Texte paru dans: / Appeared in: |
|
|
Outil de traduction ~ (Très approximatif) |
|
|
Reviewer: J.
F. Weber Tobias Michael (1592–1657) is found three times in the Fanfare Archive and in my collection. A setting of Psalm 116 in a boxed set on the same label of similar settings by his contemporaries (Fanfare 20:1) was the longest of the 16 settings commissioned by Burkhard Grossmann. Two CD collections of music from the Thomaskirche in Leipzig also have single pieces, one by Hans-Joachim Rotzsch with the Thomanerchor (15:2), the other by Norbert Schuster’s Dresden ensemble (27:6) duplicating Siehe der Gerechte kömmt um on this disc in a somewhat broader performance. Michael is best known as the successor, from 1631 till his death, of Johann Hermann Schein as Thomaskantor and hence the distant forerunner of J. S. Bach.
The 17 pieces for five voices and continuo recorded here are a selection from the first book of sacred madrigals, dated here as 1634 (the second book appeared in 1637), also the source for Ich bin gewiss das weder Tod on Rotzsch’s disc. Most of the texts are from Psalms, the rest from other Scriptures; only one here is credited to a certain Johannes Gigas. The notes run to more than six pages packed with information about Tobias Michael’s life and times, closely aligned with Schein. The Grossmann commission occupies an important place in the story. The careers of Schein and Michael coincided with part of Heinrich Schütz’s term in Dresden’s Kreuzkirche and the worst part of the Thirty Years’ War, which devastated that part of Germany. The Saxon Elector tried to remain neutral but that did not save his lands from Imperial troops, so he sided with Sweden until its king fell in battle, then with the Imperial forces, each switch bringing new devastation down on his people. The war made the efforts of both Schein and Michael difficult, for Leipzig was in the eye of the storm for years. The end of the war coincided with Michael’s failing health, his last decade being an unproductive time. The two sets of sacred madrigals from Michael’s early years in Leipzig reflect the limitations of the war years. Michael managed to provide worthy music for the limited forces available to him. Dinner was not always served to the boys, wood for the stove was sometimes lacking, and illness reduced their effective numbers. His choice of texts seems to reflect the conditions, as for example Psalm 45 (46), “God is our refuge and strength, a help in the terrible troubles that have befallen us,” a sentiment typical of the rest. Cordes leads sympathetic performances with his six adult mixed voices and a continuo group. Tobias Michael is finally represented worthily in the record catalog. | |
|
Support us financially by purchasing this disc from eiher one of these suppliers. 
FR -
U.S. -
UK
-
CA -
DE -
JA -
 Un achat via l'un ou l'autre des fournisseurs proposés contribue à défrayer les coûts d'exploitation de ce site. |
|
|
|
|
|
Cliquez l'un ou l'autre
bouton pour découvrir bien d'autres critiques de CD |
|
