HAMMERSCHMIDT, Andreas (c.1611-1675) - Sacred Works

Obra d'Antonio Travi (1609-1665), pintor italià (1)

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Parlem de Pintura...

Antonio Travi (Sestri Ponente, 1609 - Genova, 10 de febrer de 1665) va ser un pintor italià. Conegut amb el sobrenom de Il Sordo di Sestri, es va formar inicialment amb Bernardo Strozzi per posteriorment estudiar amb Godfrey de Weals. A partir del 1623 es va situar a Gènova i allà va començar a pintar escenes religioses però especialment paisatges. El seu realisme va ser notablement precís i es va emmarcar en la tradició de la pintura naturalista de Filippo Napoletano i d'Agostino Tassi, ambdós actius a Gènova a l'entorn del 1610. Va morir a Gènova el febrer de 1665.

Font: En català: No disponible - En castellano: No disponible - In english: Antonio Travi (1609-1665) - Altres: Antonio Travi (1609-1665)

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Parlem de Música...

Andreas Hammerschmidt (Brüx, c.1611 - Zittau, 29 d'octubre de 1675) va ser un compositor i organista alemany i el major exponent de la música religiosa de la meitat del segle XVII. El seu pare, Hans Hammerschmidt, va ser un talabarder originari de Carthause prop de Zwickau. El 1626 la família es va veure forçada a emigrar de Brux a Freiberg a causa de la re-catolització forçosa de Bohèmia durant la Guerra dels Trenta Anys. El 1629 el seu pare va obtenir la ciutadania de Freiberg. No es coneixen qui van ser els mestres musicals d'Hammerschmidt, però es creu que va estudiar amb Balthasar Springer (1608-1654), organista de la catedral de Freiberg, amb Christoph Demantius, cantor de la catedral, i amb Christoph Schreiber, l'organista de la església de Sant Pere. Entre els anys 1633 i 1634 va exercir el seu primer lloc com a organista en el castell Weesenstein del comte Rudolf von Bünau. Al juliol del 1634 és nomenat successor de Christoph Schreiber (que havia acceptat un lloc a Zittau) com a organista de l'església de Sant Pere a Freiberg. El 1637 es va casar amb Ursula Teufel, la filla d'un comerciant de Praga, amb qui va tenir sis fills, dels quals només van sobreviure tres nenes. Aquest mateix any va obtenir la ciutadania de Freiberg.

Després de la mort de Schreiber, Hammerschmidt va ser nomenat novament el seu successor, aquest cop a l'església de Sant Joan de Zittau, una ciutat molt rica en aquesta època i on viuria la resta de la seva vida. Entre els seus col·legues a la ciutat hi havia el cantor Simon Crusius (1607-1678) i el rector de l'escola Johanneum, Christian Keimann (1607-1662). Hammerschmidt va escriure la música de diversos himnes de Keiman i a més va publicar les seves pròpies composicions amb prefacis escrits per Heinrich Schütz i Johann von Rist. La seva tasca li va permetre viure de forma benestant i ser respectat en la comunitat. L'himne de Keimann "Meinen Jesum laß ich nicht" amb música d'Hammerschmidt va ser, i segueix sent, molt popular en les congregacions luteranes. El 1757 hi va haver un incendi a Zittau que va destruir les fonts documentals sobre la vida d'Hammerschmidt. Es coneix poc dels seus viatges i contactes. Se sap que va visitar a Schütz a Dresden, on va escoltar les seves obres i les de compositors italians. Se sap igualment que es va traslladar a Görlitz per la dedicatòria en uns motets per al Collegium Musicum d'aquesta ciutat. Una composició per a la consagració de l'església de Santa Isabel demostra que va tenir contacte amb la ciutat de Breslau. Com a compositor, va escriure himnes, cantates, motets, àries i altres composicions vocals i instrumentals. Tot i que Hammerschmidt va ser organista durant tota la seva vida, d'entre les 400 obres que se'n conserven cap d'elles va ser per a orgue. Va morir a Zittau l'octubre de 1675.

OBRA:

Vocal secular:

Erster Theil weltlicher Oden oder Liebesgesänge, 1, 2vv, vn obbl, va da gamba/theorbo (Freiberg, 1642); ed. in EDM, 1st ser., xliii (1962)
Ander Theil weltlicher Oden oder Liebesgesänge, 1–3vv, vn obbl, va da gamba/theorbo (Freiberg, 1643); ed. in EDM, 1st ser., xliii (1962)
Dritter Theil geist- und weltlicher Oden und Madrigalien, 1–5vv, bc (Leipzig, 1649) [also incl. sacred works]; ed. in EDM, 1st ser., xliii (1962)

Vocal religiosa:

Musicalischer Andacht, erster Theil, das ist, Geistliche Concerten, 1–4vv, bc (Freiberg, 1639)
Musicalischer Andachten, ander Theil, das ist, Geistliche Madrigalien, 4–6vv, chorus 5vv (ad lib), bc (Freiberg, 1641)
Musicalischer Andachten, dritter Theil, das ist, Geistliche Symphonien, 1, 2vv, 2 vn, vc, bc (Freiberg, 1642)
Dialogi, oder Gespräche zwischen Gott und einer gläubigen Seelen, erster Theil, 2–4vv, bc (Dresden, 1645); ed. in DTÖ, xvi, Jg.viii/1 (1901/R)
Geistlicher Dialogen ander Theil, darinnen Herrn Opitzens Hohes Lied Salomonis, 1, 2vv, 2 vn, vc, bc (Dresden, 1645)
Vierter Theil, Musicalischer Andachten, geistlicher Moteten und Concerten, 5–10, 12 and more vv, bc (Freiberg, 1646)
Motettae, 1, 2vv, bc (Dresden, 1649)
Chormusic auff Madrigal Manier: fünffter Theil Musicalischer Andachten, 5–6vv, bc (Freiberg and Leipzig, 1652–3)
Musicalische Gespräche über die Evangelia, 4–7vv, bc (Dresden, 1655)
Ander Theil geistlicher Gespräche über die Evangelia, 5–8vv, bc (Dresden, 1656)
Fest-, Buss- und Danklieder, 5vv, 5 insts (ad lib) (Zittau and Dresden, 1658–9)
Kirchen- und Tafel-Music, 1–3vv, 4–6 insts, bc (Zittau, 1662)
Missae, tam vivae voci, quam instrumentis variis accommodatae, 5–12 and more vv (Dresden, 1663)
Fest- und Zeit-Andachten, 6vv, bc (Dresden, 1671)
2 pieces in C. Keimann: Samuel, school play (Freiberg, 1646)
5 hymn melodies in C. Keimann: Mnemosyne sacra (Leipzig, 1646)
10 hymn melodies, 1v, bc, in J. Rist: Neue himmlische Lieder (Lüneburg, 1651)
38 hymn melodies, 1v, bc, in J. Rist: Neue musikalische Katechismus Andachten (Lüneburg, 1656)
7 hymn melodies, 3, 4vv, in G. Vopelius: Neu Leipziger Gesangbuch (Leipzig, 1682)

Other:
Hertzliche Aufmerkung und heiligen Weihnachtsgruss zu Ehren Matthiä Albert und Jacob Rüdiger, 4vv (Freiberg, 1639), lost
Stölichen Schiessen bei der Hochzeit Herrn Rothens zu Zittau und Christine Stoll, 29 Oct 1640 (Görlitz, 1640), lost
Der auff den … seligen Hintritt des … Herrn M. Michaelis Theophili Lehmanns … erwehlte Leichen-Text: Ich bin gewiss, dass weder Tod noch Leben, 5vv (Freiberg, 1650)
Lob- und Danck Lied aus dem 84. Psalm … auff die rümliche Einweihung der wieder erbauten Kirche S Elisabeth in Breslau, 9vv, 5 tpt, 3 trbn, 5 va, bc (Freiberg, 1652)
Bussfertiges Friedens-Seuffzerlein … Ihr Jungen und ihr Alten hört (M. Francke), 3vv (Coburg, 1658)
Sirachs Lob- und Dankspruch … Concert, darein … die Engel zu St Petri mit zu gebrauchen, 8vv, 1634, Freiberg, Ratsbibliothek
Hochzeitsgesang für Daniel Sartorius: Es ist nicht gut, dass der Mensch allein sei, 5vv, 2 vn, 2 trbn, bn, bc, transcr. C. von Winterfeld, D-Bsb

Instrumental:

Erster Fleiss allerhand neuer Paduanen, Galliarden, Balletten, Mascharaden, françoischen Arien, Courenten und Sarabanden, 5 viols, bc (Freiberg, 1636); ed. in EDM, 1st ser., xlix (1957)
Ander Theil neuer Paduanen, Canzonen, Galliarden, Balletten, Mascharaden, 3, 5 viols, bc (Freiberg, 1639); ed. in EDM, 1st ser., xlix (1957)
Dritter Theil neuer Paduanen, 3–5 insts, bc (Leipzig and Freiberg, 1650)

Font: En català: No disponible - En castellano: Andreas Hammerschmidt (1611-1675) - In english: Andreas Hammerschmidt (1611-1675) - Altres: Andreas Hammerschmidt (1611-1675) 

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Parlem en veu pròpia o en veu d'altri...

Andreas Hammerschmidt was one of the main composers of religious music in Germany in the mid-17th century. Today he is overshadowed by the towering figure of Heinrich Schütz, whom he greatly admired and who once wrote a laudatory poem for one of Hammerschmidt’s publications of music. The date of his birth isn’t known for sure. He was born in Brüx in Bohemia, where his family belonged to the Protestant community. During the Thirty Years War Bohemia became Catholic again, and Hammerschmidt’s father decided to move to Freiberg in Saxony. Very little is known about his musical education. Some quite important musicians and composers were active in Freiberg in the time Hammerschmidt lived there, like Christoph Demantius and Stephan Otto, but there is no firm evidence that he was their pupil, even though he certainly knew them. In 1635 Hammerschmidt was appointed organist at the Petrikirche. The year after he published his first collection of music, ‘Erster Fleiss’, containing a number of instrumental suites. In 1639 he moved to Zittau, where he became the organist of the Johanniskirche. It was his last position, and there he composed the largest part of his oeuvre. The position of organist was increasingly important, as he was responsible for composing and performing all church music and directing the soloists from the school choir and the instrumental ensemble of town musicians. In the early years in Zittau, though, Hammerschmidt – like so many of his colleagues in Germany – had to deal with the disastrous effects of the Thirty Years War. His activities as composer and performer not only made him a man of reputation, but also brought him considerable wealth. In the early 1670s he suffered from ill health. He died 1675; his tombstone calls him the ‘Orpheus of Zittau’. 

Although Hammerschmidt was first and foremost active as an organist, no organ music by him has survived. But he composed a large number of vocal works, most of them in the Italian ‘concertato’ style. This recording contains pieces from two collections. The ‘Motettae unius et duorum vocum’ of 1649 contain 20 sacred concertos for one or two voices with basso continuo, 18 of them on a Latin text. The ‘Kirchen- und Tafelmusik’ of 1662 is a collection of 12 sacred concertos for 2 to 5 voices, 2 to 6 obbligato instruments and basso continuo, as well as 10 concertos for solo voice with instruments. Most pieces of both collections are on biblical texts, the majority of them from the Old Testament, with a preference for the Book of Psalms. Not always the whole Psalm is composed; Hammerschmidt sometimes chooses a number of verses. The concertos of 1662 also contain a number of pieces on chorale melodies which were well known in the Protestant churches in Germany, like ‘Vom Himmel hoch’ and ‘Nun lob mein Seel den Herren’. Hammerschmidt’s works recorded here are a demonstration of his inventiveness in setting texts to music. Alternation between duple and triple meters is frequently used to divide a piece into sections. Some elements of the text are emphasized by repeating them. Hammerschmidt also uses textual elements as a kind of ‘motto’. For instance, in two of the five stanzas of Luther’s Easter hymn ‘Christ lag in Todesbanden’ which are sung here this practice is applied. In the second the words ‘das macht alles unser Sünd’ (our sin was the entire cause) is constantly repeated, in the fourth the motto is ‘ein wunderlicher Krieg’ (a wonderful war). And in the last piece on this CD, the Christmas hymn ‘Vom Himmel hoch’ the words ‘gute neue Mär’ (glad tidings) from the first stanza are repeated throughout the whole piece.

As one would expect in German religious music the text is vividly illustrated in the music. In ‘Anima mea liquefacta est’ a long melisma is used to express languishing love ("amore langueo"), the rhetorical figure of ‘exclamatio’ appears a couple of times in ‘De profundis clamavi’. And in ‘Inter brachio Salvatoris mei’ the word "exaltabo" (I will praise) is repeated two times, every time on a higher tone level. In Psalm 126 (Wenn der Herr die Gefangenen Zion erlösen wird) and the concerto ‘Ein jegliches hat seine Zeit’ on a text from Ecclesiastes the contrasts in the text are imaginatively elaborated. I am happy to be able to recommend this recording wholeheartedly. First of all, Hammerschmidt’s music isn’t well represented on CD. And considering the quality of his music and his historical importance this recording is most welcome. The performance is generally outstanding, by first class singers and players. The two sopranos have quite contrasting voices, but blend well in the ensemble pieces. And all singers master the German language which is a prerequisite for a convincing performance of this kind of music. I was wondering about the scoring of ‘Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ’. According to the booklet it is for alto, 2 trumpets, 4 trombones and b.c. But the solo part is sung by alto and tenor unisono. Perhaps the thought behind it is that the alto’s voice wasn’t strong enough to keep the balance with the wind instruments, in particular since the solo part is quite low and the low register is not the strength of those male altos, who don’t use their chest register. In this piece bells are used on the Kyrie eleis with which every stanza ends. I could do without that, but I don't have any problems with it. The addition of chirping on the words ‘die Vogel unter dem Himmel’ (the birds of the sky) in the first piece of this recording (Psalm 8) is rather kitschy. The extensive liner notes are very informative. But the strict factual information leaves something to be desired. The first five stanzas of Luther’s hymn ‘Christ lag in Todesbanden’ are performed. But who made a choice: Hammerschmidt or the performers? The booklet doesn’t tell. And why does it say that stanzas 2 – 7 of ‘Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ’ are by Luther, when only two stanzas are performed? The specification of the texts used by Hammerschmidt isn’t always correct either: ‘Paratum cor meum’ doesn’t use the verses 3 to 6 of Psalm 108, but verses 2 to 5. But these are only minor criticisms of a recording I have thoroughly enjoyed and which I shall listen to regularly.

Johan van Veen (source/font: aquí)

Gaudiu i compartiu! 

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Informació addicional... 

INTERPRETS: Weser-Renaissance Bremen; Manfred Cordes
RECICLASSICAT: HAMMERSCHMIDT, Andreas (c.1611-1675)
LAQUINTADEMAHLER: HAMMERSCHMIDT, A. - Sacred Works

IMSLP: Andreas Hammerschmidt (1611-1675)

CPDL: Andreas Hammerschmidt (1611-1675)

SPOTIFY: HAMMERSCHMIDT, A. - Sacred Works



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