Performer: Christina Pluhar, L’Arpeggiata
Conductor: Christina Pluhar
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Erato
Release: 2018
Size: 1.29 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
01. Theile: Der Sionitin Wiegenlied: Nun, ich singe! Gott, ich knie
02. Bach, J C’ph: Bach, JC: Lamento: Ach, dass ich Wassers g’nug hätte
03. Bütner: Ich suchte des Nachts in meinem Bette
04. Theile: Gott, hilf mir
05. Ritter, C: O amantissime sponse
06. anon.: Chiaccona a 4 in C Major
07. Schütz: Von Gott will ich nicht lassen, SWV 366
08. Erlebach: Kommt, ihr Stunden, macht mich frei
09. Tunder: Aria. Ein kleines Kindelein
10. Ahle, J R: Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden
11. Bertali: Sonata a 6 in E minor
12. Schütz: Erbarm dich mein, O Herre Gott, SWV447
13. Bach, J S: Komm, süsser Tod, komm, sel’ge Ruh, BWV 478
Himmelsmusik (‘heavenly music’), a programme of sacred songs and cantatas by German composers of the 17th century, presents a striking contrast with the previous Erato album from Christina Pluhar and her ensemble L’Arpeggiata: Händel Goes Wild.
Himmelsmusik sees Pluhar taking a more sober and traditionally scholarly approach. She and L’Arpeggiata are joined by star countertenor Philippe Jaroussky and the distinguished Belgian soprano Céline Scheen in a programme that includes the celebrated lamento ‘Ach, dass ich Wassers gnug hätte’ by Johann Christoph Bach (born over 40 years before his relative Johann Sebastian), Heinrich Schütz’s ‘Erbarm Dich mein, o Herre Gott’ and prompts discovery of works by such lesser-known figures as Johann Theile, Philipp Heinrich Erlebach, Christian Ritter and Franz Tunder. An instrumental piece by the Verona-born Antonio Bertali highlights the influence of Italian music on German composers of the time.
In an interview with the Bremen-based newspaper Weser-Kurier, Christina Pluhar provided some insights into the balance she strikes in her music-making with L’Arpeggiata.
“A way of escaping any categorisation as a specialist in improvisation is to undertake projects in which I play pure Baroque music. I always try to reinvent myself, to create something from my innermost being … I can be quite satisfied with music as it was originally written, and we will play this music without making excursions into other fields … But it is also always exciting to look at this music through the eyes of musicians who come from a different musical genre, since it opens up new perspectives and gives rise to a kind of new music. That can only work when you are well acquainted with the original music and its style, and have great respect for it … There are pieces that lend themselves to being developed into something new, and there are others that must simply be presented in all their purity and beauty – works which must be left as they are. Sensitivity is everything.”