Beethoven: Christus am Ölberge, Op. 85 & Elegischer Gesang, Op. 118 Turku Philharmonic Orchestra & Leif Segerstam

• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827): Christus am Ölberge, Op. 85:
• 1 Christus am Ölberge, Op. 85: No. 1, Introduction 07:00
• 2 Christus am Ölberge, Op. 85: No. 2, Jehovah! Du! Mein Vater! 04:03
• 3 Christus am Ölberge, Op. 85: No. 3, Meine Seele ist erschüttert 05:22
• 4 Christus am Ölberge, Op. 85: No. 4, Erzitt're, Erde! 01:33
• 5 Christus am Ölberge, Op. 85: No. 5, Preist des Erlösers Güte 03:27
• 6 Christus am Ölberge, Op. 85: No. 6, O Heil euch, ihr Erlösten! 04:49
• 7 Christus am Ölberge, Op. 85: No. 7, Verkündet, Seraph, mir dein Mund Erbarmen 01:10
• 8 Christus am Ölberge, Op. 85: No. 8, So ruhe denn mit ganzer Schwere 07:04
• 9 Christus am Ölberge, Op. 85: No. 9, Willkommen Tod! 01:09
• 10 Christus am Ölberge, Op. 85: No. 10, Wir haben ihn gesehen 02:34
• 11 Christus am Ölberge, Op. 85: No. 11, Die mich zu fangen ausgezogen sind 01:41
• 12 Christus am Ölberge, Op. 85: No. 12, Hier ist er, der Verbannte 03:16
• 13 Christus am Ölberge, Op. 85: No. 13, Nicht ungestraft soll der Verweg'nen 01:17
• 14 Christus am Ölberge, Op. 85: No. 14, In meinen Adern wühlen gerechter Zorn und Wuth 05:07
• 15 Christus am Ölberge, Op. 85: No. 15, Auf, ergreifet den Verräther! 03:01
• 16 Christus am Ölberge, Op. 85: No. 16, Welten singen Dank und Ehre 01:32
• 17 Christus am Ölberge, Op. 85: No. 17, Preiset ihn, ihr Engelchöre 02:58
• Ludwig van Beethoven:
• 18 Elegischer Gesang, Op. 118 06:52
• Total Runtime 01:03:55

Info for Beethoven: Christus am Ölberge, Op. 85 & Elegischer Gesang, Op. 118

Ludwig van Beethoven’s only oratorio Christus am Ölberge (‘Christ on the Mount of Olives’) portrays Jesus’s emotional struggles in the garden of Gethsemane before being seized by soldiers and taken for crucifixion. The work has an Italianate form with recitatives, arias and choruses, and its operatic attributes show Christ as a very human figure, a dramatic precursor to the sufferings of Florestan in Beethoven’s Fidelio. The tender and beautiful Elegischer Gesang is a memorial to the young wife of one of Beethoven’s close friends.

It has been many years since we gave attention to Beethoven’s choral music, and the prospect of a new edition is one to be anticipated with delectation. Unjustly neglected, Beethoven’s oratorio Christ on the Mount of Olives is a relatively obscure work when compared with his symphonies, and there has been barely a handful of recordings in recent decades.

Leif Segerstam’s recordings for Naxos include a six-volume set of Jean Sibelius’s music for theatre, including Jedermann (8573340) with the Turku Philharmonic and Chorus Cathedralis Aboensis, which was a MusicWeb International ‘Recording of the Year’ and summed up as ‘gorgeous, unflinchingly dark and anguished’ by ClassicsToday.com.

Segerstam has said that he has a ‘special place for Beethoven between his ears,’ having grown up with the composer’s music and conducting it frequently during his years in Vienna during the 1970s and 80s.

This recording has a strong cast of soloists, led by tenor Jussi Myllys as Christus. His international career has seen him on stage performing works such as J.S. Bach’s St John Passion with the Gürzenich-Orchester Köln, and Wolfgang Rihm’s Deus Passus with the Bachakademie Stuttgart. His recording of Aulis Sallinen’s Kuningas lähtee Ranskaan (‘The King goes forth to France’) with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra was an American Record Guide ‘Critic’s Choice’. Soprano Hanna-Leena Haapamäki (Seraph) has worked with such conductors as John Storgårds, Okko Kamu, Sian Edwards and Arvo Volmer, and bass Niklas Spångberg is an operatic star in Finland, with roles including Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia in his current repertoire.

Hanna-Leena Haapamäki, soprano (Tracks 4-8, 14)
Jukka Myllys, tenor (Tracks 2, 3, 7-9, 11, 13, 16)
Niklas Spangberg, Bass (Tracks 13, 14)
Chorus Cathedralis Aboensis
Turku Philharmonic Orchestra
Leif Segerstam, conductor

No biography found.

Booklet for Beethoven: Christus am Ölberge, Op. 85 & Elegischer Gesang, Op. 118