Homilius / Leluschko / Sachsisches Vocalensemble Der Messias CD

The Messiah of a Significant Church Composer The Messiah of Gottfried August Homilius was performed by the S?chsisches Vocalensemble and the Batzdorfer Hofkapelle under the conductor Matthias Jung at St. Anne's Church in Dresden on the occasion of the three hundredth anniversary of the composer's birth on 5 June 2014 and is now being released on CD by cpo. Homilius is regarded as one of the most significant church composers during the transition between the baroque and classical eras. He attended St. Anne's School in Dresden and studied law in Leipzig. Homilius was a Bach pupil, the organist at the Church of Our Lady in Dresden, and the music director at the Church of the Holy Cross in Dresden from 1755 to 1785. He was also the music director at Dresden's three principal churches. During their time Homilius' compositions were extraordinarily popular and widely disseminated. Manuscript scores and performance materials for The Messiah are extant exclusively in the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern State Library and point to their employment in the performances of sacred works at the castle church (today: town church) in Ludwigslust, especially since printed part materials are also extant there. Despite it's title, the work is not a Messiah oratorio continuing from Handel's work, which then was beginning to enjoy popularity in Germany, but a passion oratorio of the type in use in many places in Protestant Germany during the second half of the eighteenth century. This work based on free texts completely meets the demands of a passion oratorio for performances during the Good Friday religious services. For the practice of the castle church in Ludwigslust, the work could also fulfill it's task as a 'sung poem' (as Homilius calls it in the dedicatory score) or as an 'oratorio' (as it is termed in the printed libretto) only loosely related to the de tempore order.

1. Part I: Chorale: Herr, St?rke Mich 2. Part I: Chorus: Nun Schafft Er Alles Neu! 3. Part I: Accompagnato: Schon Steht Von Aeltesten Umgeben 4. Part I: Aria: Euch, Treue Gef?hrten 5. Part I: Accompagnato: O Vater, Mit Der Macht 6. Part I: Accompagnato: Nun, Kinder, Werdet - Aria: Du Bist Mein Lieber Sohn 7. Part I: Duet: Ach Welch Ein Unnennbarer Schmerz 8. Part I: Recitative: Schon Naht Ischarioth 9. Part I: Aria: Gott, Sch÷pfer Der Menschen 10. Part I: Chorale: Er Ent?ussert Sich Der Freuden 11. Part I: Recitative: Da Stehet Nun Das Lamm 12. Part I: Aria: Herr Jener Selgen Ewigkeiten 13. Part I: Accompagnato: Nunmehr Verteidigt Sich 14. Part I: Chorus: Wie Wirds Euch, Frechen, Gehn 15. Part I: Accompagnato: Hier Geht Mein Heiland 16. Part I: Chorale: H÷chster K÷nig, Jesu Christ 17. Part II: Chorale: Ein Opfer Nach Dem Ewgen Rath 18. Part II: Chorus: Er Ist Um Unserer Missethat 19. Part II: Accompagnato: Hier Blutet Nun 20. Part II: Duet: Es Ist Vollbracht 21. Part II: Accompagnato: Laut Ward Sein Geist 22. Part II: Aria: Wag Es, Seele, Zu Empfinden 23. Part II: Recitative: Wenn Dein Geliebter Sohn 24. Part II: Chorale: Ich Werde Dir Zu Ehren 25. Part II: Aria: Was Ich Um Deinet Willen Leide 26. Part II: Recitative: Dem?thig Froh, Herr 27. Part II: Chorus: Mich Reize, Herr, Dein Leiden