Cantatas 5 and 6 of the commonly known “WO” could be heard on Saturday in the Bergstadt cathedral.
church music. Christmas Oratorio. This is nowadays the opposite of a generic brand name like Tesa, Tempo or Maggi. If one thinks of the latter three in general as transparent adhesive tape, paper handkerchiefs and liquid food seasoning, no matter what make, one speaks of “the WO” in church music jargon, never as a generic name for the works of Berlioz, Saint-Saëns, Mendelssohn Bartholdy or John Adams the theme, but always the six-part by Johann Sebastian Bach. And usually not even the complete one, which with six rounds of applause and exits and appearances by the soloists plus a break can easily last more than three hours. Cantatas 1 to 3 are standard. All six were once intended by Bach individually for the holidays from December 25th to Epiphany (the Three Kings) on January 6th. As part of a service. Today, this performance practice would not only be a logistical nightmare and commercially ruinous, but would also be difficult to convey to the audience. So the WHERE is given, even if it is half of it. In many churches there should be a number of seats where someone sits down exactly once a year – to the WHERE. Only recently did the media report again that the church communities in Germany had to record massive numbers of people leaving and natural decline.
New Year’s rockets before Christmas Eve
But there are die-hards like the Freiberg Cathedral Choir. He didn’t leave it at cantatas 1 to 3, which he brought to life in two largely sold-out events in the church, which was as impressive on the inside as it was on the outside, on the second Saturday in Advent. Last Saturday, the approximately 60-strong mixed choir brought along the Magnificat by Johann Kuhnau, Bach’s direct predecessor as Thomaskantor in Leipzig, the WO cantatas 5 and 6 with the Dresden Baroque Orchestra as well as Anne Stadler (soprano), Bernadette Beckermann (alto), Christian Pohlers (tenor) and Gotthold Schwarz (bass) as soloists.
Strictly speaking, this is like lighting the New Year’s rockets a week before Christmas Eve or performing the St. Matthew Passion on the first Sunday after Ash Wednesday. But a large part of the public may not be concerned with Christmas very soon after December 26th. Christmas trees thrown away early between thawing snow and shredded firecrackers are a ubiquitous street scene from the first few days of every year.
Leipzig ex-Thomaskantor is also there
In this respect it is logical to offer Bach’s grandiose music when the public wants to hear it. And the ensemble did that perfectly. Especially since it provided a contrast to the previous work by Kuhnau using the example of a baroque little master, which made it clear what serious development the music of the 18th century had taken with Bach, although both had access to the same resources. The Kuhnau is also artistic, for sure. Beautiful voice leading, sophisticated counterpoint. But how Bach sets chamber music colors in the large cast, for example when the oboe and organ continuo sing the youthful, supple singing of the 70-year-old Gotthold Schwarz – yes, the Leipzig ex-Thomaskantor! – play around in the aria “Enlighten my darkest senses”, which impresses no less than the unbelievably filigree sculptural work of the famous Freiberg tulip pulpit, which almost every one of the 445 concert-goers had in view. But you have to be able to get it across! In addition, a well-disposed cathedral choir under cantor Albrecht Koch, who constantly created tonal balance and set the most solemn accents with the chorales “I’m standing at your crib here” and “Now you’ve smelled it well”. The party can come.
The Christmas Oratorio (cantatas 1 – 3) will be performed again at Freiberg Cathedral on Saturday, December 9, 2023, at 4 p.m. and 7.30 p.m. The pre-sale hasn’t started yet. » freiberger-dom.de