Herzogenberg - Die Geburt Christi

Heinrich von Herzogenberg: Die Geburt Christi (The Nativity of Christ) 

Soloists; Okumenischer Hochschulchor Würzburg; Herzogenberger Orchestra Würzburg

Mathias Beckert

To anyone familiar with Herzogenberg's often deeply serious - at times, one might even say earnest - symphonies and chamber music, `Die Geburt Christi' may sound like a rather atypical work at first hearing. Greater familiarity, however, reveals it to be the product of one of the most profound influences on his oeuvre, namely that of the music of J.S. Bach* and, as such, its position within his total output is revealed to be more firmly anchored than one might have originally thought. A `Christmas Oratorio', in effect, Bach's own piece under that title is the obvious best-known forerunner but 'Die Geburt Christi' also stood within a living tradition of such works that continued throughout the Classical era into Herzogenberg's century and beyond to more recent times, with variations on the theme from disparate composers such as Richard Wetz and Hugo Distler during the twentieth century.

Although Herzogenberg was himself Catholic, the initial impetus behind this work was a Lutheran church in Strasbourg, the "commission" coming from Herzogenberg's friend, the theologian Friedrich Spitta; Spitta's brother Philipp, by then deceased, had been a close friend and artistic confidant of the composer and had been himself a distinguished Bach scholar and writer of an authoritative biography of the Leipzig master. Despite being a product of the Late Romantic period (the oratorio was written in 1894), the facilities of the church meant that Herzogenberg's instrumental complement was necessarily limited - and, indeed, it was Spitta's intention that the instrumental forces used would be lesser in number than they were eventually so as to facilitate the taking up of the music by other churches during successive festive seasons. There is, incidentally, an amusing account in the well-written liner notes (with quotes from Spitta himself) of how Herzogenberg gradually prevailed upon him to agree to additional musicians, including an oboist - the latter used to telling effect in the third part of the oratorio.

In common with his `Passion' oratorio, which was to follow `Die Geburt Christi' not long afterwards, Herzogenberg made use of several well-known chorales in the composition as well as hymns and other song melodies associated with Advent and the Christmas season ("Es ist ein Ros entsprungen" and "Nun singet und seid froh", for example, are perhaps among the most familiar to English-speaking audiences) as well as his own material. Appropriately for a work with its roots in Lutheran worship, the music eschews academic complexities in the choral writing and this reflects the fact that the work was conceived as an interactive piece, in which the church congregation would take part at key moments rather than merely sitting back to passively enjoy it. It is then, an act of worship, as well as an artistic celebration; the addition of a harmonium to the small band of required musicians, I would imagine, is also a consequence of this intended public involvement and the work's intended accessibility to even quite small churches. The choir used here is supplemented by amateur singers in recognition of this intention.

The recording is live but that fact shouldn't put anyone off - there is only one noticeable instance of bronchial activity towards the end of the disc and for most of the recording, aside from the occasional creak of a chair or music stand between numbers, the audience is admirably quiet and respectful. The recording also has a fairly spacious and natural quality to it that captures the detail of Herzogenberg's generally delicate scoring without (as far as I can tell) any details being lost.

This is a truly lovely disc, with fine performances from all concerned even though the soloists are hardly household names - as a whole, it stands testament to the high standards of music making in Germany currently - and the music is unalloyed delight; it is difficult to single out any particular track when the quality of inspiration is so consistently high but if you can, sample the exquisite duet for Joseph and Mary in Part II (track 18 here). The subject and the musical material, of course, situate the work's public performance within the Advent and Christmas period but I have to confess since I purchased the disc on its release, I have returned to it frequently at many other times of the year.

I should note finally that the sung texts and English translations are provided alongside the informative booklet essay.

Very warmly recommended.