- Source: Kantate (Widmann)
Kantate (Cantata) for soli, choir, organ and orchestra is a work by German composer Jörg Widmann. It was composed in 2023, on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of Johann Sebastian Bach taking office as Thomaskantor in Leipzig. It was premiered on 8 June 2023 by Thomaskantor Andreas Reize conducting Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and Thomanerchor at Thomaskirche.
History
In 1723, Johann Sebastian Bach was appointed Thomaskantor in Leipzig. His inaugural cantata was Die Elenden sollen essen, BWV 75. The cantatas theme is grave poverty, a serious problem of that time. Widmann took Bach's cantata and the Baroque form as starting point for his composition. The theme of the new composition is war, a contemporary subject. Kantate was commissioned by the Bach Archive Leipzig financed by the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation.
Structure
Kantate is structured in seven parts.
Praeludium (instrumental)
's ist Krieg! (It is war!) (Matthias Claudius)
Ist kein Gott? (Is no god?) (Jean Paul)
Choral: Lasst euch nicht verführen! (Don't be seduced!) (Bertold Brecht)
Glaube, Hoffnung, Liebe (Faith, Hope, Love) (Bible)
Von guten Mächten (Of good powers) (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)
Halleluja (Paul Gerhardt)
= Praeludium
=A silent meditation for solo bass clarinet, the cantus is accompanied with tubular bells. The instruction for the bass-clarinetist as homage to Bach is: Walk from sacristy to Bach's grave and then to the position in the orchestra while playing.
= Matthias Claudius 's ist Krieg
=Its war! Torn style interspersed with drum attacks and shrill dissonance.
Lyrics
Taken from: Kriegslied (Matthias Claudius)
= Jean Paul Ist kein Gott?
=Highly expressive setting.
= Bertolt Brecht Gegen Verführung
=A cappella chorale.
Lyrics
Source:
= Dietrich Bonhoeffer Von guten Mächten
=The emotional core of the cantata. The text was written shortly before his execution by the Nazis.
Lyrics
Source:
= Halleluja
=At the end bright D major, in Baroque music regarded as the "key of glory", with trumpet-horn cheering and a big peal.
Instrumentation
Source score:
Woodwinds: 2 flutes (2nd doubling piccolo), 2 oboes (2nd doubling cor anglais), 2 clarinets (2nd doubling bass clarinet and ad lib. contra bass clarinet), 2 bassoons (2nd doubling contra bassoon)
Brass: 2 horns in F, 3 trumpets in C (1st doubling high B♭), 1 tenor trombone (doubling bass trombone)
Strings: 6 violins I, 6 violins II, 4 violas, 3 cellos, 2 double basses (all with 5 strings with B as lowest string)
Percussion: 2 players
Organ
Premiere
8 June 2023, Leipzig, Thomaskirche
Pia Davila, soprano
Geneviève Tschumi, alto
Raphael Höhn, tenor
Tobias Berndt, bass
Johannes Lang, organ
Volker Hemken, bass clarinet
Andreas Reize, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Thomanerchor
Reception
Anastassia Boutsko wrote at Deutsche Welle: "peace cantata" ("Friedenskantate"). Michael Stallknecht from Neue Zürcher Zeitung criticized the final Halleluja of the "demanding" work as "dull" ("platt"), but catchpenny. An anonymous reviewer wrote about the premiere: "lush, exuberant musical universe" ("üppiges, überbordendes musikalisches Universum") and "impressive interpretation" ("eindrucksvolle Interpretation"). Some in the audience could not stand the disturbing and agitative character of the work and fled the Thomaskirche.
References
Kata Kunci Pencarian:
- Kantate (Widmann)
- Jörg Widmann
- Cantata
- List of compositions by Jörg Widmann
- Andreas Traub
- Bass clarinet
- List of 21st-century classical composers
- 2023 in classical music
- List of compositions for viola: T to Z
