Andreas Hammerschmidt (1611/1612-1675)
Du bist schön und lieblich
Capucine Keller (soprano), Maxime Melnik (tenor)
Clematis/Yoann Moulin, Stéphanie de Failly
rec. 2024, Église Notre-Dame, Centeilles, France
Texts and translations included
Reviewed as a download
Ricercar RIC479 [64]

In the course of history, the texts from the Song of Songs from the Old Testament have exerted a strong attraction over composers. One reason for this is the expressive language used to describe the love of a young man and a young woman. Since ancient times, these texts were given an allegorical interpretation, which explains why they have often been set by composers of sacred music, such as Lassus and Palestrina. Whereas the Catholic church identified the young woman with Mary and Christ with the young man, representing the church, Martin Luther returned to the allegorical interpretation of the early church. In the foreword to his translation of the Hohelied Salomos, he states that “this booklet describes in guarded terms the great love and blessings, which Christ, the heavenly bridegroom of his spiritual bride, renders the dear Christian churches here on earth, and every verse needs a special interpretation (…)”. However, in his commentary on this book, he added a political interpretation. According to Jarrett A. Carty, he “argued that the Hebrew Bible’s Song of Songs was ‘an encomium of the political order’, a praise and thanksgiving to God for the gift of temporal government.”

In the Catholic church there was a kind of dichotomy with regard to the Song of Songs. It embraced the allegorical interpretation and considered the texts useful to strengthen the faith of the people, but various people who translated these texts into the vernacular came into conflict with the ecclesiastical authorities. The same kind of ambidexterity can be observed in Lutheran circles. The Lutheran theologian Johann Gerhard, in his ‘Foreword to the Christian Reader’ of Melchior Franck’s Geistliche Gesäng und Melodeyen from 1608, declared the text to be unsuitable for children: “[Nevertheless] it should also be noted that God’s spirit in this same book does not speak to the infants in Christ, who are still fed with milk.” Franck himself, in the dedication of this collection, stated: “And I have set and had published in musical compositions this Song of Solomon that can be performed and used in honour of God and holy wedlock as well as lovingly for solace in the church”.

The disc under review offers a selection of pieces from the Lutheran part of Germany. The central figure in the programme is Andreas Hammeschmidt, who for quite some time turned up only in anthologies, but has for a few years now has received some serious attention, including a disc devoted to him by the ensemble Vox Luminis, also with the ensemble Clematis (Ricercar, 2020) (review ~ review).

He was born in either 1611 or 1612 in Brüx in Bohemia, where his family belonged to the Protestant community. During the Thirty Years’ War Bohemia became Catholic again, and Hammerschmidt’s father decided to move to Freiberg in Saxony. Very little is known about Andreas’s musical education. Some quite important musicians and composers were active in Freiberg during the time he lived there, such as Christoph Demantius and Stephan Otto, but there is no firm evidence that he was their pupil, even though he certainly knew them.

In 1635, Hammerschmidt was appointed organist at the Petrikirche, and the next year he published his first collection of music, Erster Fleiss, containing a number of instrumental suites. In 1639 he moved to Zittau, where he became the organist of the Johanniskirche. It was his last position, and there he composed the largest part of his oeuvre. The position of organist became increasingly important, as Hammerschmidt was responsible for composing and performing all church music and directing the soloists from the school choir and the instrumental ensemble of town musicians. In the early years in Zittau, though, Hammerschmidt – like so many of his colleagues in Germany – had to deal with the disastrous effects of the Thirty Years’ War. It is probably telling that before 1648 – when the Peace of Westphalia brought the war to an end – only one collection of large-scale sacred music was printed. More such music followed in the 1650s and 60s. His activities as composer and performer not only made him a man of reputation, but also brought him considerable wealth. In the early 1670s he suffered from ill health and died 1675; his tombstone calls him the Orpheus of Zittau.

Whereas in Vox Luminis’ recording the passion and resurrection of Christ were the main subject, the present disc focuses on settings of texts from the Song of Songs. What would have been more logical than turning to a collection of sacred dialogues, in which the Song of Songs takes a major place, though not in Luther’s translation of the Bible, but rather the translation of Martin Opitz, the main poet of the time? However, it was decided to ignore this collection of 1645. Jérôme Lejeune, in his liner-notes, states: “All of these pieces are composed in strophic form, the repetition of which quickly leads to a certain weariness. The collection as a whole seems rather cold, as if Hammerschmidt had tried to avoid any true expression of the texts. This is all the more surprising given that other pieces with texts from the Song of Solomon that have survived scattered throughout other collections are much more moving in their expressive style. We therefore decided not to include any of the works in the 1645 collection (…)”. As I have not heard these dialogues, I don’t know whether Lejeune’s assessment is right.

One reason to ignore this collection is the concept that was chosen for this programme. I quote Lejeune again: “We have structured this recording as a type of sacred opera on a small scale in which the listener is gradually led towards the meeting of the two lovers. We see the two protagonists searching for each other, trying to find each other, spying on each other, and each expressing their admiration for the other in the context of a luxuriant and complicit natural setting.” Obviously, performers have the right to develop a concept as they wish, and put together a programme accordingly, as long as the music they have selected, is not compromised. However, in this case the concept is debatable with regard to performance practice.

The programme opens with an anonymous Sonatina, which is used as an ‘overture’. It is scored in five parts, with split violas. That was the standard scoring of instrumental music in 17th-century Germany. It is followed by the first piece by Hammerschmidt: Ich schlaffe, aber mein hertz wachet (I sleep, but my heart keeps watch), scored for two voices – soprano and tenor – with two violins and basso continuo. It is from the third volume of Musicalische Andachten – the first series of publications by Hammerschmidt. Notable is the scoring with two violins. This was common practice in Italy during the first half of the 17th century, and was also adopted by Heinrich Schütz in his Symphoniae Sacrae of 1629. Hammerschmidt’s collection includes two pieces on texts from the Song of Songs, this one and also the next, Du bist allerdinge schöne (You are fully fair, my love), which is scored for tenor. In both pieces the strings participate in the expression of the text, in the former, for instance, with a tremolo on the phrase “Tell him I am sick for love”. Notable also is the contrast in the vocal part at the start, reflecting that in the text.

Each of the two pieces is followed by an instrumental work by David Funck, a man of various qualities, among them that of a virtuosic violist; like Hammerschmidt he was of Bohemian birth.

The Italian style manifests itself abundantly in the two ensuing sacred concertos by Hammerschmidt, respectively for soprano and tenor with basso continuo. Both Anima liquefacta est (My soul melted within me) and Vulnerasti cor meum (You have ravished my heart) are demonstrations of the monodic style, as we know it from the likes of Monteverdi and Grandi. They are full of typical Italian embellishments in the manner of diminutions and written in the declamatory manner that is typical of the monody. Here, Hammerschmdt shows impressively his command of what had come down from Italy.

Each of these concertos is followed by an instrumental piece by Hammerschmdt. He has not left much instrumental music: just three collections of dances. I would also mention here a recording from quite some time ago, devoted to the first of these (the Erster Fleiss, mentioned above), performed by Hespèrion XX under the direction of Jordi Savall.

The first ‘act’ of this ‘opera’ closes with a piece, called dialogus: Mein Freund ist mein und ich bin sein (My beloved is mine and I am his). The text is divided among the two singers, who undoubtedly represent the lover and the beloved respectively. The contrast is emphasized by the scoring: the soprano is accompanied by violins, the tenor by violas. “The general form is similar to that of a rondeau, the return of which we have emphasised with the addition of a recorder.” (booklet) I don’t see the need, and this is too demonstrative. I don’t like it when performers think they need to rub the listener’s nose in what he/she is supposed to hear.

The second ‘act’ again opens with an ‘overture’, a sinfonia from the collection Sonate da Camera by Johann Rosenmüller. It is followed by the last piece of Hammerschmidt’s pen: Ich suchte des Nachts (By night on my bed I sought him), for soprano, strings and basso continuo. This is also a kind of dialogue, but then between the soprano and the strings; the latter mostly imitate the former. At the end the tempo is accelerated, indicated by the indication presto.

Next, we hear the lover in Steh auff meine Freundin (Arise, my beloved) by Johann Vierdanck. He belongs among the large echelon which music historians label as ‘minor composers’ – although this often this says more about the historians than the composers. Many of them were highly valued in their time, and Vierdanck was no exception. He was born from a Saxonian-Thuringian family and started his career as a choirboy in Dresden under Heinrich Schütz, who described him as a “fine, modest person and making a very good, solid beginning in composition”. He became a violinist in the court chapel in Dresden, worked at the court in Güstrow and in 1632 he travelled north to Lübeck and Copenhagen. In the last eleven years of his life, he acted as organist in Stralsund. This particular piece of his pen is scored for two voices, which Lejeune seems to find surprising. It is not: in the baroque period there was no connection between the gender of a character and the performer in sacred music. The reader will know Nigra sum (from Monteverdi’s Vespers), where a tenor sings the words of the beloved.

This is confirmed by the next piece, Ich bin eine Blume zu Saron (I am a flower of Sharon), by Johann Philipp Krieger, one of the composers of the generation around 1700, whose oeuvres mark the transition from the sacred concerto of the 17th century to the ‘Italianate’ cantata of the 18th century. This concerto is not formally set up as a dialogue, although in the text the two characters alternate. Even so, the piece is scored for two sopranos. Here the second part is sung by the tenor, as “it seems quite logical to divide the voices between the two ranges, especially as the central recitative passage is divided into two sections in which it is clear that they are intended for the two lovers respectively.” In the light of what I just wrote, this is a debatable decision, and the effect of the concept of this programme.

This piece shows an interesting similarity with the wedding cantata Meine Freundin, du bist schön by Johann Christoph Bach. Both include an obbligato part for solo violin and are (partly) based on a ciacona. It seems quite possible that Krieger’s cantata was also written for a wedding. Texts from the Song of Songs were popular as material for wedding pieces.

The last item brings us to the least-known composer in the programme. Thomas Strutz was from Stargard and died in Danzig (Gdańsk), both in present-day Poland. He was educated as an organist and worked in this capacity in his birthplace and from 1668 until his death in Danzig. Several collections of sacred music of his pen are known. Siehe mein Freund (Behold, my beloved stands behind) is a dialogue for two voices which certainly has some theatrical traces, as Lejeune rightly observes. Unfortunately, the performers again decided to emphasize this with changes in the instrumental line-up. They have added two violas to the two violins – this way undermining the ‘Italian’ scoring – and allocated them to the tenor.

This and the other debatable decisions on the part of the performers mentioned above are blots on this interesting production. They are partly due to a concept that adds nothing to the meaning or value of the music. However, it does not compromise my great appreciation of this production. The programme largely consists of unknown pieces, and being someone who since long has been convinced of Hammerschmidt’s qualities, I am happy that this disc marks another stage in the revaluation of his oeuvre. The pieces included here attest to his skills in setting sacred texts. The pieces by other composers are of the same level.

The performances could hardly be better. I have heard Capucine Keller before and noted her excellent feel for the baroque style. She has a lovely voice, and thanks to her perfect diction, her immaculate treatment of the written-out ornamentation and the effective use of dynamics, her contributions make a great impression. Maxime Melnik is a new name to me, and I like his voice and the way he sings. I was not entirely convinced in Du bist allerdings schöne, where I noted a slight vibrato, but later he makes a really good impression. His diction and declamatory skills perfectly fit the music. With regard to dynamics, I could imagine some stronger contrasts. In the duets, the two voices are a perfect match. The instrumentalists are well aware of what the pieces are about. Their dynamic and alert playing is a pleasure to listen to.

Johan van Veen
www.musica-dei-donum.org
twitter.com/johanvanveen

Contents
anon
Sonatina à 5
Andreas Hammerschmidt
Ich schlaffe, aber mein hertz wachet
David Funck (1648-1699)
Lamento
Andreas Hammerschmidt
Du bist allerdinge schöne
David Funck
Ballo
Andreas Hammerschmidt
Anima mea liquefacta est
Ballet
Vulnerasti cor meum
Ballo
Mein Freund ist mein und ich bin sein
Johann Rosenmüller (1619-1684)
Sinfonia in c minor
Andreas Hammerschmidt
Ich suchte des Nachts
Johann Vierdanck (1605-1646)
Steh auff meine Freundin
Johann Philipp Krieger (1649-1725)
Ich bin eine Blume zu Saron
Thomas Strutz (1621-1678)
Siehe mein Freund

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