Bach & Zelenka: J.S. Bach: "Tönet, ihr Pauken!" [BWV 214] - Collegium 1704/ Luks (20.08.11) (2of2)

INTRODUCTION (PART 2 OF 2): JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH: "TÖNET, IHR PAUKEN! ERSCHALLET TROMPETEN!" (BWV 214):
(For more details, see part 1 about Zelenka)
Collegium 1704, conducted by Vaclav Luks. recorded on 20.08.2011 in the Abbatiale Saint-Robert, France, during the 45th "Festival de la Chaise-Dieu".
The "Bach & Zelenka" -program's main companion pieces:
-Jan Dismas Zelenka: "Te Deum" (ZWV 146) for two choirs (1731, NOT 1733 as Mezzo announces on the screen)
-Johann Sebastian Bach: "Tönet, ihr Pauken! Erschallet, Trompeten!" (BWV 214), from 1733.
___________________________________________________________________
Orchestration of BWV 214: 3 trumpets, timpani, 2 transverse flutes, 2 oboes, 2 violins, viola, continuo (with organ & bassoon).
Soloists: Bellona - Goddess of War (Soprano: Blazikova), Pallas - Goddess of Wisdom (Alto: Kukrova), Irene - God of Peace (Tenor: Monti), Fama - God of Fame (Bass: Krejcik).
Subtitled "Drama per Musica" and performed on the Birthday (8 December) of Maria Josepha, Princess Elector of Saxony and Queen of Poland.
1. Choir : "Tönet, ihr Pauken ! Erschallet, Trompeten !"
2. Recitative (Tenor) : "Heut ist der Tag"
3. Aria (Soprano) : "Blast die wohlgegriffnen Flöten"
4. Recitative (Soprano) : "Mein knallendes Metall"
5. Aria (Alto) : "Fromme Musen ! Meine Glieder !"
6. Recitative (Alto) : "Unsre Königin im Lande"
7. Aria (Bass) : "Kron und Preis gekrönter Damen"
8. Recitative (Bass) : "So dringe in das weite Erdenrund"
9. Choir : "Blühet, ihr Linden in Sachsen, wie Zedern !"
SOLOISTS:
Soprano - Hana Blazikova
Alto - Marketa Cukrova
Tenor - Sebastian Monti
Bass - Marian Krejcik
_____________________________________________________________________
Sometimes Johann Sebastian Bach's secular cantata "Tönet, ihr Pauken! Erschallet, Trompeten!" (BWV 214, dated to 7 December 1733) is mistakenly thought about as a parody variant of his much more famous "Christmas Oratorio" from 1734/5 (BWV 248). Actually the opposite is the truth. BWV 214 is among Bach's relatively few genuinely original compositions from the 1730s. When people nowadays immediately recognize "this" juyful, generously scored opening chorus, it is the magnificent "Jauchzet, frohlocket!"- chorus introducing the Christmas Oratorio they implicitly refer to. Movement 3, Bellona's soprano aria, was in fact the only music NOT recycled from BWV 214 in BWV 248. Commentators suggest that Bach considered this soprano & flute aria to be too extravagant and daring for BWV 248's listeners. Analogue, intricate harmonies with corresponding complexities are often found in the concert's companion piece (ZWV 146, 1731) by Zelenka. Dense movements where vocal and instrumental parts are woven together in intricate patterns, fundamental importance given to older polyphony, as well as frequent use of fugal themes are their exceptional common hallmarks. Likewise, Zelenka recycled much music, e.g. in his other, first "Te Deum" (ZWV 145, 1724). From their generation, the major composers (Bach, Zelenka, Handel, Vivaldi) were also the greatest recyclists. No contradiction here. Other musical similarities relevant to Vaclav Luks' well-considered concert program are explained more in detail under the related Zelenka video (ZWV 146) (see part 1).
Despite being termed "Drama" there is on real plot or action taking place. Four mythological figures - Bellona, Pallas, Irene & Fame - shaped in baroque fashion as allegories of the qualities they traditionally stand for, celebrate and honour the real protagonist's (Maria Josepha) virtues accordingly. All these flattering phrases served a concrete occasional purpose (Birthday here), where individual concerns are connected with current socio-political circumstances. Leipzig's functional counterpart to the Italian serenata?
Secular cantatas like BWV 214 are typhical in the context of Bach's production in this period, when his mind had moved to Saxony's capital Dresden, although he remained in Leipzig. Even though only BWV 214 was dedicated to Queen Maria Josepha, Zelenka's most important patron, Bach dedicated several similar cantatas to other members of the Royal family at this time. Often he went to the capital to attend or participate in musical performances, and it is reasonable to assume that he took aquired knowledge of the legendary Dresden Court orchestra's abilities into account when composing. Originally, the short version of the famous b-minor Mass (BWV 232a) (Kyrie & Gloria) was performed in the Court Curch in 1733. So, why all these efforts? Like Zelenka, Bach wanted to impress, hoping that the vacant post as Royal Court Kapellmeister for the world's best orchestra would become his... Whether Zelenka inspired Bach to start composing Masses from the 1730s remains a reasonable hypothesis based on circumstantial evidence, but we DO HAVE direct evidence, through son C.P.E. Bach, that they both admired and knew each other personally after his father's Dresden journeys.

[@RobertPiro]

Those trumpets are better than most valved ones. Well done!

[@user-li1mx7yh3g]

Когда слушаю этот коллектив, у меня возникает ощущение полёта. Зеленка прекрасен, Бах как вечность. Всем огромная благодарность!

[@rosechhun3209]

Sublime, Sublime, Sublime. Merci à tous. Merci à l'orchestre.

[@jaapkirchner8577]

I enjoyed every bit of it. Marian Krejcik is a fantastic baritone with a clear and warm voice... in wine terms: a voice with brown oak undertones...

[@lenkakucharova5318]

Díky Bohu za tyto české muzikanty v čele s jejich dirigetem.Srdce mi plesá při poslechu jejich hudby!

[@quaver1239]

Beautiful, wonderful. Thank you to remarkable choir and orchestra, soloists and the amazing Mr Vaclav Luks. Undiluted joy.

[@jans5331]

After only two seconds one is hooked and finding it impossible to switch off.

[@pekkanuotko3536]

Really intresting and exellent perfomance with original instruments. Wooden flutes and nature trumpet makes a very nice and softer soundworld in this cantata. Also the oboes sound very nicely. Thanks for setting this perfomance in KZbin.

[@dieterseattle]

This is one of the very best performances of this cantata I have heard. Fine musicians. Kudos to the trumpeters - superb.

[@rogerb5615]

Collegium 1704 are seemingly incapable of a poor or disappointing performance of any piece they present: Simply THE masters of music of the high baroque.

[@baxter5431]

Never said it was "required" for him to write a new cantata every week. However, he wanted to establish himself especially since he held the title of Kapellmeister and also wanted to provide at least two cycles of cantatas to be used throughout the year. He also didn't have to write a lot of other works but apparently he was compelled to almost sum up the style and forms of the Baroque. Writing new cantatas every week besides other works and teaching music proves his genius. Prolific & profound.

[@awh271064]

Ms Hana Blazikova is on top form here. What a discovery! An absolute gem of a soprano.

[@eatabutt9812]

My favorite Christmas song.

[@butifarra61]

not much of a musician or anything else...but many thanks for presenting this 300 year old jewels to us common people via youtube. Just lovely.

[@lauramarzz2220]

SUPER DUPER O.T.U.(OUT OF THIS WORLD) IT APPEARS THAT LIGHTNING DOES STRIKE AGAIN IN THE SAME PLACE ! BOTH PARTS COMBINED ARE ; ' TOTALLY DELICIOUS '

[@ferdiriordan1]

Wonderful, what a joy to watch and listen to this wonderful ensemble -thanks to all including STIANVF for upload and providing very helpful, historical notes.

[@18ulysse]

Magnifique et félicitations à tous !

[@PS-wn7cw]

Wonderful piece of music, superbly executed, even if it is about kissing up to the Queen for her birthday. I guess times change, people don't :)

[@gaiusmarius4112]

Real nice , the choir although relatively small in number is still powerful

[@wodisi]

Danke für dieses herrliche Musizieren!

[@lenkakucharova5318]

Z pna dirigeta V.Lukse přímo tryská radost,které je nakažlivá .

[@redbrian3655]

Thank you for these 2 uploads. OMG... they were outstanding! I found the audience reaction to be rather reserved. I would have been up and shouting "BRAVO!" BRIAN

[@dieterseattle]

Had I been there I would have done precisely that.

[@Maradriella]

Hail to all performers. I think Johann Sebastian Bach would admire them I think

[@krzysztofbohdan40]

Excellent, well done :)

[@ajhiflyer]

Excellent!!

[@donpratt1732]

🙏🏻🖤 ⚡ 00:11 ⚡ 🖤 *09:17* 13.13 🙇🏼‍♀️ 💐25:29 🖤🙏🏻

[@andre26071955]

John Elliot Gardiner and his musicians are getting serious competition here...

[@j-md-v8376]

Des critiques sur une mauvaise diction d'un chanteur s'élèvent. Elles sont probablement justes. Mais comme je ne comprends que le français , je ne suis pas dérangée tant la musique de Bach m'émeut. Je sais que les paroles pleines de foi et piété sont à la hauteur de cette musique sublime.

[@1tbo]

Not much" faith and piety" here. It's a secular cantata for royal birthday, in the form of a conversation, or at least a succession of addresses, by Greco-Roman gods.

[@danieldekok6949]

Nice to hear Bach borrowing from the Christmas Oratorio in that opening chorus. "Jauchzet frolokket", anyone?

[@Loweene_Ancalimon]

@mizzothify mizzothifi the alto aria was reused as well

[@baxter5431]

What can I say? apparently they were more talented then if just through constant working on these things than we are today. People don't perform on a regular basis, except church choirs. In Bach's day, it was expected as merely part of the job. And if he didn't happen to have anything ready that was new, then he drew from previous works and also performed other composer's such as 18 cantatas by his cousin(s). It was job in those days, not an "artistic" endeavor as in the 19th-20th Centuries.

[@happysailormusica]

Truly Mr. Marian Krejcik sign soft Czech R, but in German it is very very long hard R, Ja das is Recht, Herr Marian Krejcikt singt weichen Brief "R"

[@alcyonecrucis]

GANZ TOLL BRAVO

[@maximiliane777]

Abgesehen von dem Tenor bei dem man kein Wort versteht hervorragend.

[@billrosel8068]

Ich weiß nicht was Sie haben? Ich habe alles gut verstanden.

[@maximiliane777]

Bill Rösel Dann sagen sie bitte genau den Text an der Stelle ;)

[@engelbertschoormans]

(8:43)"...mein Öber kriegt so Saft als fetten Rahm..." XD

[@ProfessorGrumpy]

Me too!

[@kaibroeking9968]

Musically excellent. A real pleasure to listen to. But the diction... I am a German and I hardly understand a word of what they sing. Pity, really.

[@rostomic]

+Kai Broeking Czechs singing German .. sometimes tough indeed...

[@gaiusmarius4112]

Kai Broeking chill bro I'm a native English speaker, and sometimes when choirs sing in English I don't fully comprehend everything they say. Probably it's due to the way they sing too

[@kaibroeking9968]

I really may have been much too harsh, here. And you are right: they really are doing quite a good job. Also, the text is a bit arcane for today's ears: "Tönet, ihr Pauken! Erschallet, Trompeten! Klingende Saiten, erfüllet die Luft! Singet itzt Lieder, ihr muntren Poeten, Königin lebe! wird fröhlich geruft. Königin lebe! dies wünschet der Sachse, Königin lebe und blühe und wachse!" but even more so: "Mein Ölbaum Kriegt so Saft als fetten Raum. Er zeigt noch keine falbe Blätter; Mich schreckt kein Sturm, Blitz, trübe Wolken, düstres Wetter."

[@polyglot8]

Loved the performance, but 8:17 shows six giant candlesticks in the altar area. This is very odd and just goes to show how much people (even priests) have forgotten about number symbolism in Catholicism. The "normal" number of giant candlesticks would be four (The four gospels, the four corners of the Earth, the four rivers that flow from Eden, etc.). Six is not a particularly good number (666 in Revelation, etc.). I've visited hundreds of churches and cathedrals and never seen six Giant Candlesticks in the altar area before.

[@zyonnmarx]

SUBLIMISSIME!!!

[@baxter5431]

Bach had to "prove" himself constantly with a non cooperative non appreciative church/town council. He was constantly "justifying" his expertise and talents hence why he applied for other titles such as court composer to the king of Poland. These titles would add weight to his arguments for doing anything that the council disapproved of. Read the excellent biography by Christoph Wolff where he goes into great detail about these circumstances Bach fought for over 20 years with the council.

[@mikelonneke1844]

Please cite the basis for your claim that Zelinka supplied part of this music. Virtually all of this music was composed for a this secular cantata. Later, poet Picanded (among others) supplied a new libretto to embellish St Luke's narrative. "Jauchzet! Frölocket" is what Picander rhymed in 1734. The congregation at Thomaskirche expressed not the slightest delight at this music when fitted with a Sacred text. Something about pearls and swine comes to mind. Please explain. No rancor intend

[@baxter5431]

So this DID come before the "Christmas Oratorio". Interesting, and just a few years also. But I hate the term used, "parody" because it implies something comedic or satirical. Nothing of the case. It's just that Bach "recycled" something that he thought was useful, maybe even expanded upon such as the last chorus of this cantata which he used as the opening for part 3 of his Christmas Oratorio. It's amazing as it is that he had the genius to write something new almost every week for church.

[@terryserres8342]

The word "parody" as used in this context has a very specific technical definition that is not divorced from its Greek etymology meaning "side song": from para- "beside, parallel to" + oide "song, ode". It just means existing music set to new words. There is no implication of satire. Bach NEVER reused sacred music for secular works. He reused both secular and sacred works in other sacred works, and Weihnachtsoratorium is a masterful example of Bach's parody process, in that the result (even though it was to be performed across six different days of Christmas) has remarkable cohesion and a voice as distinct and those of his two great Passions.

[@wj4710]

like Bach meant it to be performed

[@cliffordlamb4985]

Hello World !

[@hans-ottogade832]

Hatte der Dirigent Druck auf der Blase oder wollte er schnell nach Hause? WARUM SO GEHETZT????

[@gw-musik6394]

@ Hans-Otto Gade: Abgesehen von dieser polemischen Einlassung, über die man bestenfalls den Mantel des Schweigens decken sollte, liegen Sie - was das Tempo betrifft - z. B. wegen des Einleitungschors völlig daneben. Ein Blick in die Partitur belegt, dass von Bach ein 3/8-Takt vorgeschrieben ist, der im Barock generell ein schnelles Tempo fordert. Vaclav Luks hat das Tempo von daher ganz richtig genommen! Der Dirigent leitet die Interpreten zu einem leicht federnden Rhythmus an und lässt dabei eine allzu statische, feierliche Spielweise, wie sie noch der Tradition des späten 19. Jahrhunderts entstammt, weit hinter sich. Der Text der Kantate ist im Gegensatz zu manchen alt hergebrachten Einspielungen sehr verständlich gesungen. Die Chor- und Orchesterstimmen sind sehr gut durchhörbar. Fazit: eine hervorragende Interpretation der Kantate, die ich etwa bei deutschen Interpretationen so kongenial noch nie gehört habe!!

[@sagisagittarius1884]

Nadpozemské, nebeské...

[@carstenblom2288]

Normally its hard to understand what is actually sung, because of the fact that more sentenses are sung simultaneously by the choir. Therefore you should always provide the audience with programmes with the text printed in it. I know that Bach used his own music over and over again while refining it adding other instruments and new scores. I have always thought that the music of "Jauchzet, frolocket" was unique until I listened to this magnificent piece of music. Well done Choir and orchestra.

[@qoe34q]

That is a little exaggerated. Bach didn't recycle his music "over and over again". Sometimes he had to write other music apart from the cantatas he wrote for St. Thomas and St. Nicolas. As he did not always have time to write something new, he sometimes reused part of the music. That is why many of the movements of his secular cantatas are also found in his sacred music (or vice versa). However, he used them normally not more than these two times (and definitely not in hundred of works). Of course, he performed his cantatas more than one time in his life.

[@carstenblom2288]

So i'm exaggerating things, huh? In how many editions do his Concertos for Harpsichord occur. I have heard transcriptions for flute, for violin etc. He used different passages from 12 cantatas in his Mass in b-minor. Even the first recitativo in this video has a few measures alike a recitativo from cantata no 16 'Herr Gott, Dich loben wir'. That was what I meant about reusing. But never mind; this music is great and thank you for upoloading somebody.

[@flemmingranch8777]

Dejlig munter musik og flot solosang....

[@jimboAndersenReviews]

zelenka melodrama

[@baxter5431]

Wow! You're such an "expert"! Where would the rest of be without your....knowledge??? Maybe we read the same book but obviously your read it in some other language...like maybe pig-latin or maybe Venusian. The discussion is ended. Anything you say. Never argue with dementia patients....or looneys.

[@georgebreidenthal725]

Remember, keep your comments respectful.

[@AindriasHirt]

The tenor has absolutely no idea what he's saying.

[@stacooper76]

Persons.... the drums sound like a bunch of GARBAGE CANS.. Thank you.♦

[@qoe34q]

There are no drums here.

[@filipzielinski4182]

Tenor is terrible! Terrible.

[@hddvt]

Nay! Er is nicht so schlecht.

[@walterleipzig]

Pretty sloppy percussion in the first few bars...

[@jimboAndersenReviews]

graupner