Search - Georg Philipp Telemann, Hermann Max, Das Kleine Konzert :: Telemann: The Day of Judgment

Great Recording of an underappreciated piece

adam.smith | Chicago, IL, USA | 05/18/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Like many of Telemann's larger vocal works (he wrote not just oratories, but also several passions as well as operas) this one is relatively unknown. But while it may not equal the depth of a Bach Mass, it has some beautiful pieces and some spectacular, fiery choruses (it is about judgment day, after all...) - listen into #11 "Es Rauscht" or #22 "Ach Hilfe" for a sample.



I could find only three recordings of this - apart from the present recording there is a rather well known early Harnoncourt/Concentus Musicus recording from the 1960s and a more recent Musique of the Baroque version that is unavailable on Amazon.

All three of the recordings are performed on period instruments.



The Rheinische Kantorei / Das Kleine Konzert is a German ensemble that performs old (mainly baroque) music with relatively small orchestra and chorus. Orchestra and choir form a permanent unit and the perfect balance between the two is one of the great strength of this recording. The Choir is crisp, expressive, the articulation of the German is perfect (duh) and especially the difficult fugues are a pleasure to listen to.

With so many period instrument ensembles out there the standard is very high for orchestra's and I was very pleasantly surprised by Das Kleine Konzert - they produce a wonderfully light, springy period instrument sound, creating the noise and thunder of judgment day just as successfully as the peace and beauty associated with Jesus, John, and the Archangel.

The soloists are very solid and good to listen to throughout, although none of them sparkles - I would say this is maybe the weakest part of the recording, but that's really not saying much. I listened to the samples of the Harnoncourt recordings (which are available on amazon Germany, [...]) and I don't think the soloists there are better. Harnoncourt uses boys for the Soprano arias and altos instead of countertenors. In both cases I prefer the choices made for this recording, but that may well be a matter of taste.



As noted in the review above (which really shouldn't be a 3* review) this recording is a lot faster than Harnoncourt's (the overture is almost 4 minutes as opposed to the close to 3 minutes here and that's a constant throughout).

Like the reviewer cited above I think the faster tempi are more interesting - some of the da-capo arias will drag on a bit long if they are too slow.



As a final strength, this recording is wonderfully recorded and engineered - WDR is a German radio station which employs some of the best sound-technicians around - I guess they must have recorded this for some festival and have produced a crystal clear, very precise recording.

To top things of, it's only 6.99 to download, so what are you waiting for?"

A voice teacher and early music fan

George Peabody | Planet Earth | 11/07/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"GOOD CHOICE OF SOLOISTS BY HERMAN MAX RAISES THE ENJOYMENT LEVEL OF THIS MUSIC TO A GREAT EXTENT!

Georg Philipp Telemann(1681-1767)was a German composer; very prolific composer, writing in every current musical form, including operas, oratorios (as this one) and cantatas. In addition, he wrote keyboard, orchestral and instrumental music.



The oratorio 'Der Tag des Gerichts' (The Day of Judgment) is one of his later works and definitely has a Handelian flavor. It is less ornate and daring than his 'Capriccio', recorded by these same forces; the choruses are grander and have impressive writing for trumpets, horns and timpani. It is divided into four sections(called 'Reflections' by Telemann),in which the soloists take on character roles such as 'Unbelief', 'Reason', 'Religion' and 'Devotion'. Jesus appears in Reflection three and John is the main character in Reflection four. This work ends in a blaze of musical glory as 'The Right Hand of God is Raised'. This is really a highly dramatic work and the more I listen to it I am bothered by the fact that I did not give it Five Stars for my opinion of it has raised considerably.



The soloists all acquit themselves well, both vocally and dramatically. Ann Monoyios (soprano) never disppoints with her lovely 'clear as a bell' soprano whose aria (she has one) 'I Am Awakened to Wisdom' in the fourth reflection is magnificently rendered. Wilfred Jochens (tenor)is outstanding in his opening aria(he has one)'Now I Know' is resonant and intense and great to hear. David Cordier (countertenor) displays his even, strong and pleasing tone quality in his only complete aria in the first reflection 'The Storm's Thunderous Voices Resound'. Stephen Schreckenberger (bass) although skillful, seemed to be 'edgy' and 'rough' tonally in his singing in the first reflection (he had five arias), but his final aria in the third reflection 'Away Out of My Sight' was delivered smoothly and I liked it best of all his arias. I must point out that all the soloists were featured in numerous 'ariosos' and of course, recitatives. There was also ample ensemble singing and combos of the solo singers.



I was hoping that I could enjoy Herman Max's direction in this work, as I have been disappointed at times with his past recordings. But his direction of this work was precise and vigorous, and the twenty-four piece chamber period instrument orchestra and the small choir of sixteen singers was extremely well-balanced. Recorded in a very resonant acoustic which allowed for a large enough sound, we are convinced that this is indeed a day of reckoning. The soloists and continuo harpsichord are ideally balanced; a pleasant exception to some of the recorded music from this period. Its certainly worth the listening!!(The singing is in German.) The accompanying booklet includes all the pertinent information including the text in German and English."