Johann Rosenmüller In te Domine speravi Concertos sacrés sur le Psaume 31 Weser-Renaissance

Tranquille ville de Basse-Saxe, Wolfenbüttel fut à la Renaissance une capitale intellectuelle et artistique de premier plan qui accueillit le premier théâtre permanent du Saint-Empire, mais aussi une importante bibliothèque, et une collection d’art antique, sous l’impulsion de princes cultivés et assez mélomanes pour accueillir un compositeur de l’importance de Rosenmüller, malgré les mœurs scandaleuses qui le contraignirent à des décennies d’exil hors d’Allemagne. Le compositeur passa les deux dernières années de sa vie à Wolfenbüttel comme Maître de chapelle. Avec son Weser Renaissance Ensemble, Manfred Cordes nous convie à une expérience particulière : sept versions du Psaume 31 In te domine speravi. Testament spirituel et musical, Rosenmüller y est au sommet de sa technique et de son inventivité. Il serait donc vain d’isoler tel ou tel ou moment. Un disque exigeant mais essentiel : entreprenez ce voyage. Travail éditorial exemplaire de CPO. (Olivier Gutierrez)

Johann Rosenmüller’s vocal oeuvre is distinguished by textual interpretation that is just as finely sensitive as it is highly imaginative – and this manifoldness is nowhere so clearly revealed as in the seven settings of Psalm 31 (after Luther’s numbering) that have been transmitted to us under his name and form the program on this CD. These various compositions based on one and the same text prove to be a genuine kaleidoscope of compositional ideas. Rosenmüller implements changing combinations of singers and richly imaginative motivic work, even in the instrumental parts, which are in part virtuosic in character. The works are divided into sections, and the composer usually creates larger interconnected structures in them by using recurring ritornellos and repeatedly returning to the first verse of the particular work. The text concerns David’s petition for divine assistance in the greatest distress. The psalm has a special significance in the Christian church because according to Luke the words from its sixth verse, »Into your hands I commend my spirit,« were among Christ’s last words on the cross. The variety and wealth of nuances achieved by Rosenmüller in the interpretation of the text and in the textures are considerable, and it is precisely the comparative listening experience that opens our ears to hear the special qualities his contemporaries valued in his art.