The Flowering of Vocal Music in America – New World Records 80467

1978 ©1994 Recorded Anthology of American Music, Inc.

As Christ was at the center of Moravian society, music was central to its worship and daily life. Music was integral to worship, and the Moravian musical liturgy was carefully organized so that, as Edward Berlin states, it had an “effect far more profound and lasting than a sermon delivered prosaically from a minister’s pulpit.”

JEREMIAH DENCKE – Meine Seele erhebet dem Herrn, Gehet in dem Geruch seines Bräutigams-Namens
JOHANNES HERBST – Abide In Me, See Him, And Thou Shalt Know It, How Greatly Doth My Soul Rejoice, Thanks Be To Thee
DAVID MORITZ MICHAEL – Ich bin in meinem Geiste
GEORG GOTTFRIED MüLLER – Mein Heiland geht ins leiden
JOHANN FRIEDRICH PETER – Leite mich in deiner Wahrheit

And more!

The Moravians And Their Music by Edward A. Berlin

In 1870 a Moravian historian, in recounting his ancestors’ immigration from Germany to Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley 130 years earlier, revealed with unexpected simplicity the essence of this unique community. He noted that, because of the arduous journey through miles of unbroken wilderness, they brought with them only the barest essentials for their new life, “…their goods, their mechanical tools, and such musical instruments as they were accustomed to play in Europe.”

It was not the mere love of music that distinguished the Moravians. Musical activity was common to many colonial settlements, and if actual performances were often indifferent, this would not detract from the sincerity of the effort or from its spiritual benefits. But the musical life in Moravian communities differed significantly from the practices elsewhere in the colonies; only the Moravians had the collective desire, determination, and skills necessary to preserve and continue the fully mature musical culture known in Europe. In most of the Protestant colonies, church music was restricted to simple, unaccompanied congregational hymns or primitive (if ingenious) approximations of European vocal polyphony; music education was sporadic and haphazard, left to itinerant singing masters; concert music was the province of touring foreign virtuosos or newly arrived immigrants and performed under carnival-like conditions to draw a large but very discerning paying public.

In contrast, Moravian churches rang with fully concerted music of voices, strings, winds, and organ; musical training was an integral part of the educational system, assuring a constantly renewed supply of competent performers and European-style composers; concert music was a regular and familiar feature of life, so that the hills and forests surrounding Moravian communities echoed with the chamber, orchestral, and vocal music of Haydn, Mozart, and Karl Philipp Emanuel Bach.

As religion was the dominating feature of Moravian society, church music was central to its musical life. And music was more than an ornament to or respite within the service; it was so integral that to some superficial observers it seemed that the Moravians went to church not to pray but to sing. These observers failed to perceive that the musical liturgy was carefully organized to convey a spiritual message, that this medium of conveyance had an effect far more profound and lasting than a sermon delivered prosaically from a minister’s pulpit.

CD RELEASE
1978 ©1994 Recorded Anthology of American Music, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in USA. THE FLOWERING OF VOCAL MUSIC IN AMERICA 80467-2

The Artists (Disc 1)
Cynthia Clarey, Barbara Wallace, sopranos; D’Anna Fortunato, Evelyn Petros, mezzo-sopranos; Charles Bressler, tenor; Richard Anderson, baritone; Joseph McKee, bass; Harriet Wingreen, piano; Leonard Raver, organ.

The New World String Orchestra
Regis Iandiorio, first violin; Ariana Bronne, William Henry, Benjamin Hudson, Katsuko Esaki, Robin Bushman, Robert Rozek, violins; Hugh Loughran, Janet Lyman Hill, Daniel Avshalomov, violas; Lawrence Lenske, cello; John Vincent Carbone, bass; Andrew Raeburn, conductor.

by Ernst Wilhelm Wolf
Edited by David Blum and Nola Reed Knouse

Bach Festival Singers (Winter Park, FL)
Rollins College Singers
Bach Festival Orchestra
John V. Sinclair, conductor

AVAILABLE on ONLINE STREAMING services and at: cdbaby 

The Easter Cantata was composed by Ernst Wilhelm Wolf (1735-1791) in Weimar, Germany, in the early 1780s based on a libretto by Johann Gottfried Herder. Ernst Wilhelm Wolf was born in Grossen Behringen, Germany in 1735. He attended schools in Eisenach and Gotha, and in 1755, at the age of 20, he attended the University of Jena, where he led the collegium musicum at Jena. Wolf arrived at Weimar in the late 1750s or 1760, to serve as a music teacher and Konzertmeister, Organist, and Kapellmeister.
Librettist Johann Gottfried Herder was born in the small city of Mohrungen in East Prussia on August 25, 1744. In 1771 he became Chief Pastor at Bückeburg, where he befriended Countess Maria, who had been schooled in Herrnhut; perhaps it was through her that Herder became acquainted with Zinzendorf and the hymns of the Moravians. Herder wrote the text of the Easter Cantata in 1781, and the Breitkopf edition of Wolf’s musical setting was published in 1782.

The Easter Cantata
The libretto of the Easter Cantata includes numerous citations from the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, woven together with  hymn texts by others and original poetry. In his use of scripture Herder sometimes quotes the Luther Bible literally, and in other cases he adapts the text to fit his narrative.

Performers:
Mary Wilson, soprano; Amanda Schumpert, soprano; Julie Batman, soprano; Glenn Siebert, tenor; Keith Alexander Bolves, tenor; Matthew K. Begale, bass; Peter Kubath, continuo
Bach Festival Chamber Orchestra
Conductor Dr. John V. Sinclair has been the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park since 1990. Dr. Sinclair conducts the Walt Disney World Candlelight Processional at EPCOT, directs Moravian Music Festivals, Messiah Choral Society, and participates in recording projects for Warner Brothers and the Walt Disney Corporation. Dr. Sinclair is the Director of Music for Rollins College. The choir includes members of the Bach Festival Choir of Winter Park and students and faculty of Rollins College.

Recorded May 17-19, 2015, in the John M. Tiedtke Concert Hall, Department of Music, Rollins College, Winter Park, Florida. Engineer: Kendall Thomsen. Producer: Gwyneth A. Michel. This project is made possible through the John M. Tiedtke Endowed Chair Fund.  Further funding was provided in memory of Wilson and Shirley Edwards by their children Patsy Saunders, Carol King, and Wilson Edwards, Jr., through the Duke Willard Fund for Recording of the Moravian Music Foundation.

Cover: Tiffany window, created in 1929, in the Rollins College Knowles Memorial Chapel.  Part of the Cornell Fine Arts Museum collection; photo by Scott Cook.

by Lisetta and Amelia Van Vleck, Carl Van Vleck & Francis F. Hagen

Issued by New World Records, this is a two-CD set, (Disc 1 has 15 tracks, Disc 2 has 16) with a variety of vocal and piano music by Salem, NC composers. It will transport you to another time, as though you’re listening to an evening recital in the parlor of your friend’s home.

CD #1

Irma Waltz (piano)
A Loving Home’s a Happy Home (quartet)
Nettie Galop (piano)
Hannah Polka (piano)
Our Words of Love (soprano solo)
Mollie March (piano)
Salem Band Waltz (piano)
Alma Mater (quartet)
The Hope, the Star, the Voice (tenor solo)
The Unknown Soldier Boy (soprano/alto duet)
My Dear One’s Waltz (piano)
The Grave of My Wife (bass solo)
River Waltz (piano)
Annie Schottisch (piano)
Waltz (piano)

CD #2

Mowing the Harvest Hay (quartet)
Centennial March (piano)
The Sky Lark (soprano solo)
Annie March (piano)
Carolina March (piano)
Come Hunters Young and Old (soprano solo)/alto
Her Last Words at Parting (tenor solo)
The Rainy Day (bass solo)
L’Amitie Waltz (piano)
Lullaby (alto solo)
The Watch-Tower Light (soprano solo)
Laura Polka (piano)
Col. Belo’s March (piano)
Early Friends (soprano solo)
Parthenia (piano)
A Friend in Need, Is a Friend Indeed (quartet)

Psalm of Joy
Music of the first Independence Day celebration in the nation.
Held in Salem, NC, July 4, 1783.
Planned/organized by Joh. F. Peter

Malcolm Johns, conductor
David Ford, bass
Jean Hertzberg, soprano
Mary Arnold, soprano
Peabody College Madrigalians
members of the Nashville Sym Orchestra

Please note that this item is only available in cassette tape format.

a Moravian Music Foundation production

With works by Johann Friedrich Peter, Jeremiah Dencke, David Moritz Michael, John Antes and more, this collection provides a glimpse into the amazing musical talent and heritage of early American Moravian composers. Performed on period instruments by Boston Baroque under the direction of Martin Pearlman. This collection also includes a second CD on which Martin Pearlman discusses music of the Moravians.

Music Samples

Listen to Der Herr ist mein Theil – Joh. Friedrich Peter

Listen to Ich will euch wie ein Thau sein – Simon Peter

Tracks:

Lovefeast for Christmas

1. Hymn: Freuen wir uns
2. Der Herr ist mein Theil
3. Meine Seele erhebet den Herrn
4. Es ist ein köstlich Ding
5. Hymn: Join We All with One Accord
6. Hail Infant Newborn
7. Loveliest Immanuel
8. Ich will euch wie ein Thau seyn
9. Thou Child Divine
10 Hymn: Ziege mir dein Angesicht

Lovefeast for Lent

11. Hymn: Heiliger Herre Gott
12. Ach Schönster unter allen
13. Suchet sein Antlitz
14. Die mit Thränen säen
15. Hymn: Lob Gott getrost mit Singen
16. O lieblicher Heiland, du mein Versöhner
17. Gesegnet bist du, sein Volk
18. Ich gehe einher in der Kraft des Herrn
19. Hymn: Herz und Herz vereint zusammen

Lovefeast for thanksgiving

20. Hymn: Kommt, danket dem Helden
21. Das ist ein Tag
22. Ich will immer harren
23. Ich danke Dir ewiglich
24. Die Frucht des Geistes ist Liebe
25. O Sing, all ye Redeemed
26. Mien Herz dichtet ein feines Lied
27. Siehe meine Knechte
28. Ich will dir ein Freudenopfer thun
29. Sing Hallelujah

Trombone Choir

30. Hymn: Herr und Ältster deiner Kreuzgemeine
31. Hymn: Jesus Makes My Heart Rejoice

Fortepiano

32. Rondo for Piano by John Gambold

Music Samples

Tracks:

1. Joining Our Voices
2. Now Thank We All Our God
3. God Is My Strong Salvation
4. Welcome Among Your Flock of Grace
5. Once He Came in Blessing
6. Morning Star
7. For Our Transgressions
8. O Sacred Head, Now Wounded
9. Go to Dark Gethsemane
10. Jesus, My Redeemer, Lives
11. Holy Trinity, We Confess with Joy
12. When Simplicity We Cherish
13. The Savior’s Blood and Righteousness
14. Lord Christ Jesus, Our Salvation
15. Come, Let Us Sing the Song of Songs
16. Come, Holy Ghost, Our Souls Insprie
17. Come, Let Us All with Gladness Rise
18. O the Blssedness Is Great
19. How Shall I Meet My Savior
20. Hosanna
21. Wake, Awake, for Night Is Flying
22. Jesus Makes My Heart Rejoice
23. Jesus, Great High Priest of Our Profession
24. Jesus’ Love Unbounded
25. Christian Hearts in Love United
26. Sing Hallelujah, Praise the Lord
27. Ten Thousand Times Ten Thousand
28. Die Gnade – The Grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ

This recording had its inception in 1992, when John V. Sinclair stumbled upon two early editions of Moravian music, and phoned the Moravian Music Foundation asking, “Is there any more?” The affirmative answer to that question brought John into what he describes as a “love affair” with the music of the Moravians. Since then he has become the continuing conductor of the Moravian Music Festivals, has conducted first modern performances of over three dozen newly-edited works, and edits anthems as well.

This 2007 recording features the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park, the Rollins College Concert Choir and 20 Moravian singers from around the country. Conducted by Dr. Sinclair and featuring solos by Sharla Nafziger, soprano; Mary Ann Hart, Mezzo-soprano; Keith Alexander Bolves – tenor and David Terry, bass

Listen to Blessed Are the Pure in Heart by Henri Voullaire

Tracks:

1. Singet ihr Himmel (Sing O Ye Heavens)
2. Let Everyone Have the Same Mind
3. O Most Gracious, Welcome Child
4. Go, Congregation, Go/Surely He hath Borne Our Griefs
5. Loveliest Immanuel
6. Hail Infant Newborn
7. The Lord Be Mindful of You
8. Blessed Are the Pure of Heart
9. My Soul Knows Purest Pleasure
10. None Among Us
11. Hosanna
12. O Anblick, der mirs Herze bricht (Behold, O There’s a Sight that Rends My Heart)
13. Bethany, O Peaceful Habitation
14. By your Meritorious Death
15. Nun ruht Er (Now Rests He)
16. Glory to God in the Highest
17. It Is a Precious Thing
18. O the Blessedness Is Great
19. I Am the Shepherd
20. Hearken, For I Bring Unto You Joyful Tidings
21. Thou Child Divine
22. Glory to Him Who Is the Resurrection

A collection of Moravian music from the 18th and 19th centuries, performed by soprano Sharla Nafziger with the Bach Festival Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Dr. John Sinclair. Recorded in 2009; produced by the Moravian Music Foundation

AVAILABLE on ONLINE STREAMING services and at:

CDBaby  

Track listing:

1. J. Dencke: Mein Herz dichtet ein feines Lied (My Heart Raises a Goodly Song)

2. J.F. Peter: Ich will mit euch ein weigen Bund machen (I Will Make an Everlasting Covenant)

3. J.L. Freydt: Ihre Seele gefiel Gott (Ah, Your Soul Was Pleasing to God)

4. J.F. Peter: Der Herr ist in seinem heilegen Tempel (The Lord Is in His Holy Temple)

5. J. Herbst: Ein jeglicher sey gesinnet (Let Everyone Have the Same Mind)

6. J.F. Peter: Leite mich in deiner Wahrheit (Lead Me in Your Truth)

7. J. Antes: Loveliest Immanuel

8. J. Dencke: Meine Seele erhebet den Herrn (My Soul Magnifies the Lord)

9 D.M. Michael: Ich bin in Meinem Geiste (My Soul Knows Purest Pleasure)

10. J.F. Peter: Die Tage deines Leides (The Days of Your Mourning)

11. S. Peter: O Anblick, der mir’s Herze bricht (Behold O There’s a Sight That Rends My Heart)

12. J.D. Grimm: O Welch angenehmer Schlummer (O What Love is Here Displayed)

13. J.D. Grimm: Ach Schšpfer nimmt mein Fleisch und Bein (O Lord, My Savior)

14. J.L. Freydt: Lieblichkeiten, die nicht aus zusprechen (Lovely Visions, Far Beyond Descriptions)

15: J. Herbest: Einer is euer Meister (One Alone Is Your Master)

16. J.F. Peter: Ich will immer harren (Lord, I’ll Always Hope in You)

17. J. Herbst: So ihr bleiben werdet in meiner Rede (If You Will Continue in My Word)

18. C.D. Jaeschke: Seine Gnade reached so weit (God’s Great Mercy)