Christina Pluhar - Himmelsmusik (2018) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

Himmelsmusik (‘heavenly music’), a programme of sacred songs and cantatas by German composers of the 17th century, presents a striking contrast with the previous Erato album from Christina Pluhar and her ensemble L’Arpeggiata: Händel Goes Wild.

Himmelsmusik sees Pluhar taking a more sober and traditionally scholarly approach. She and L’Arpeggiata are joined by star countertenor Philippe Jaroussky and the distinguished Belgian soprano Céline Scheen in a programme that includes the celebrated lamento ‘Ach, dass ich Wassers gnug hätte’ by Johann Christoph Bach (born over 40 years before his relative Johann Sebastian), Heinrich Schütz’s ‘Erbarm Dich mein, o Herre Gott’ and prompts discovery of works by such lesser-known figures as Johann Theile, Philipp Heinrich Erlebach, Christian Ritter and Franz Tunder. An instrumental piece by the Verona-born Antonio Bertali highlights the influence of Italian music on German composers of the time.

In an interview with the Bremen-based newspaper Weser-Kurier, Christina Pluhar provided some insights into the balance she strikes in her music-making with L’Arpeggiata.

“A way of escaping any categorisation as a specialist in improvisation is to undertake projects in which I play pure Baroque music. I always try to reinvent myself, to create something from my innermost being … I can be quite satisfied with music as it was originally written, and we will play this music without making excursions into other fields … But it is also always exciting to look at this music through the eyes of musicians who come from a different musical genre, since it opens up new perspectives and gives rise to a kind of new music. That can only work when you are well acquainted with the original music and its style, and have great respect for it … There are pieces that lend themselves to being developed into something new, and there are others that must simply be presented in all their purity and beauty – works which must be left as they are. Sensitivity is everything.”

Tracklist:
1. Der Sionitin Wiegenlied: Nun, ich singe! Gott, ich knie 07:21
2. Lamento: Ach, dass ich Wassers g'nug hätte 07:01
3. Ich suchte des Nachts in meinem Bette 05:42
4. Gott, hilf mir 06:09
5. O amantissime sponse 10:24
6. Chiaccona a 4 in C Major 04:29
7. Von Gott will ich nicht lassen, SWV 366 05:43
8. Kommt, ihr Stunden, macht mich frei 08:21
9. Aria. Ein kleines Kindelein 02:48
10. Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden 05:32
11. Sonata a 6 in E Minor 05:16
12. Erbarm Dich mein, o Herre Gott, SWV 447 04:11
13. Komm, süsser Tod, komm, sel'ge Ruh, BWV 478 02:28

Personnel:
L'Arpeggiata
Celine Scheen, soprano
Philippe Jaroussky, counter-tenor
Jésus Rodil, tenor
Dingle Yandell, bass
Christina Pluhar, theorbo, direction