Philipp Wolfrum is today an all but forgotten figure in the
history of music. However, in his lifetime (1854-1919) he was revered as a
composer, conductor, choirmaster, organist and Director of Music at the
University of Heidelberg. His magnum opus is the oratorio Ein
Weihnachtsmysterium, ‘A Christmas Mystery’, written in 1898.
No less a composer than Richard Strauss accurately summarised
the oratorio as possessing “Bachian skill unified with Lisztian ecstasy”. In
truth, it’s a work of many parts, and this was very much an intentional aspect
of Wolfrum’s creation. The libretto was entirely his own creation and draws
upon ‘words from the Bible and plays of the people’, as the work’s subtitle
makes clear. Cast in two parts of uneven length – the first of roughly an hour’s
duration, the second a shade under forty minutes - the oratorio requires large orchestral and mixed
choral forces alongside no less than five vocal soloists. Musically, Wolfrum’s
writing possesses individuality, despite the fact that the influences of his
musical heroes and contemporaries – Wagner, Liszt, Brahms, Strauss, Mahler,
Reger, Humperdinck and Busoni amongst them – can be detected. What could be
unexpected for today’s listener is that Wolfrum found room alongside his use of
Wagnerian leitmotifs in this Gesamtkunstwerk or total work of art for folk
music, Christmas carols and other music that the public of his time would have
recognised, played and sung at Christmas.
This, no doubt, was a significant factor in the early
success of the oratorio, often performed under the composer’s direction. It still
is not appreciated often enough that Elgar’s early reputation was largely
forged in Germany, and he acknowledged Wolfum’s influence upon his own oratorio,
The Kingdom. In 1901, barely three years after its composition, Elgar
directed a performance of Ein Weihnachtsmysterium in Worcester.
The curious might want to investigate the live world
premiere recording, made at performances in 2019, online first: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d94Q5A6exIw
The driving force behind the re-emergence of Wolfrum’s
festive offering is undoubtedly the conductor Stefan Vanselow. He not only navigates
this multi-faceted curiosity with a sense of purpose and surety of hand, but
also manages to bring a sense of imaginative wonder to proceedings so that the
recording is more than just the document of a musical curiosity. Additionally,
he provides a comprehensive essay in the accompanying booklet, which also
includes the sung text, an English translation is available via a QR code. The Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie supplemented by the
Philipp-Wolfrum-Ensemble play with dedication, whilst the Hamelner Kantorei and
Jugendkantorei Hameln provide choral singing of warmth and undoubted
enthusiasm. The contributions of Joo-Anne Bitter (soprano), Anne Schuldt (alto),
Paweł Brożek (tenor) Martin Berner and Hans Christian Hinz (baritones) round
out the forces with performances that do them credit.
If you are searching for
something different to listen to this Christmas, look no further than Wolfrum’s
Ein Weihnachtsmysterium. Merry Christmas, one and all!
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