds’ just after the dying soul, with its last breath, as it were, sings the

words ‘ja, komm, Herr Jesu’ (‘Yes, come, Lord Jesus’) and before the bass, as the vox Christi, promises ‘Heute wirst du mit mir im Paradies sein’ – ‘Today you shall be with me in paradise’. The young Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy marvelled at the tremendous effect the Actus tragicus conveys when the alto voice answers Jesus’ words with Luther’s version of Simeon’s song (‘Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin’ – ‘With peace and joy I go to that place’). The words ‘sanft und stille’ (‘meek and mild’) and the final conclusion from the word Schlaf (Sleep) sound so that every room where they are sung becomes a church. The Bach scholar Alfred Dürr rightly enthuses ‘The Actus tragicus is a work of genius such as even great masters seldom achieve. Here, in one stroke, the twenty-two-year-old composer left all his contemporaries far behind him. Of course, it could be argued that in later years Bach’s art became a great deal more mature, but it hardly grew more profound. The Actus tragicus belongs to the great musical literature of the world’.

BWV 118: A GENERIC PIECE FOR ‘FUNERAL PROCESSIONS’?

The single movement that has come down to us in two autograph scores, ‘O Jesu Christ, meins Lebens Licht’ (‘O Jesus Christ, light of my life’), BWV 118, and is described by Bach himself as a ‘motetto’, has remained an enigma to scholars to this day. Older Bach scholars believed that the piece was a fragment of a lost Leipzig cantata. But the two manuscripts in Bach’s own hand leave no room for doubt that the moment stands on its own.

Admittedly, it is not a motet as such. It is rather an arrangement of the 1608 hymn ‘Herr Jesu Christ, meins Lebens Licht’ by Martin Behm that presents it in the garb of a figured chorale-chorus. The instrumental setting not only complements the fourpart vocal setting, but also frames the chorale and interrupts the individual lines of the verses with atmospheric preludes

and interludes. The contemporary hymnbooks assign Behms’ hymn, which describes mankind as sojourners on earth and travellers to the kingdom of heaven, to the category of Passiontide and funeral hymns. This is why it can be supposed that BWV 118 is a piece that Bach also composed for a one-off liturgical occasion. This supposition is backed up by the instrumentation of the older score, written down in 1736. Here, Bach requires an ensemble consisting exclusively of wind instruments: a cornett, trombones and two ‘Litui’ (apparently high-pitched horns). This makes the movement ideal, sound-wise, for performance outdoors, perhaps for a procession involving the Thomaner choristers and the town pipers, in connection with the burial of some prominent person. The length of the piece is variable. Although Bach wrote only the words of the first verse beneath the music, he made it clear that the music should be repeated. The twelve verses of the hymn offer generous scope for doing so. Who was borne to the grave to the touching sounds of this chorale arrangement in 1736 or in 1746 remains a mystery. Given the dates of the two autographs, it could have been the senior pastor of St. Thomas’s Church, Christian Weiss, who died in December 1736 at the age of 65, or the Leipzig town councillor Johann Ernst Kregel von Sternbach, who died in February 1737 at the age of 50. He had supported St. Thomas’ School with charitable gifts throughout his life and in 1727 was godfather to Bach’s twelfth child, Ernst Andreas (who died two days after his birth).

Michael Maul © 2022

HEINRICH SCHÜTZ FREUE DICH DES WEIBES DEINER JUGEND, SWV 453 Freue dich des Weibes deiner jugend.

Sie ist lieblich wie eine Hinde und holdselig wie ein Rehe. Lass dich ihre Liebe allezeit sättigen und ergötze dich allewege in ihrer Liebe.

Rejoice with the wife of your youth.

She is as lovely as the deer, and as charming as the faun.

Let her love satisfy you at all times, And always be ravished with her love.

[Proverbs 5: 18b-19]

HEINRICH SCHÜTZ IST NICHT EPHRAIM MEIN TEURER SOHN, SWV 40 Ist nicht Ephraim mein teurer Sohn und mein trautes Kind?

Denn ich gedenk noch wohl daran, sas ich ihm geredet habe.

Darum bricht mir mein Herz gegen ihm, dass ich mich sein erbarmen muss, spricht der Herr.

Is not Ephraim my dear son, The child in whom I delight?

Though I often speak against him, Istill remember him.

Therefore my heart yearns for him; I have great compassion for him, Declares the Lord.

[Jeremiah 31: 20]

JOHANN HERMANN SCHEIN DA JAKOB VOLLENDET HATTE Da Jakob vollendet hatte die Gebot an seine Kinder, tät er seine Fuße zusammen aufs Bette und verschied und ward versammlet zu seinem Volk.

Da fiel Joseph auf seines Vaters Angesicht und weinet über ihn und küsset ihn.

When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, He drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last And was gathered to his people.

Joseph threw himself on his father And wept over him and kissed him.

[Genesis 49: 33 & 50]

HEINRICH SCHÜTZ AUF DEM GEBIRGE, SWV 396 Auf dem Gebirge hat man ein Geschrei gehöret, viel Klagens, Weinens und Heulens, Rahel beweinete ihre Kinder und wollt sich nicht trösten lassen, denn es war au smit ihnen.

A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.

[Matthew 2: 18]

HEINRICH SCHÜTZ MUSIKALISCHE EXEQUIEN I. Konzert in Form einer deutschen Begräbnis-Missa: Nacket bin ich vom Mutterleib kommen, SWV 279 Intonatio Nacket bin ich vom Mutterleibe kommen.

Naked came I out of my mother’s womb.

[Job 1: 21a]

Soli Nacket werde ich wiederum dahinfahren, der Herr hat’s gegeben, der Herr hat’s genommen, der Name des Herren sei gelobet.

Naked shall I return thither, the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.

[Job 1: 21b]

Capella Herr Gott, Vater im Himmel, erbarm dich über uns.

O God the Father of heaven, have mercy upon us.

Soli Christus ist mein Leben, Sterben ist mein Gewinn.

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

[Philippians 1: 21]

Siehe, das ist Gottes Lamm, das der Welt Sünde trägt.

Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

[John 1: 29b]

Capella Jesu Christe, Gottes Sohn, erbarm dich über uns.

Jesus Christ, God the Son, have mercy upon us.

Soli Leben wir, so leben wir dem Herren.

Sterben wir, so sterben wir dem Herren, darum: wir leben oder sterben, so sind wir des Herren.

For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord, whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.

[Romans 14: 8]

Capella Herr Gott, heiliger Geist, erbarm dich über uns.

O God the Holy Ghost, have mercy upon us.

Intonatio Also hat Gott die Welt geliebet, dass er seinen eingebornen Sohn gab.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son. [John 3: 16a]

Soli Auf dass alle, die an ihn gläuben, nicht verloren werden, sondern das ewige Leben haben.

That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

[John 3: 16b]

Capella Er sprach zu seinem lieben Sohn: die Zeit ist hie zu erbarmen, fahr hin, mein’s Herzens werte Kron und sei das Heil der Armen, und hilf ihn’ aus der Sünden Not, erwürg für sie den bittern Tod und lass sie mit dir leben.

He spoke to his beloved son: ‘Tis time to have compassion.

Then go, bright jewel of my crown, and bring to man salvation; from sin and sorrow set him free, slay bitter death for him that he may live with thee forever.

[Verse 5 from Nun freut euch lieben Christen g’mein, Martin Luther 1523]

Soli Das Blut Jesu Christi, des Sohnes Gottes, machet uns rein von allen Sünden.

The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

[1 John 1: 7b]

Capella Durch ihn ist uns vergeben die Sünd, geschenkt das Leben, im Himmel soll’n wir haben, o Gott, wie große Gaben.

Through him sins are forgiven, we are granted life, what great gifts, oh God, we shall have in heaven.

[Verse 6 from Nun lasst uns Gott dem Herren, Ludwig Helmbold 1575]

Soli Unser Wandel ist im Himmel, von dannen wir auch warten des Heilandes Jesu Christi, des Herren, welcher unsern nichtigen Leib verklären wird, dass er ähnlich werde seinem verklärten Leibe.

For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body.

[Philippians 3: 20–21]

Capella Es ist allhier ein Jammertal, Angst, Not und Trübsal überall, des Bleibens ist ein kleine Zeit, voller Mühseligkeit, und wers bedenkt, ist immer im Streit.

All around here is a valley of tears, there is fear, want and misery everywhere; our stay here is only for a short time full of trouble and suffering, and whoever begins to think about it, is continually in conflict.

[Verse 3 from Ich hab mein Sach Gott heimgestellt, Johann Leon 1589]

Soli Wenn eure Sünde gleich blutrot wäre, soll sie doch schneeweiß werden, wenn sie gleich ist wie rosinfarb, soll sie doch wie Wolle werden.

Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

[Isaiah 1: 18b]

Capella Sein Wort, sein Tauf, sein Nachtmahl dient wider allen Unfall, der heilge Geist im Glauben lehrt uns darauf vertrauen.

His word, his baptism, his supper, are proof against all misfortune, the holy spirit in faith teaches us to place our trust in these.

[Verse 5 from Nun lasst uns Gott dem Herren]

Soli Gehe hin, mein Volk, in eine Kammer und schleuß die Tür nach dir zu, verbirge dich einen kleinen Augenblick, bis der Zorn vorrübergehe.

Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee, hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.

[Isaiah 26: 20]

Der Gerechten Seelen sind in Gottes Hand und keine Qual rühret sie an, für den Unverständigen werden sie angesehen, als stürben sie, und ihr Abschied wird für eine Pein gerechnet, und ihr Hinfahren für Verderben, aber sie sind in Frieden.

But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and there shall no torment touch them. In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die, and their departure is taken for misery, and their going from us to be utter destruction: but they are in peace.

[Wisdom of Solomon 3: 1–3]

Herr, wenn ich nur dich habe, so frage ich nichts nach Himmel und Erden, wenn mir gleich Leib und Seele verschmacht, so bist du, Gott, allzeit meines Herzens Trost und mein Teil.

Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee.

My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever.

[Psalm 73: 25–26]

Capella Er ist das Heil und selig Licht für die Heiden, zu erleuchten, die dich kennen nicht und zu weiden, er ist seines Volks Israel der Preis, Ehr, Freud und Wonne.

He is salvation and a blessed light for the gentiles, to enlighten those who do not know you, and to give them pasture. For your people, Israel, he is their reward, honour, joy and delight.

[Verse 4 from Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin, Martin Luther 1524 (Lobgesang des Simeon, Lk 2, 29–32)]

Soli Unser Leben währet siebenzig Jahr, und wenn’s hoch kömmt, so sind’s achtzig Jahr, und wenn es köstlich gewesen ist, so ist es Müh und Arbeit gewesen.

The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.

[Psalm 90: 10a]

Capella Ach, wie elend ist unser Zeit allhier auf dieser Erden, gar bald der Mensch darnieder leit, wir müssen alle sterben; allhier in diesem Jammertal ist Müh und Arbeit überall, auch wenn dirs wohl gelinget.

How wretched is our time here on this earth, how quickly mortal men must pass from hence, and low be buried; here in this vale of tears we see, e’en in our brief prosperity, that all is toil and trouble.

[Verse 1 from dem gleichnamigen Lied, Johannes Heune (lat.: Johannes Gigas, 1514–1581)]

Solo Ich weiß, dass mein Erlöser lebt, und er wird mich hernach aus der Erden auferwecken, und werde darnach mit dieser meiner Haut umgeben werden, und werde in meinem Fleisch Gott sehen.

For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth, And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God. [Job 19: 25–26]

Capella Weil du vom Tod erstanden bist, werd ich im Grab nicht bleiben mein höchster Trost dein Auffahrt ist, Todsfurcht kannst du vertreiben, denn wo du bist, da komm ich hin, dass ich stets bei dir leb und bin drum fahr ich hin mit Freuden.

Since you have risen from death, I shall not remain in the grave; my greatest consolation is your ascension, it is able to drive away the fear of death. For where you are, there I shall come so that with you I shall always live and be; therefore I go from here with joy.

[Verse 4 from Wenn mein Stündlein vorhanden ist, Nikolaus Hermann 1562]

Soli Herr, ich lasse dich nicht, du segnest mich denn.

I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.

[Genesis 32: 27b]

Capella Er sprach zu mir: halt dich an mich, es soll dir itzt gelingen, ich geb mich selber ganz für dich, da will ich für dich ringen.

Den Tod verschlingt das Leben mein, mein Unschuld trägt die Sünden dein, da bist du selig worden.

To me he spake: Hold fast to me, I am thy rock and castle; thy ransom I myself will be, for thee I strive and wrestle.

Life shall from death the victory win, my innocence shall bear thy sin; so art thou blest forever.

[Verse 7 (beginning) and 8 (end) from Nun freut euch lieben Christen g’mein]

II. Parentationsmotette: Herr, wenn ich nur dich habe, SWV 280 Chor Herr, wenn ich nur dich habe, so frage ich nichts nach Himmel und Erden. Wenn mir gleich Leib und Seele verschmacht, so bist du doch, Gott, allezeit meines Herzens Trost und mein Teil.

Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee.

My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever.

[Psalm 73: 25–26]

III. Canticum B. Simeonis; Herr, nun lässest du deinen Diener, SWV 281 Intonatio Herr, nun lässest du deinen Diener Lord, now lettest thou thy servant Chorus I in Friede fahren, wie du gesagt hast.

Denn meine Augen haben deinen Heiland gesehen, welchen du bereitet hast für allen Völkern, ein Licht, zu erleuchten die Heiden und zum Preis deines Volks Israel. depart in peace, according to thy word. For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; a light to lighten the gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.

[Luke 2: 29–32]

Chorus II Selig sind die Toten, die in dem Herren sterben, sie ruhen von ihrer Arbeit und ihre Werke folgen ihnen nach.

Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

[Revelation 14: 13]

Sie sind in der Hand des Herren und keine Qual rühret sie.

But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and there shall no torment touch them.

[Wisdom of Solomon 3: 1]

Selig sind die Toten, die in dem Herren sterben.

Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord.

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH GOTTES ZEIT IST DIE ALLERBESTE ZEIT (ACTUS TRAGICUS), BWV 106

Ja, komm, Herr Jesu, komm!

1. Sonatina

[Revelation 22: 20]

2a. Chor Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit.

In ihm leben, weben und sind wir, solange er will. In ihm sterben wir zur rechten Zeit, wenn er will.

God’s time is the very best time.

In him we live, move, and have our being, as long as he wills. In him we die at the right time, when he wills.

[Acts of the Apostles 17: 28]

2b. Arioso (Tenor) Ach Herr, lehre uns bedenken, dass wir sterben müssen, auf dass wir klug werden.

Ah Lord, teach us to remember that we must die, so that we become wise.

[Psalm 90: 12]

2c. Arie (Bass) Bestelle dein Haus, denn du wirst sterben und nicht lebendig bleiben!

Put your house in order, for you shall die and not remain living!

[Isaiah 38: 1]

2d. Chor und Arioso (Soprano) Es ist der alte Bund: Mensch, du musst sterben!

It is the old covenant: man, you must die!

[Ecclesiasticus 14: 18]

Yes, come, Lord Jesus!

3a. Arie (Alto) In deine Hände befehl ich meinen Geist; du hast mich erlöset, Herr, du getreuer Gott.

Into your hands I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, Lord, you faithful God. [Psalm 31: 6]

3b. Arioso und Choral (Bass) Heute wirst du mit mir im Paradies sein.

Today you shall be with me in Paradise.

[Luke 23: 43]

Choral (Alto) Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin in Gottes Willen, getrost ist mir mein Herz und Sinn, sanft und stille.

Wie Gott mir verheißen hat: Der Tod ist mein Schlaf worden.

With peace and joy I go to that place, according to the will of God; my heart and mind are established, meek and quiet.

As God has promised me: Death has become my sleep.

[Verse 1 from dem gleichnamigen Lied, Martin Luther 1524]

4. Choral Glorie, Lob, Ehr und Herrlichkeit sei dir, Gott Vater und Sohn bereit, dem Heiligen Geist mit Namen!

Die göttlich Kraft macht uns sieghaft durch Jesum Christum, Amen.

Glory, praise, honour, and majesty be given to you, God the Father and Son and to the Holy Spirit by name! May the power of God make us victorious through Jesus Christ. Amen.

[Verse 7 from In dich habe ich gehoffet, Herr, Adam Reusner 1533]

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH O JESU CHRIST, MEINS LEBENS LICHT, BWV 118 O Jesu Christ, meins Lebens Licht, mein Hort, mein Trost, mein Zuversicht, auf Erden bin ich nur ein Gast und drückt mich sehr der Sünden Last.

O Jesus Christ, light of my life, my refuge, my comfort, my trust!

I am but a guest on earth, and sore oppressed by the weight of my sins.

Auf deinen Abschied, Herr, ich trau, darauf mein letzte Heimfahrt bau.

Tu mir die Himmelstür weit auf, wenn ich beschließ mein Lebenslauf.

Since you have died, the pure, the just.

I take my homeward way in trust.

The gates of heaven, Lord, open wide when here I may no more abide.

[Verse 1 & 2 from dem gleichnamigen Lied eines unbekannten Verfassers, possibly Martin Behm]

JOHN ELIOT GARDINER CONDUCTOR John Eliot Gardiner is revered as one of the world’s most innovative and dynamic musicians and is a leader in the contemporary musical world. His work, as Founder and Artistic Director of the Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists (EBS) and Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique (ORR) has made him a key figure both in the early music revival and historically informed performance practice.

Gardiner is a regular guest of the world’s leading symphony orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Berlin Philharmonic. He has also conducted opera productions at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, the Wiener Staatsoper and the Teatro alla Scala in Milan. His broad repertoire is illustrated by his extensive catalogue of award-winning recordings with the Monteverdi ensembles and other leading orchestras on both major labels and his own Soli Deo Gloria label.

He holds two GRAMMY awards and has received more Gramophone Awards than any other living artist.

In 2021 Gardiner conducted the Monteverdi Choir and EBS in a live streamed performance of Bach’s St John Passion from Oxford’s Sheldonian Theatre, and performed at several of Europe’s most prestigious music festivals, including his 60th appearance at the BBC Proms. He ended the year conducting the Monteverdi Choir and ORR in performances of Berlioz’s sacred oratorio L’enfance du Christ, which included a critically acclaimed performance at the Monteverdi Choir & Orchestras new London home, St Martin-in-the-Fields.

© Liliya Olkhovaya

The beginning of 2020 saw Gardiner conduct the ORR in three Beethoven symphony cycles as part of the Beethoven 250 anniversary celebrations, with concerts at Barcelona’s Palau de la Música, New York’s Carnegie Hall, and the Harris Theatre in Chicago. Other recent achievements with the Monteverdi ensembles include the RPS award winning Monteverdi 450 project in 2017, a reprise of the 2000’s famous Bach Cantata Pilgrimage, which toured to some of Europe’s most famous concert halls and churches in 2018, a five-year exploration of Berlioz’s major works to mark the 150th anniversary of the composer’s death, and a landmark performance of Verdi’s Requiem at London’s Westminster Cathedral in aid of Cancer Research UK. In 2019 Gardiner conducted new productions of Handel’s Semele and Berlioz’s Benvenuto Cellini, and gave his debut performances in Colombia, Russia, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Chile.

An authority on the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, Gardiner’s book, Music in the Castle of Heaven: A Portrait of Johann Sebastian Bach, was published in October 2013 by Allen Lane, leading to the Prix des Muses award (Singer-Polignac).

Among numerous awards in recognition of his work, Gardiner holds several honorary doctorates. He was awarded a knighthood for his services to music in the 1998 Queen’s Birthday Honours List.

MONTEVERDI CHOIR Ever since its founding in the 1960s, the Monteverdi Choir has been a leading force in the world of choral music. Through a combination of consummate technique, historically informed performance practice and a strong appreciation for visual impact, the Choir constantly strives to bring fresh perspectives, immediacy and drama to its performances.

In 2021, the Choir performed its first live streamed concert; Bach’s St John Passion with the English Baroque Soloists, filmed in Oxford’s historic Sheldonian Theatre.

The ensemble also returned to live performing in the summer with concerts at the Salzburger Festspiele and Festival Berlioz, as well as the BBC Proms and Berliner Festspiele where it performed a programme of Handel & Bach to critical acclaim. The Choir ended the year with a tour of Berlioz’s sacred oratorio L’enfance du Christ, which included a performance at its new London home, St Martin-in-the-Fields.

The Monteverdi Choir accompanied the ORR in performances of Beethoven’s 9th symphony in Barcelona, New York and Chicago in 2020, forming part of a wider project celebrating the 250th anniversary of the composer. The choir was set to continue this tour and perform Beethoven’s Missa solemnis across Europe, before the COVID-19 pandemic brought this project to a halt. The ensemble also gave its inaugural concerts at the Settimana di Musica Sacra di Monreale festival in Sicily, performing choral Baroque masterpieces alongside the English Baroque Soloists.

The Monteverdi Choir has taken part in a variety of projects across different

repertoires, ranging from a tour of Bach’s St Matthew Passion (performed from memory) with the English Baroque Soloists (EBS) to Berlioz’s La damnation de Faust and Verdi’s Requiem with the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique (ORR). It has also performed in several staged opera productions, including Orphée et Eurydice at the Royal Opera House (2015), Der Freischütz (2010), Carmen (2009) at the Opéra Comique in Paris, and Les Troyens at the Théâtre du Châtelet (2003). In 2017 the Choir took part in the RPS award-winning Monteverdi 450 project, which saw them perform all three of Monteverdi’s surviving operas with Gardiner and the EBS across Europe and the United States. Amongst its many trailblazing tours was the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage in 2000, during which the Choir performed all 198 of Johann Sebastian Bach’s sacred cantatas in over 60 churches throughout Europe and North America. The entire project was recorded and released by the Monteverdi Choir & Orchestra’s record label, Soli Deo Gloria, with Gramophone hailing the venture as ‘one of the most ambitious musical projects of all time’.

The Monteverdi Choir has over 150 recordings to its name and has won numerous prizes.

SOPRANO Rachel Allen Sam Cobb Hilary Cronin Emily Dickens Eloise Irving Charlotte La Thrope Emily Owen Alison Ponsford-Hill Daisy Walford Amy Wood

©Paul Marc Mitchell

ALTO Francesca Biliotti Rosie Clifford Iris Korfker Hamish McLaren Reginald Mobley* Tim Morgan*

TENOR Christopher Bowen Jacob Ewens Jonathan Hanley Graham Neal Edward Ross Gareth Treseder

BASS Alex Ashworth Jack Comerford Robert Davies Sam Evans Tom Herring Christopher Webb

* Guest soloist

ENGLISH BAROQUE SOLOISTS Founded in 1978 by John Eliot Gardiner, the English Baroque Soloists (EBS) seeks to challenge preconceptions of 200 years of music ranging from Monteverdi to Mozart and Haydn. Equally at home in chamber, symphonic and operatic performances, their distinctively warm and incisive playing is instantly recognisable. One of the world’s leading period instrument orchestras, the ensemble has performed at many of the world’s most prestigious venues including the Milan’s Teatro alla Scala, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and the Sydney Opera House.

In 2021, the ensemble performed its first live streamed concert; Bach’s St John Passion, filmed in Oxford’s historic Sheldonian Theatre and streamed on Deutsche Grammophon’s online platform ‘DG Stage’. It also gave critically acclaimed performances of Handel and Bach at two of Europe’s most prestigious music festivals; the BBC Proms and the Berliner Festspiele.

In 2019 the EBS made its inaugural visit to South America for the Cartagena International Music Festival, and subsequently undertook a tour of Handel’s dramatic oratorio Semele with the Monteverdi Choir, visiting a series of iconic venues including Barcelona’s Palau de la Música and Milan’s Teatro alla Scala. The ensemble then gave its debut performances in Russia alongside the Monteverdi Choir with a programme of works by Monteverdi, Carissimi, Scarlatti and Purcell, before returning to South America for further inaugural concerts in Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Chile.

2017 saw the EBS take part in the celebrated Monteverdi 450 tour, in which they performed all three of Monteverdi’s surviving operas across Europe and in the USA, a project that was recognised by a Royal Philharmonic Society award in the Opera and Music Theatre category.

The ensemble famously took part in the iconic Bach Cantata Pilgrimage in 2000 alongside the Monteverdi Choir, performing all of Bach’s sacred cantatas throughout Europe. The EBS has also participated in major opera productions alongside the Choir in works by Handel, Purcell and Monteverdi, and recorded Mozart’s greatest operas for Deutsche Grammophon in the 1990s.

CELLO Poppy Walshaw

HARP Gwyneth Wentink

VIOLA DA GAMBA Kinga Gáborjáni Reiko Ichise

ORGAN James Johnstone

DOUBLE BASS Valerie Botwright LUTE Elisa La Marca

©Eric Larraydieu

RECORDER Rachel Beckett Catherine Latham CORNETT Adrien Mabire Richard Thomas Darren Moore

TRUMPET Richard Thomas Darren Moore SACKBUT Miguel Tantos Sevillano Laura Agut Martyn Sanderson James Buckle Fabio De Cataldo

SUPPORT THE MONTEVERDI ENSEMBLES The three Monteverdi ensembles – the Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists and Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique – are a leading force on the international music scene. World-class instrumentalists and singers of many different nationalities come together to share in the distinctive vision of our Founder and Artistic Director, John Eliot Gardiner, in ground-breaking projects that span eight centuries of musical masterpieces.

As a registered charity without public subsidy, Monteverdi Choir and Orchestras rely on the generosity of our supporters to continue planning our ambitious, historically inspired artistic programme, and regularly perform world-class concerts at our new central London home, St Martin-in-the-Fields. This support also allows us to share our concerts with music lovers around the world through top-quality film and audio content, and helps us nurture and develop the next generation of musical talent. Here are the ways in which you can support us:

Handel’s Semele at the Palau de la Música Catalana, April 2019 © Antoni Bofill

JOIN OUR MEMBERSHIP SCHEME Our membership schemes start from £250 per year.

Members enjoy a range of benefits including a personalised priority booking service for all our concerts, monthly e-bulletins, and invitations to post-concert receptions.

At higher levels, additional benefits include invitations to exclusive open rehearsals, backstage access after our performances, and an Annual Conductor’s Dinner.

JOIN AS A BENEFACTOR By supporting our charity at this highest level, you will contribute substantially towards our landmark projects, allow us to perform regularly in our new London home at St Martin-in-the-Fields, and share our music globally via our filmed concerts.

CORPORATE SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES We can offer creative and collaborative sponsorship packages that enable you to align your business with our work. There are opportunities to sponsor individual performances, or an entire season of concerts at our new London home, St Martin-in-the-Fields.

LEAVE A LEGACY By choosing to leave a Legacy Gift to the Monteverdi Choir & Orchestras, you will play a crucial role in ensuring that the performers and listeners of the future will continue to be enthralled by the power of our music-making.

JOIN OUR AMERICAN FRIENDS Our American Friends play a valuable part in supporting and championing the work of the Monteverdi ensembles both in the US and beyond. The American Friends of the Monteverdi Choir & Orchestras, Inc is a registered 501(c) (3) and donations to the AFMCO are tax deductible for US taxpayers.

CONTACT US On our website you will find the facility to make a donation (which we warmly welcome at any level), purchase one of our memberships for yourself, or treat a friend via a Gift Membership. If you would like to discuss how you could support us by becoming a Benefactor, or how your organisation could partner with us, please contact us to arrange a no obligation discussion with our General Director, Rosa Solinas. development@monteverdi.org.uk +44 (0)20 7719 0120 Monday to Friday 10am to 6pm www.monteverdi.co.uk © Slawek Przerwa

MONTEVERDI SUPPORTERS The Monteverdi Choir & Orchestras gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the following individuals, organisations and Trusts & Foundations: ROYAL PATRON HRH The Prince of Wales PRESIDENT Ian Hay Davison CBE BENEFACTORS Michael L. Cioffi Sebastiano Cossia Castiglioni Mrs Carol Grigor & Mr Murray Grigor Judith McCartin Scheide MEMBERSHIP SCHEME Platinum David Best Michael Beverley David & Sandra Brierwood Ian Hay Davison CBE & Morny Davison Lady Virginia Fraser Andrey Kidel William Lock Francis Norton Sir David Walker Gold Lord Burns Sir Stephen Gomersall Gordon Gullan Christian & Myrto Rochat Helen Skinner Stephen & Victoria Swift Silver Geoffrey Barnett Roger & Rosemary Chadder Peter & Stephanie Chapman Dr Carol Cobb Felicity Fairbairn Jake Donovan & Gracia Lafuente Yi-Peng Li Lady Nixon Professor Richard Portes CBE FBA Anthony C. Shoults Captain Brian Woodford CBE RN

Bronze Mary Bernard Donald D. Campbell John Canady Peter J. Chapman Vanessa Claypole Anthony de Grey Steve Edge János & Dietlinde Hidasi George & Jenny Hill Richard Jacques Gareth & Charlotte Keene Jane Kellett Mollie Norwich Nicholas & Christylle Phillips Mary Pinnell Daan Posthuma Thomas Richter Dr Paul A. Sackin Steven & Olivia Schaefer Christopher J. H. Thornhill Andrew Tusa Andrew Wales CORPORATE PARTNERS Morgan Stanley TRUSTS & FOUNDATIONS The Claude Greenhill Trust The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust The Derek Hill Foundation Dunard Fund The Golsoncott Foundation The Idlewild Trust The Kirby Laing Foundation The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Foundation The Thistle Trust

With grateful thanks to those who wish to remain anonymous.

© Slawek Przerwa

IN MEMORIAM Donald Gorman Christopher Stewart Laura Youens LEGACIES The Estate of Howard Hodgkin The Estate of Kevin Lavery We are grateful for the donations made in memory of our supporters

AMERICAN FRIENDS Conductor’s Circle - Platinum The Negaunee Foundation The New York Community Trust - The Scheide Fund Conductor’s Circle - Gold Laurie & Bill Benenson Jeffrey Calman Conductor’s Circle - Silver Neil Graham Seth Levi Conductor’s Circle - Bronze Leslie Calman Mandy DeFilippo Gwen DeLuca Francesca Hayslett Sébastien Heinis Andrew Hunt Marsha Hunter Ferne Mele Matthias Ohr & Shannon Coulter Judith Perlman

© Stefan Gawlick

MCO Team

MCO Board of Directors

Rosa Solinas General Director & Chief Executive

Sir David Walker (Chairman) David Best Lady Deben Virginia Fraser Sir Stephen Gomersall Andrey Kidel Francis Norton

Martin Wheeler Finance & Administration Manager Matthew Broom Planning & Casting Manager Emily Parker Artistic Operations Manager Andrew Softley Tours & Concerts Manager Tom Hansell Projects & Partnerships Manager (Choir Manager) Bryony Benstead Fundraising Manager James Halliday Artistic Advisor & Librarian Dinis Sousa Associate Conductor Philip Turbett Orchestra Fixer Matthew Muller Stage Manager Robin Jennings Keyboard Technician (keyboards provided by Jennings Organs) Big Man Consultancy Ltd. Instrument Transport

Cover image: akg-images.

Detail from The Ghent Altarpiece, also called the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb (1432), attributed to Jan van Eyck.

THE MONTEVERDI CHOIR & ORCHESTRAS Level 12, 20 Bank Street, Canary Wharf, London E14 4AD, UK

www.monteverdi.co.uk +44 (0)20 7719 0120 info@monteverdi.org.uk Find us on social media Registered charity 272279 Company registered in England & Wales 01277513

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