St. Martin's Chamber Choir - Program Notes

Program notes - Gradus ad Parnassum

Stabat Mater ........................................................................ Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525-1594)

Through many years of performing works by Palestrina, I have gained a high respect for his compositional style. His posthumous reputation grew to an exaggerated degree through the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries (in part by way of tonight's focus, J. J. Fux and his treatise Gradus ad Parnassum), only to be trimmed down again in the 20th. In fact, the pendulum has swung so far that it is now fashionable among musicologists to emphasize the exaggeration of his reputation rather than anything he may have actually deserved, thus leaving the impression that he was an overrated, uninteresting composer. But I am not among the latter, and find his compositions always extremely well constructed, consistently satisfying to sing, perfectly suited to their function, and serenely beautiful. No Renaissance composer excelled him in these respects; and only Victoria, Byrd, and Tallis (in my estimation) exceeded him in the emotional impact of their works.

One of the few exceptions to this is his 8-part setting of the Stabat Mater, which is unusually expressive for Palestrina. Musicologist John Caldwell described it as "remarkable for its sensitive declamation, rhythmic fluidity, harmonic expressiveness, and subtle use of varied textures within a double-chorus framework." The perceptive listener will quickly notice that the rhythmic patterns vary almost bar by bar -- more like the quickly changing meters of Stravinsky than the cool serenity of most of Palestrina's works -- which are based entirely on the accentuation of the text. Because the Council of Trent banned the use of the Stabat Mater in the Mass in the 1540's, my supposition is that this is an early work by Palestrina; and perhaps the passion of youth suffused this work more than many another from his maturity. [Timothy J. Krueger, Artistic Director, St. Martin's Chamber Choir]

Concerto Grosso in F Major, Op. 6, No. 6 ................................................... Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713)

One of the most celebrated virtuoso violinists of his day, Arcangelo Corelli once suggested in a letter that the sole purpose of his compositions was to show off (“fare campaggiare”) the violin! It’s a little difficult to take Corelli at his word, since his well-crafted works are not just mere virtuosic showpieces. The composer’s many innovations were quickly integrated into the musical language of the Baroque — among them the use of certain sequential chord progressions, frequent walking or running bass lines, and the building of harmonic tension through the use of melodic suspensions. All these techniques can be found in abundance in his collections of “sonate a tre,” the solo sonatas for violin and continuo, and his popular collection of 12 concerti grossi (opus 6).

The F-major concerto on tonight’s program is one of eight in the opus 6 collection that follow the “sonata de chiesa” or church sonata form, which generally comprised four movements (slow-fast- slow- fast), with the movement titles indicating tempos rather than dance types. In the concerti grossi Corelli would often add an additional movement in lively tempo as an opportunity to display the virtuosity of the solo violin or the concertino group (a smaller group within the orchestra). The musicians of BCOC return to this wonderful concerto for the first time since offering it on our debut “Birth of the Orchestra” concert in November 2005. It seemed like a superb choice for inclusion on tonight’s program, because of Corelli’s influence on Fux’s compositional style, and because Corelli in his day was sometimes portrayed playing his violin on Parnassus, surrounded by the Muses — a sign of admiration for his achievements toward musical perfection. [Frank E. Nowell, Artistic Director, Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado]

Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf ................................................. Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

J.S. Bach’s six motets have long been the source of questions about date of composition, performing forces, and the occasions for which they were written. The double-choir motet Der Geist hilft provides more certainty than the other five in some regards. We know it was composed for the funeral of Johann Heinrich Ernesti, rector of the St. Thomas School for 45 years, on October 20, 1729. The piece opens in extroverted fashion in the style of an instrumental concerto, with the two choirs in close imitation. With the text “But lo, the Spirit intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words” the piece changes from triple to quadruple rhythm, and moves to a subtler and more intimate counterpoint. An alla-breve section brings the two choirs together in a vigorous four-voice fugue. The motet concludes with a verse from the Whitsuntide chorale, Komm Heiliger Geist, with a text from Martin Luther focusing on the Holy Spirit as comforter and helper.

Bach scholar Christoph Wolf summarizes the monumental achievements of Bach’s music: “Perfectly constructed and unique in sound, Bach’s compositions offer the ideal of bringing into congruence original thought, technical exactitude, and aesthetic beauty. Whatever the category of music and whatever the level of achievement…individually and collectively Bach’s works demonstrate the musical realization of unity in diversity, of musical perfection.” [FEN]

Requiem, K 51-K 53 (Kaiserrequiem) ...................................................... Johann Joseph Fux (1660-1741)

When the Austrian botanist, mineralogist, and amateur musician Ludwig von Köchel (1800-1877) had largely finished cataloguing the works of Mozart in 1862, he turned his industrious imagination and ample private means to the man he considered Austria's second greatest composer, Johann Joseph Fux. While this choice may seem surprising today, given that practically nobody has ever heard of him, much less a piece of his music, it is a sign of the esteem in which he was held, even a hundred years after his death, by Austrians. He is now more remembered for the treatise that he published in 1725, Gradus ad Parnassum ("Steps to Parnassus"), in which he invoked the spirit of Palestrina to teach the art of proper counterpoint, and to bring contemporary composers back to their senses, whom he considered as having abandoned true compositional principles.

Fux, born to peasant parents near Graz and educated principally by the Jesuits (including a study trip to Italy where he came under the influence of Corelli), rose to the very highest musical positions in Austria by dint not of connections or influence, but by the merit of his musical skills. He was employed at a young age by the Archbishop of Hungary, for whom he wrote a number of sacred works that are now largely lost. His real breakthrough, however, came in 1696 when Emperor Leopold I -- himself a musician of no inconsiderable accomplishment -- chanced to hear a mass Fux had written. In 1698, over the heads of many men with much greater seniority and stronger claims, the emperor appointed him his court composer. In 1705 he was also appointed Vice-Kapellmeister at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna; and in 1715 he succeeded to the position of principal Kapellmeister. He thus simultaneously held the highest Austrian church and court positions for upwards of 30 years, to the satisfaction of both masters and colleagues.

One of his many minor appointments was as Kapellmeister to Emperor Joseph I's widow, the Empress Wilhelmina Amalia. It was for her funeral in 1719 that he wrote this Kaiserrequiem (“Imperial Requiem”). It was instantly adopted by the Hapsburgs as the official Requiem for all funerals of the royal family, and was heard frequently in St. Stephen's for the next half-century. Its skillful mixture of what was called the stile antico (Palestrinian counterpoint) for the voices, and the Italian, Corellian influences on the string writing, result in a work that is at once solemn and uplifting; monumental in scope yet simple in affect; ancient (Renaissance) yet modern (Baroque).

One of the most prominent performances of the Kaiserrequiem was in 1736 for the funeral of Austria's greatest general of the era, Prince Eugene of Savoy, who, although not a member of the Hapsburg royal family, was accorded this great honor for the services rendered to the Austrian state in his many battles against the French and Turkish in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.

A cursory survey of modern performances of this work do not reveal any performances in the United States; so these [February 2008] concerts represent a [Colorado] regional premiere of the work, certainly, and perhaps even an American premiere. [TJK]

Timothy J. Krueger and Frank E. Nowell
February 2008