Word: motet
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Bach was the last great voice of the polyphonic style that had lasted since the early 17th century. The very forms he favored-fugue, church cantata, motet-were outmoded as he used them, and he knew it. "My art," he said, "has become old-fashioned...
...ensemble of 26 singers and 11 instrumentalists performed the cantatas "Der Herr denket an uns" (BWV 196), "Ich bin ein guter Hirt" (BWV 85), "Ihr Menschen, Ruehmet Gottes Liebe" (BWV 167), and the motet "Komm, Jesu, komm" (BWV 229) elegantly and unpretentiously. They produced a full but never heavy sound; the chorus's long threads of melody were sung smoothly and sensitively; the diction was inpeccable. Collins's phrasing and dynamics avoided the spectacular, but could be striking on occasion through their subtlety. He chose to take the final cadence of "Der Herr denket" simply and quietly, rather than grandly...
...Komm, Jesu, komm" was especially impressive. This motet calls for a double chorus, which was composed of those same 26 singers, who nonetheless filled Sanders with sound. In "Komm, Jesu" the contrast between full choral forte and delicate choral piano was most effective; Collins and the chorus surpassed all that they had done previously. The instrumental ensemble (strings, oboes, and harpsichord), which did not seem to be technically quite up to the level of the chorus and soloists, also came into its own and played its best in this piece...
MOZART: EXSULTATE, JUBILATE (Seraphim). Soprano Elisabeth Schwarzkopf in a performance that has become a collector's item in the years since it was first released in 1954. Her hallelujahs are triumphant in the Mozart motet and then shower forth brilliantly again in the Bach cantata, Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen...
...program began with the Alleluia, probably the best known motet produced in this century. It's sung almost too much, but Friday night, when the Glee Club and Choral Society started it, I thought I could listen to it a hundred times more. Let us hope hat in his retirement, Randall Thompson will write more music that sings and sounds as well as that little piece...