ヘンデル: ブロッケス受難曲 HWV.48

18世紀初頭にハンブルクを拠点に政治家、外交官としても活躍した作家ベルトルト・ハインリヒ・ブロッケスが、キリストの受難の物語を、主に聖書に寄りつつ独自の登場人物(「シオンの娘」や「信ずる魂」など)を加えて台本を執筆。そのテキストに、ドイツ後期バロック時代の錚々たる作曲家、ヨアヒム・カイザー、ゲオルク・フィリップ・テレマン、ヨハン・マッテゾンらが競って作曲しました。ハレの学生時代からブロッケスの朋友だったヘンデルもそのひとり。しかし、バロック時代の典型的な受難曲のスタイルとは異なり、ヘンデルは後に彼の得意ジャンルとなるオラトリオとしてこの作品を創作しました。この録音は、2023年作曲家の生地ハレのヘンデル音楽祭での収録。バロックから近代のオペラまでをレパートリーとして活躍するミヒャエル・ホフシュテッターのダイナミズムに溢れるタクトのもと、福音史家役のロバート・セリアー、シオンの娘役のヴァネッサ・ヴァルトハルトを初めとした歌手たちの入魂の歌唱と、群衆としてドラマに参加する合唱によって、ヘンデルによるキリストの受難劇が描かれています。
ナクソス・ジャパン

Handels Brockes Passion, named for librettist Barthold Heinrich Brockes, is less often played than Messiah and other prominent Handel sacred works. The reason may be that it dates from 1719 when Handel was still primarily an opera composer. Listeners hoping for stirring choruses akin to those in Messiah are going to be disappointed, but the work is quite intriguing, almost as much opera as it is sacred choral setting, and it has much to offer when heard on its own terms. This 2023 live staged performance by the Handelfestspielorchester Halle and the Halle Opera Chorus, led by Michael Hofstetter, isnt perfect; the singing of the soloists is uneven, and there is a bow or something clanking against a music stand at one point, but Hofstetter imparts the kind of forward energy that brings the Brockes Passion alive. Bach loved the work and made a hand copy of it, in part used here. Far from having Messiah-style choruses, the work integrates the chorus mostly into the action in little dialogue-like snippets. In addition to the main players, there are individuals, the Daughter of Zion and the Faithful Souls, who are not even in the biblical accounts; they serve as something like Greek chorus-style commentators, along with Robert Sellier, the Evangelist. The main players themselves, led by bass Michael Zehe as Jesus and countertenor Leandro Marziotte as Judas, react in full-throated ways to whats happening to them, and the action is fairly complex, with thoroughly realized parts for saints Peter, John, and James as well Caiaphas and Pilate, two of four parts handled by bass Ki-Hyun Park. The action moves along with only brief pauses between the movements, and the sound is reasonable, with little staging noise in evidence. Those who dont know this underrated and somewhat atypical Handel work should give it a try here. ~ James Manheim