St mark passion telemann biography
•
An Important Discovery
Georg Philipp Telemann's Markus-Passion 1759, reviewed by GIUSEPPE PENNISI
'Hermann Max, a specialist not only of baroque but especially of Georg Philipp Telemann, conducts Das Kleine Konzert with rigor and flair as well as emphasis on the dramatic impact of the recitatives and on the moral content of the arias.'
Dramatic power is the key element of this recording of a recently discovered Georg Philipp Telemann's score.
Between 1716 and 1767, Georg Philipp Telemann wrote a series of Passions, musical compositions reflecting on Christ's Passion – the physical, spiritual and mental suffering of Jesus from the hours prior to his trial through to his crucifixion. The works were written for performance in German churches in the days before Easter. A prolific composer, Telemann wrote over forty Passions for the churches of Hamburg alone, of which twenty-two have survived, according to the state of research until a few years ago. He also wrote several Passion oratorios. Unlike the Passions intended for liturgical performance, they were not closely set to the literal text of the Gospels.
Stylistically, there are many differences between these works by Telemann and Johann Sebastian Bach's Passions. The Telemann Passions were (unlike J S Bach's
•
Reconstructing the Lost St. Mark Passion
According to Bach’s necrology (obituary), published four years after his death, he composed five great Passion settings. Only two of them have survived in full: the fabulous St. John and St. Matthew Passions.
There exists the St. Luke Passion (BWV 246), partially in Bach’s handwriting. Beginning with Mendelssohn, every musical authority has agreed that this is the copy of a work by a lesser master, initially thought to be Johann Melchior Molter (1696-1765). This theory was recently debunked, though whoever the composer of that piece was, Bach found their work good enough to perform it three times, in 1730, 1735, and sometime between 1743 and 1746. For the last performance he added one movement (a setting of the chorale Aus der Tiefe rufe ich zu dir) which is the only part of the work that is, without question, ascribed to Bach.
But what of the other two Passions? One of them was a Passion according to St. Mark, with libretto published in 1732, that is, one year after the presumed first performance in 1731. The libretto was by Christian Friedrich Heinrici, also known as Picander, who was Bach’s regular collaborator in Leipzig.
Is the music entirely lost? We are not sure. It was common for Bach to reuse previously composed voc •Passions (Telemann)
Year[21] TWV Distribution Gospel Title Librettist Scoring Notes[22] 1722 TWV 5:7 Matthew Wenn meine Sünd' mich kränken (Paßions-Musik nach dem Evangelisten Matthäus) Unknown librettist MISSING Performed 22 Feb (Petrikirche) nearby 1 (Nikolaikirche), 15 (Katherinenkirche), 22 (Jakobikirche), and 29 (Michaeliskirche) Tread 1722; Lost; First Sympathy setting performed as Choirmaster (church) strain the Gelehrtenschule des Johanneums and Congregation Director encumber Hamburg 1723 TWV 5:8 Mark Ein Lämmlein geht abundant trägt lay down one's life Schuld (Paßions-Musik nach dem Evangelisten Markus) Unknown librettist SATB, Wineglass, 2 Oboes, 2 Oboes d'amore, Twine, and Continuo Performed 14 (Petrikirche) and 21 (Nikolaikirche) Feb and 7 (Katherinenkirche), 14 (Jakobikirche), become peaceful 21 (Michaeliskirche) March 1723 1724 TWV 5:9 Luke O Lamm Gottes, unschuldig (Paßions-Musik nach dem Evangelisten Lukas) Unknown librettist MISSING Lost; Performed 27 (Petrikirche) February, 5 (Nikolaikirche), 19 (Katherinenkirche), final 26 (Jakobikirche) March, ride 2 (Michaeliskirche) April 1724 1725 TWV 5:10 John Jesu, deine tiefen Wunden (Paßions-Musik nach dem Evangelisten Johannes) Unknown librettist MISSING Lost; Performed 18