Singet

March concert spans eight centuries

Baroque Choral Guild focuses its spotlight on composers from Germany in its upcoming concert entitled "Singet!" The March 17th and 18th performances will feature works ranging from a 12th century chant of a mystic poem by visionary writer Abbess Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) to two gospel motets written in 1957 by East German-born now Australian resident Siegfried Strohbach.

"Singet" times three

Anchoring the program will be three treatments of "Singet dem Herrn." The earliest setting is by Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672). "Singet," or Psalm 98, is one of the Psalmen Davids written for the Lutheran Church in 1619, while Schütz served as Kapellmeister to the Electoral Court in Dresden. Considered the greatest German composer of his century, he studied in Venice under Giovanni Gabrieli, and adopted the elaborate polychoral style of his teacher. This double-chorus motet reflects the influence of the Italian master on his German pupil.

A century later, in 1727, J.S. Bach (1685-1750) wrote his Motet 1 "Singet dem Herrn" for the birthday of Friedrich August, king of Poland and Elector of Saxony. This was early in Bach's Leipzig period, during which he devoted his genius to the creation of "a compleat church music," turning out hundreds of cantatas, often at the rate of one a week. (The St. Matthew Passion was written two years after this motet.) Like the Schütz "Singet," Bach's motet is also for double chorus, but it concludes with a wonderful Bach-ian extended fugue.

Hugo Distler (1908-1942) was influenced by both Schütz and Bach, but did not live long enough to have an early, middle, or late period in his career. He composed more than fifty motets in his short life, including "Singet dem Herrn," which is part of his Opus 12, written in 1934-36 while he headed the chamber music department at the Lübeck Conservatory. Opus 12 was modeled on Schütz, and although Distler was supported by his colleagues, his word painting, harmonic and rhythmic freedom drew much antagonism from the State, who called his music "degenerate art."

Renaissance and romantic

Representing the Renaissance are Hans Leo Hassler (1564-1612) and Jakob Handl (1550-1591). "Dixit Maria" is one of Hassler's many Latin works for single chorus, considered among the best German compositions of their time. Handl's "Pater noster" is a polychoral work which reflects Venetian influence with its rich sonorities and non word-obscuring textures.

From the romantic period, the Guild performs "Schaffe in mir" by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897). Brahms wrote this work around 1860, when he was recovering from mental and emotional turmoil over his suppressed love for Clara Schumann. Its contrapuntal structure is based on his study of early baroque style but its harmonies are purely romantic. A contemporary of Brahms, Anton Bruckner (1824-1896) was also a romantic, but not German - he was Austrian. The Ave Maria that the chorus sings, written in 1861, is one of his earlier and among his loveliest of short choral works. It serves as a concise and sparkling statement of his Roman Catholic faith.

Into the new age

Ushering in the 20th century is a work by Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger (1873-1916). Max Reger was attached to and influenced by the music of Bach and Brahms; thus he acquired a mastery of counterpoint as well as romantic harmony. His musical talents were great but not systematically developed, hence discipline over his prodigious gifts only appeared in the latter years of his working life. From this period the Guild chorus performs the luminous "O Tod, wie bitter bist du," written in 1912.

Music Director Sanford Dole has selected a program of remarkable breadth and variety. Although the Guild Chorus is comfortable with the Latin and German texts, its greatest challenge has been singing in the diverse styles of the medieval, renaissance, baroque, romantic, and modern periods. This concert is certain to be a rich and rare feast for choral music lovers.

Volume 9, Issue 3

Baroque Choral Guild, 953 Industrial Ave. Ste 118, Palo Alto CA 94303, 650.424.1410