Rheinische Kantorei, Hermann Max, Das Kleine Konzert - J.C.F. Bach: Miserere Mei / Wachet Auf, Ruft Uns Die Stimme (2017)

Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach was a child of his times, which were characterised by new beginnings and profound changes in the political and cultural arena as well as in the societal and philosophical spheres.

The “Miserere” and the motet “Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme” on this recording beautifully document these transformations. MDG is now presenting an archive production that has achieved historic status. Hermann Max, a pioneer in the field of historically informed performance practice, performs with the Rheinische Kantorei and his “Das Kleine Konzert” ensemble in a production for the Western German Radio (WDR).

The original heavy content of the “Miserere” (which resurfaced at a London auction in 1975) was slightly changed by the composer to become a penitential psalm with elegant melodic leading and relaxed articulation.

Composed hardly ten years after the “Miserere,” the motet “Wachet auf! ruft uns die Stimme” reveals an entirely different picture. The music emancipates itself from pure textual interpretation and assumes an independent shape.