Franz Lachner's oratorio "Moses"

[tpaloj]

Merry Christmas to everyone!

I'm very happy to present Franz Lachner's complete oratorio Moses, recreated via Dorico and Noteperformer. This colossal work, composed in 1833 to a text by Eduard von Bauernfeld, belongs to the genre of dramatic oratorios, premiered in 1834 and further performed several times into the early 1840s. Its length at ~1h45m is very modest for a complete oratorio. Unlike in his symphonies Lachner did not provide numerical metronome markings in this work, so there can be wide room for interpretation on the length of course. In this version, the first two acts take around 40 minutes each with the shorter third act being just over 20 minutes.

Naturally without real singers and soloists in this rendition one has to use a little imagination, not only with the orchestra, but especially with the sung parts. I've synced German text cards to the video as the work moves along for the convenience of those who can understand it. Not to worry Alan, I didn't even attempt to (mis)translate any German texts this time

There is a wide amount of material packed in this oratorio: arias, recitatives, choruses and many distinct musical ideas – independent on their own I think, even with the inevitable comparisons to Mendelssohn (and do note that this was composed before Paulus/Elijah) – worked with confidence and great skill by the young, ambitious Lachner. I have no doubt this oratorio went a long way in establishing Lachner's reputation as a composer in his early years. There is a lot to unpack in a long dormant work of this scale, but I think this will already do for a long post. Thoughts?


Video link: https://youtu.be/srGqaz_cZwU
Typeset libretto which might be easier to read than the original Fraktur text: https://www.dropbox.com/s/csgq7cvreie4ff9/Moses%20-%20Libretto%20%28Bauernfeld%29.pdf?dl=0
A review of its 1834 premiere: https://pastebin.com/pUDAjebM

The premiere was not altogether too successful, but there are also reviews from later performances that are much more enthusiastic. The first paragraph gives an illuminating account on what performance conditions of the time were like, and I found it particularly interesting.

[Ilja]

Hi Tuomas,


That's some sterling effort. While the words are dearly missed, having this emulation of vocals in place is much better than having nothing at all. And I'm grateful to at least get an impression of what the piece sounds like.