Das Jüngste Gericht (Selection

The evidence that the music on this CD was composed by the great Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707) wouldn't stand up in court, being circumstantial at best. It's well known that Buxtehude, as well as his predecessor Franz Tunder, were expected to compose music for the 'Abendmusiken' at St. Mary's Church in Lübeck, to be performed publicly on the five Thursdays before Christmas. It's known that Buxtehude coaxed forth substantial financial support from the wealthy merchants of the old Hanseatic city. It's probable that the Evening Music compositions were semi-dramatic oratorios in lieu of liturgical services, with pietist texts, yet were intended to be entertaining as well as devout. However, not a single page of music absolutely associated with the Evenings has survived. This selection of arias, terzettos, recitativos, choruses, and symphonies is taken from a single manuscript preserved in Stockholm, with neither title nor attribution to any composer. The text is in German, is unutterably pietistic, and would very likely have amused the sober merchants who stopped to hear their lavish concerts on their way to the bourse. The music is lively, dance-like, charmingly varied in vocal texture and in instrumentation, and - to modern sensibilities anyway - completely disrelated to the sense of the text. Thank goodness for that, my dears! Cognitive dissonance isn't always such a bad thing. The text runs something like this throughout:

The Bad Soul: O! Great fear and terror break my heart into a thousand pieces, with thunder above and below the worst sort of woe! O woe! I'm lost! I'm cursed!
Terzetto (Trio): Die! Mad man, die! And rot eternally!

Like those old merchants, the Bremen-based Weser-Renaissance ensemble has spared no expenses and scanted no musical resources in performing The Last Judgement. The corps of soloists is superb: sopranos Ulrika Hofbauer and Monika Mauch, alto Henning Voss, tenor Hans-Jörg Mammel, and bass Harry von der Kamp. The orchestra includes two violins, three gambas, an early bassoon, two chitarrone lutes, harp, harpsichord, and organ. Sometimes a glorious performance can transcend any unevenness of composition. That's certainly the case here. None of the music is inadequate, mind you! It's really quite inventive and, yes, entertaining, for an oratorio that concludes by consigning all fornicators, dogs, and sorcerers to the outer darkness. None of it is compositionally exceptional, nevertheless; there were at least two dozen composers in Northern Germany and Denmark who could have written all or part of this opus. Personally, I suspect it was composed on the model of a painting by Rubens, with Buxtehude or someone assigning arias and recitativos to his assistants and students. Rubens, you ought to know, painted only the lovely nudes; on that basis, I'll assume that Buxtehude wrote the arias for The Good Soul and The Godly Voice.

There are TWO recording of Das Jüngste Gericht! The other is by Musica Fiata, but I haven't heard it. This CD is quite a joy, if you like German Baroque, and I can recommend it without reservation on its own terms, even if it's not clearly the work of Buxtehude.

Dietrich Buxtehude is an often neglected composer living and connected to the far more famous Johann Sebastian Bach. He lived in the Northern German Hanse town of Luebeck that was a rich trader's capital with and to Scandinavia in the 13th to the 17th century. They had a rich protestant Church life and employed the best composers of their time for their fine red stone cathedrals. So Buxtehude was such a composer and organ player of high grades that Bach took a pilgrimage to visit him, play for him and tried even to become his son in law and with this his successor. So that failed and Bach overtook Buxtehude in fame through the centuries. Weser Renaissance, a fantastic singers and players group on original instruments of the time from another Hanse town, Bremen, now recorded under their highly gifted leader Manfred Cordes the Oratorio of "Judgment Day" (in German (Das juengste Gericht) in excerpts as the original is about 3 hours of length and probably to much for modern ears. Cordes revives this fascinating Baroque Scenario of the souls going to heaven fighting the souls going to hell with clear and great verve that you cannot do more than open your ears as wide as possible. This is an example of Fantastic artisanship and musical feasting of the best. By the way - Corders shares the same fate as Buxtehude - he is mostly known by insiders. Sad enough. Nobody can go wrong in buying this true jewel of Northern German Baroque Pietism.

› Go to Amazon.com to see both reviews  5.0 out of 5 stars