Johann Mattheson: Joseph
C5448 (Capriccio Records, CD)
DDD
FIRST RELEASE (4 March 2022)
Playing time: 50'57"
Tracks: 22
Booklet pages: 24
℗ 2017 SWR
© 2022 Capriccio Records
Country of manufacture: Germany
Reviewer: Roderic Dunnett
Review of Johann Mattheson: Joseph published on 4 May 2022
Ensemble Paulinum
Cornelia Fahrion, soprano
Jan Jerlitschka, alto
Klemens Mölkner, tenor
Daniel Schmid, tenor
Malte Fial, baritone
Johannes Hill, bass
Christian Bonath, bass
Pulchra Musica Baroque Orchestra
Christine Rox, leader
Christian Bonath, organ, conductor
Johann Mattheson (1681-1764):
Joseph
Full of grace towards his brothers
Oratorio for the 4th Sunday after Trinity
Hamburg, 1727
Part I
1 Sinfonia
2 Ich will an andern üben
3 Erstaunliches Geschicke
4 Da kömmt der Träumer her
5 Da sollt ich nun
6 Betrübtes Herz
7 Des Neiders Auge wie
8 Wie so groß die Bosheit ist
9 Doch dieses Unglücksmeer
10 Wer mich nicht liebt
11 Ein wahrer Christ
12 Ächzt deines Feindes Herz
Part II
13 Ach Vater Der Barmherzigkeit
14 Ich wollte zwar
15 Will man den Seinen sich verleugnen
16 Inzwischen denk, o Mensch!
17 Ihr unbarmherzigen Tyrannen
18 Das ist so bald noch nicht erfüllet
19 Ein Bruder lebe brüderlich
20 Verwegener Tyrann!
21 Wohlan, so bin ich gern bereit
22 Grausamkeit, fort, fort, fort
Recorded 7-10 November 2017 at Christuskirche, Reutlingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
In 1715 Johann Mattheson became music director at Hamburg Cathedral and took advantage of the opportunity to mix sacred music with theatrical style. In his thirteen years of service he wrote twenty-four oratorios for high holidays and lent. The exquisite musical quality of the piece is impressive. The vocal parts are demanding throughout, they were, after all, written for the soloists of Hamburg's Oper am Gansemarkt, that first-rate musical institution and first 'German-speaking' opera house to which other baroque greats like Haendel, Graupner, and Kaiser were also contributing at the time. The work, which the libretto designates an 'oratorio', was first performed in 1727 under the composer's direction.