Roland Wilson, Musica Fiata, La Capella Ducale - Johann Pachelbel: Easter Cantatas (2004)

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Roland Wilson, Musica Fiata, La Capella Ducale - Johann Pachelbel: Easter Cantatas (2004)

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For many years, Johann Pachelbel (1653–1706) was beset by the same malady as Tomaso Albinoni, i.e., that of being recognized primarily for a single work. In Albinoni’s case it was the Adagio (composed by Remo Giazotto, using only a bass line from his countryman); with Pachelbel it was the all-pervading Canon in D which has been recorded so many times that one loses count and in an almost infinite variety of versions, ranging from the composer’s original for three violins and continuo to tuba quartet! However, some have chosen to venture further into the musical legacy left by Pachelbel and therefore uncovered a number of compositions whose quality—while variable and occasionally mundane—is overshadowed by their importance in the development of specific genre, including the sacred cantata.
In spite of the fact that many view much of Pachelbel’s music as being tedious and lacking inspiration, he was remembered by Johann Mattheson—the German composer and writer on matters musical—in Grundlage einer Ehrenpforte (1740) as a "man [who] merits praise for notes full of wisdom." Noted for his part-writing in both keyboard and choral works, Pachelbel’s music was tremendously popular in Thuringia and viewed elsewhere by many, including Johann Christoph Bach, the eldest brother of Sebastian Bach, as a formative model upon which further to build.
This cpo release offers us a peek into Pachelbel’s choral œuvre vis-à-vis half a dozen works dating from various periods in his creative life. Two works impress immediately upon first hearing: the setting of Psalm 150 (a strophic treatment in which each of the instruments mentioned in the text is called upon to participate) and the treatment of Martin Luther’s Easter hymn, “Christ lag in Todesbanden.” The latter is believed to have influenced Sebastian Bach’s setting of the same text, and indeed there are structural similarities, not to mention similar treatment of the melody by placing the cantus firmus in different voices throughout the work as Bach would later do in BWV 4. Three of the half-dozen works offered here bask in the splendor of trumpets and timpani while in the others ( Christ lag in Todesbanden, Christ ist erstanden, and Jauchzet dem Herrn), Pachelbel carefully avoids the expected instrumental extravagance and jubilation associated with Easter, banishing the trumpets and the associated percussion. He still, however, manages effectively to capture and convey the message of the text.
Roland Wilson’s ensembles have been around for a little more than a decade and, as the notes tell us, "have [been] unanimously acclaimed [for] outstanding performances . . . combining virtuosity and individuality." Indeed these are virtuosic performances with vocalists and instrumentalists who unquestionably do justice to this repertoire. The singing is fluid, fluent, agile, and properly adorned with the expected stylistic embellishments. Soprano Monika Mauch deserves special kudos for her performance of Christ ist erstanden. Here and elsewhere, one finds that the diction, articulation, and ensemble leave nothing to be desired, and both the spirit of the text and the ethos of the period are well defined throughout. If this is what people mean when they refer to Pachelbel’s music as being tedious and mundane, then bring it on!

–Michael Carter

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Roland Wilson, Musica Fiata, La Capella Ducale - Johann Pachelbel: Easter Cantatas (2004)

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