Works by Hieronymus Praetorius
VOICES & INSTRUMENTS
Tutor: Roger Wilkes
Location: Morley Green Club, Wilmslow
Reviewer: Isobel McCretton
Works by Hieronymus Praetorius (for singers and players), Roger Wilkes, Morley Green, 14th January
This was my first NWEMF event, so I didn’t quite know what to expect. The workshop was aimed at exploring some of the choral works of Hieronymous Praetorius (1560 – 1629; no relation of Michael Praetorius),. He was an organist and composer and member of a distinguished family of German musicians associated with Hamburg.
There were about 30 singers joined by around 10 instrumentalists – cornetts, sackbuts, recorders, viols and a curtal. As well as adding an extra dimension to the music, at times they doubled with some of the voice parts which was particularly useful when there was only one singer on the line. The whole day was expertly led by Roger Wilkes who gave us some interesting insights into the music as well as injecting good humour into the proceedings.
We warmed up with a double choir arrangement of In Dulce Jubilo. A good start as I had actually sung this version before (though inevitably a different part). After that we moved on to a more complex 12-part Angelus ad Pastores Ait. Influenced by the Venetian style, this and his other polychoral motets were among the earliest Venetian-inspired pieces to be published in north Germany. Despite the plummeting temperature in the hall (inadvertently programmed to go off at 11am!), we then moved away from ‘Christmas’ and Venetian-inspired writing and looked at a more devotional 6-part O Bone Jesu, influenced by the music of Lassus. For me, in many ways this penitential piece was the best piece of the day. Some of the treatment of the text was quite Catholic for a Lutheran composer.
A hot drink at lunchtime, and heating in the hall restored, we continued with an 8 part Nunc Dimittis. While this is usually sung at Compline in the Catholic Church and at Evensong in Anglican worship, in the Lutheran church it can be used after the reception of Holy Communion. We continued with a joyful 12-part Jubilate Deo (Psalm 66), and a short 8-part Christmas hymn, Joseph, Lieber Joseph Mein. The day concluded with a rousing 8-part Cantate Domino (Psalm 96). I’m not sure whether to be relieved or disappointed that Choir 2 was spared the sight reading challenge presented to Choir 1, but it was a stirring piece with which to end the workshop.
Unfortunately, we had to finish a bit earlier than planned so that the hall could be prepared for an 18th birthday party that evening. I felt it might have been nice to have the time to bring it all together and ‘perform’ all the works we had explored, though the choreography for that may have been a tall order, especially for the instrumentalists!
It was interesting to sing works by the same composer but which varied in style, subject and distribution of forces. Also, not being on the same line all day meant that we all moved round and sat next to different people – an advantage for a newcomer as I ‘met’ more singers. My thanks to Roger – it was a great day and I will certainly be back for more!
Isobel McCretton
First published in February 2017 Newsletter
