César Franck (1822-1890) - The Seven Words Of Christ On The Cross (sung in Latin)

The fact that Franck's liturgical and religious music in the widest sense of the term has become to be dismissed as second-rate in the consciousness of the generations which succeeded him is probably to be attributed to the fact that during the last 15 years of his life - uncontestedly the period of his mature work - he completely turned his back to religiously motivated music of this kind for the sake of chamber and orchestral music, whereas church music was the dominant element in the early and most of all the middle period of his life.

One of the most striking compositions of the middle period is The Seven Words Of Christ On The Cross. Completed on August 14, 1859 and without an opus number, the work is puzzling: although a product of care and craftsmanship, it was not performed during the composer's lifetime. In fact, even the writers of music history were unaware of the existence. It was performed for the first time in 1977, i.e. almost 120 years after being written, after Armin Landgraf discovered the autograph in the University Library of Liège while doing research of Franck's church music, it having come into the possession of the library in 1955 after having been in private hands previously.

In the course of the music history, the dignity of the text has inspired a number of composers to put these biblical words to music (Schütz, Haydn); yet this did not actually result in the establishment of a genre tradition, i.e. a type of music with a precisely definable function and equally definable demands to be made on the composer.

Thus Franck selects a Latin version of the text in which he combines the words of Christ with additional biblical texts and liturgical texts not deriving from the Bible to form larger, self-contained units which are premised by a prologue.

Unpretentious in terms of harmonization and intended to be meditative rather than dramatic, the work is nevertheless very powerful, with the composer careful to make sure that the eight movements are combined to form a cyclical structure.

In doing so he employs hiw own key symbolism, i.e. he foregoes the use of sharp keys which for him represent light and joy and favours the minor keys. Twice - in the first and the fifth Word - the meditative atmosphere which dominates the piece is interrupted by dramatic elements, whereby elements of the grand-opéra shine trough.

The CD was released by AUDITE, 1993 (ADD). audite 95.432.

Soprano: Edith Wiens
Tenor: Raimundo Mettre
Bariton: Thomas Pfeiffer
Bass: Ivo Ingram

Choir & Orchestra Philharmonie Schwäbisch Gmünd, Conductor: Hubert Beck

Live recording 21 November 1979 in Heilig-Kreuz-Münster Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany.

Track List:

1. Prolog: O Vos Omnes, Qui Transitis Per Viam (4'49)
2. (1) Pater, Dimitte Illis (5'39"
3. (2) Amen, Dico Tibi (4'17")
4. (3) Mulier, Ecce Filius Tuus (6'55")
5. (4) Deus Meus, Ut Quid Dereliquisti Me ? (3'45")
6. (5) Sitio ! (6'42")
7. (6) Consummatum Est (5'30")
8. (7) Pater, In Manus Tuas (3'33")
   

César Franck (1822-1890) - Mass in A Major op.12

César Franck was famous as a composer of instrumental music. In contratst to this he also composed church music, but unfortunately his work as a church musician has fallen into oblivion.

The mass, which was completed by Franck in 1860 and performed for the first time on Easter Tuesday of 1861 in Ste. Clotilde, was revised by him time and again until 1872.

In its arrangement for the choir and the soloists, the mass dispenses with the alto part, in keeping with a custom often to be observed in France. The role of the vocal solists is of absolutely secondary importance in comparison to that of the choir. Only for the Qui tollis of the Gloria is a solo tenor prescribed, whereas the Et incanatus est of the Credo and the beginning of the Agnus Dei can be performed by soloists ad libitum. And yet musically speaking there are good reasons for delegating larger portions of the composition to the soloists so as to reach a higher degree on tonal differentiation as well as to make its formal structure come out more clearly. This attempt was made here in the recording of the work.

The CD was released by AUDITE, 1993, (ADD). Audite 95.431.

Soprano: Edith Wiens
Tenor: Raimundo Mettre
Bass: Ivo Ingram

Philharmonie Schwäbisch Gmünd (Choir & Orchestra), Conductor: Hubert Beck

Recording fom 21th November 1979 in Heilig-Kreuz-Münster, Schwäbisch Gmünd.

Track List:

1. Kyrie (5'39")
2. Gloria (11'38")
3. Credo (15'31")
4. Sanctus (3'16")
5. Agnus Dei (5'16")