"Johann Adolf Hasse was born on 25 March 1699 in Bergdorf near Hamburg. First engaged as tenor at the operas in Hamburg and Braunschweig, he soon felt the urge to composer himself in order to gain perfection in this art, went to Naples and studied with Porpora and A. Scarlatti. The succes of his opera 'Sesostrate' earned him the name 'Il caro Sassone' in Italy. In 1727 he became Kappellmeister in Venice. Here he met the singer Faustina Bordoni whom he married in 1730. In 1731 both received appointments at the Dresden court; only after 1734, however, did they remain for a longer period in Dresden, the city of their most triumphal successes. After the death of Frederick August II (1763), the song of August the Strong, Hasse was dimissed without a pension and went with his wife to Vienna. In 1773 they returned to Venice, where he died on 16 December 1783.
"The 'Mass in D minor' and the 'Te Deum' were composed by Hasse for the dedication of the Catholic Court Church built by Chavieri which took place on 29 June 1751. The works were heard for the first time against a background which still consisted of only a provisory scaffold. Hasse, as the story goes, stood before his orchestra nad singer in gala dress: 'he conducted with a glove clothed in a red velvet cloak with a train!'
"The 'Gloria' can be considered a prime example of Catholic church music of the Baroque. In both arias - 'Domine Deus' (soprano), Qui tollis (tenor) - Hasse attains a depth of musical expression which J.S. Bach would certainly no longer have called 'petty Dresden songs'. The magnificent outer movements constitute a genuinely festive 'Gloria' music. The orchestra here with its flutes, trumpets, horns, and kettle drums is much richer in comparison with that of the 'Kyrie' which consists only of strings and oboes.
"The 'Te Deum' with its concise compositional style and the constantly recurring head motif can be heard to it best advantage especially in the overly live acoustics of the reverberating church hall of the Dresden Court Church. Interrupted by a heartfelt soprano aria 'Salvum fac populum', the work reaches its climax in the passionate outburst 'sine peccato' - 'keep us without sin on this (final) day', and the 'our' - 'us' is emphasized three times. In no other place is Hasse's religiosity so clearly revealed as here. The closing fugue, which in its brevity recalls the fugues in masses of Mozart, is supposedly to have charmed especially C.M. von Weber. He maintained that there could be no more beautiful theme for the words 'In te, Domine, speravi'.
"Hasse composed for the ensemble of musicians which was available to him. This comprised not only the incomparable court orchestra and the soloists but also the 'Kapellknaben', (choir)boys who had been brought to the Dresden residence predominantly from the Catholic regions of Bohemia. Hasse intended this small group as well to fulfil its own function. One cannot help but admire how Hasse's sensitive treatment of the orchestral entrance ensures that the delicate boys' voices are heard to their best advantage.
"The present recordings were produced by the Radio of the German Democratic Republic specifically in the former Catholic Court Church in Dresden. The performers are part of this tradition as well: soloists of the Dresden State Opera, instrumentalists of the State Orchestra, and the Dresden Choirboys; the latter developed after 1945 into a respected church choir which still today maintains close tiies with this church, the cathedral of the diocese Dresde-Meißen.
"The works were performed under the musical direction of Domkantor (cathedral music director) Konrad Wagner (born in 1930). He sang these works himself as a choirboy between 1940 and 1945. He was entrusted in 1955 with the musical direction of the Dresden Choirboys and since 1971 he directed as Domkantor the sacred music at the Dresden cathedral until his retirement in 1997." (Joachim Berenbold, tr. Beverly J. Sing. From the liner notes.)
Performers: Staatskapelle Dresden, Dresdner Kapellknaben, Konrad Wagner
1. Gloria From The Mass In D Minor: Gloria
2. Gloria From The Mass In D Minor: Domine Deus
3. Gloria From The Mass In D Minor: Qui Tollis
4. Gloria From The Mass In D Minor: Quoniam Tu Solus Sanctus
5. Gloria From The Mass In D Minor: Cum Sancto Spirituo
6. Te Deum Laudamus: Te Deum Laudamus (Allegro Assai)
7. Te Deum Laudamus: Salvum Fac Populum Tuum (Aria/Andantino)
8. Te Deum Laudamus: Et Rege Eos (Tempo Primo)
9. Te Deum Laudamus: In Te Domine (Fuge)
10. Regina Coeli: Regina Coeli
11. Regina Coeli: Ora Pro Nobis
12. Regina Coeli: Regina Coeli (Da Capo)
No comments:
Post a Comment