Groningse Bachvereniging

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Groningse Bachvereniging
Seat: NetherlandsNetherlands Groningen
Founding: 1945
Resolution: 1989
Genus: mixed choir
Founder: Johan van der Meer
Head : Johan van der Meer, Rein de Vries
Voices : up to approx. 40, as well as a chamber choir with approx. 8–12 people; project-dependent ( SATB )

The Groningse Bachvereniging was a Dutch choir that existed from 1945 to 1989 and became known for its performances of baroque music in historical performance practice .

history

Johan van der Meer founded the choir in 1945 on the excitement of Gerardus van der Leeuw , who was a fan of Johann Sebastian Bach's music . The mix of professional and semi-professional singers was characteristic of the composition of the choir from the start . While over 40 singers were used for the great oratorios by Johann Sebastian Bach, in the six-part St. John Passion by Johann Christoph Demantius , which was performed in 1981, each part was only triple.

In the first quarter of a century of its existence, the Groningse Bachvereniging was not limited to any style period and presented music from all epochs from the 15th to the 20th century and by a wide variety of composers. However, the works of Bach occupied a prominent place. In 1947 the Groningse Bachvereniging was the first European choir to perform Bach motets not a cappella , but with instrumental accompaniment, in accordance with Bach's handwritten instrumental parts and the usual baroque performance tradition. In 1955 the Bach Association received the Culture Prize of the Province of Groningen .

The year 1970 was a decisive milestone in the history of choirs, as van der Meer turned entirely to baroque music in historical performance practice. Up until this point, the “Noordelijk Filharmonisch Orkest” had been the constant accompaniment for the choir. When the orchestra was not available for the performance of Bach's Magnificat , van der Meer invited Nikolaus Harnoncourt and his Concentus Musicus Vienna to the Netherlands and performed the Magnificat in the Netherlands for the first time with a historical cast.

In 1973 the Dutch premiere of Bach's St. Matthew Passion followed with original instruments and authentic playing style. The orchestra consisted of members of the Leonhardt Consort , the Alarius Ensemble and "musica da camera". Vocalists were Marius van Altena ( Evangelist ), Max van Egmond ( Christ ), three boy soloists from the Tölzer Knabenchor , René Jacobs (Altus), Harry Geraerts and Michiel ten Houte de Lange (tenor) as well as Frits van Erven Dorens and Harry van der Kamp ( Bass). Ton Koopman and Bob van Asperen worked on the organ . Due to the competition to the traditional Passion performances of the Nederlandse Bachvereniging in Naarden and damage to the reputation of the Groningse Bachvereniging to avoid, the performances took place in Sappemeer and Schiedam . The concerts caused a sensation and established the Groningse Bachvereniging and the historical performance practice in the Netherlands. In 1975 a concert with Bach's B minor mass followed (with La Petite Bande under Sigiswald Kuijken) and in 1979 his St. John Passion (with Fiori musicali under Thomas Albert ). Another partner was Ton Koopman and his Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra . In addition to Bach, vocal compositions by Josquin Desprez , Heinrich Schütz , Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck and Georg Friedrich Händel were on the program.

In contrast to most of the other representatives of the early music movement, van der Meer was not a fan of fast tempos. He was interested in a clear and dramatic text declamation in the sense of baroque musical rhetoric. The Groningse Bachvereniging was known for its vibrato-less, almost cutting sound with pure intervals, the messa di voce in the form of swelling and declining on long notes and a clear marking of the accented beats in the beat.

Van der Meer's farewell concert in 1984 included the performance of Handel's Israel in Egypt , in which Fiori musicali and three trombonists from the Musicalische Compagney took part. After van der Meer had led the choir for almost 40 years, bassist Rein de Vries took over. In 1989 the Groningse Bachvereniging became part of the Capella Groningen .

literature

  • Jolande van der Klis: Johan van der Meer, conductor Groningse Bachvereniging (1913–2011) . In: Tijdschrift Oude Muziek . tape 26/2 , 2011, p. 16-17 (Dutch, online ).
  • Jolande van der Klis: Een tuitje in de aardkorst. Kroniek van de oude muziek 1976-2006 . Kok, Kampen 2007, ISBN 978-90-435-1322-7 ( limited preview in Google book search).
  • Emile Wennekes: posterity in the neighboring country. Aspects of Bach maintenance in the Netherlands, approx. 1850–2000 . In: Tijdschrift van de Koninklijke Vereniging voor Nederlandse Muziekgeschiedenis . tape 50 , no. 1/2 , 2000, pp. 110-130 (Dutch).

Recordings / sound carriers

The vinyl and cassette recordings were produced without a corresponding company and have not yet been released on CD.

  • Heinrich Schütz: Symphoniae sacrae . Groningse Bachvereniging, Berlin Ensemble for Early Music, 1972.
  • Johann Sebastian Bach: St. Matthew Passion (excerpts). Soloists of the Tölzer Knabenchor, René Jacobs , Marius van Altena, Harry Geraerts, Michiel ten Houte de Lange, Max van Egmond , Harry van der Kamp , Frits van Erven Dorens, Groningse Bachvereniging, Leonhardt-Consort , Alarius Ensemble , musica da camera, 1973 .
  • Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck: Pseaumes de David . Groningse Bachvereniging, 1974.
  • Johann Sebastian Bach: High Mass (excerpts). Boy soprano of the Tölzer Knabenchor, Kevin Smith, Marius van Altena, Max van Egmond, Groningse Bachvereniging, La Petite Bande , 1975.
  • Johann Sebastian Bach: St. John Passion . Marjanne Kweksilber , Charles Brett, Marius van Altena, Harry Geraerts, Max van Egmond, Harry van der Kamp, Groningse Bachvereniging, Fiori musicali, 1979.
  • Christoph Demantius: German Passion according to the evangelist St. Johanne and prophecy according to Isaiah 53 as well as organ works by Samuel Scheidt. Groningse Bachvereniging, Cleveland Johnson , 1981.
  • Georg Friedrich Handel: Israel in Egypt . Mieke van der Sluis, Hedwig van der Meer, John York Skinner, Theo Altmeyer, Peter Kooy , Harry van der Kamp, Groningse Bachvereniging, Fiori musicali, 1984.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See, for example, his introduction to Bach's St. Matthew Passion: Bach's St. Matthew Passion . Uitgeversmaatschappij Holland, Amsterdam 1953.
  2. ↑ Record text of the Bachvereniging for the Sweelinck Psalms, 1974.
  3. ↑ Jolande van der Klis: Een tuitje in de aardkorst. Kroniek van de oude muziek 1976-2006 . Kok, Kampen 2007, ISBN 978-90-435-1322-7 ( limited preview in Google book search).
  4. ↑ a b c Jolande van der Klis: Johan van der Meer, conductor Groningse Bachvereniging (1913–2011) . In: Tijdschrift Oude Muziek . tape 26/2 , 2011, p. 16-17 (Dutch, online ). Seen November 28, 2011.
  5. ↑ Capella Groningen , as seen June 10, 2012.