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| A 1723 engraving by Johann Gottfried Krügner of the Thomaskirche, Leipzig |
La Grande Audition de Leipzig; Telemann, Kuhnau, Graupner, Bach; Miriam Allan, Maarten Engeltyes, Thomas Hobbs, Edward Grint, Les Arts Florissants, Paul Agnew; Wigmore Hall
Reviewed 26 September 2025
Bach's contemporaries and rivals in a concert exploring what Leipzig heard in 1722 and 1723 as the city authories sought to replace the late Johann Kuhnau
When Johann Kuhnau died in June 1722, the city authorities in Leipzig moved fairly quickly to find a worthy successor. Kuhnau had been in post since 1701 and wrote a significant amount of church music (of which only around 30 pieces survive). The search, however, was not simple and between August 1722 and February 1723, the city authorities went through a total of four possible candidates. One (Johann Friedrich Fasch) refused even to audition, but three did - Georg Philipp Telemann, Christoph Graupner and Johann Sebastian Bach. The first two passed with flying colours, but Telemann managed to get better conditions in his existing job in Hamburg (where he would remain in post until 1767) whilst Graupner failed to get permission to leave from the authorities in Darmstadt (he would remain in post until 1754 when he went blind).
This has left us with a tantalising selection of cantatas which Telemann, Graupner and Bach wrote for their auditions. For their concert at Wigmore Hall on Friday 26 September under the title of La Grande Audition de Leipzig, Paul Agnew and Les Arts Florissants performed a programme of cantatas by Telemann, Kuhnau, Graupner and Bach related to these events. Les Arts Florissants fielded an instrumental ensemble of nine led by Tami Troman, with vocal ensemble of Violane Le Chenadec, Nicolas Kuntzelmann, Sean Clayton and Benoit Descamps joined by soloists Miriam Allan, Maarten Engeltyes, Thomas Hobbs and Edward Grint with all eight singers performing the choruses.
We began with Telemann. Only one of his two Leipzig cantatas survives, however we heard a different one, wirtten somewhat earlier (1711 to 1719). Wer sich rächet (He who takes revenge) setting a text by Erdmann Neumeister is in seven movements with solos for alto, tenor and bass. We began with a chorus that mixed vigorous, eager strings with vivid chorus creating a real Baroque crowd-pleaser. The following accompagnato was considered and rather lovely, using different solo voices and shading into a full chorus. Tenor Thomas Hobbs gave us a steady, direct recitative where narrative was to the fore except, intriguingly it ended with an arioso-like moment before Hobbs' aria proper, 'Fried' und Liebe'. This latter was lyrical with strong details counterpointed by character instrumental playing. A bass recitative from Edward Grint also ended with an arioso moment before his aria 'Segne den, der dich verflucht' with a solo violin. The vocal line was remarkably direct, almost a chorale and the aria relied on the decorative solo violin for elaboration. We ended with as strong chorale. The work was Vivaldi-like in its use of crowd-pleasing effects along with music that was engaging without ever going very deep.
By complete contrast this followed by Kuhnau's cantata Lobe den Herrn meine Seele (Praise the Lord, O my soul) which was written in 1722, the year of Kuhnau's death. This used smaller forces, just violin, cello, bass, oboe, bassoon and keyboard with two soloists, alto Maarten Engeltyes and bass Edward Grint with no chorus. In eight movements it began with an instrumental sonata followed by arias and duets with two short recitatives. The opening instrumental movement was appealingly trio sonata-ish, with plenty of movement. The first duet, 'Lobe den Herrn' was engaging with rather busy instrumental writing. The alto aria, 'Der deinem Mund fröhlich machet' was dance-like with plenty of passagework. After a brief bass solo, the duet 'Barmherzig und gnädig ist der Herr' was slower and rather lovely. Another recitative from Edward Grint led to the vigorous 'Hallelujah' duet. The cantata was highly effective and charming, without stretching musical boundaries or plumbing the depths. Any congregation content with this music could hardly be ready for Bach's intensity of feeling.
We ended the first half with Bach's first audition cantatas, Du wahrer Gott und Davids Sohn. The opening movement was a duet for Miriam Allan and Maarten Engeltyes, the two solo lines intertwining yet contrasting with the faster moving wind solo lines, the result creating something rather poignant. The rather serious accompanied recitative for Thomas Hobbs featured the chorus, leading to a chorus movement that was positively dance-like with engagingly vigorous choral counterpoint. This was originally the final movement, but Bach adjusted things when he arrived in Leipzig and we ended with strong chorale 'Christe, du Lamm Gottes', the chromatic choral harmony contrasting with the elaborate oboe writing weaving around it.
After the interval we turned to Graupner. He was known for his operas and Paul Agnew suggested in his spoken introduction that we could hear the operatic influences.The cantata, Aus der Tiefen rufen wir (Out of the depths we cry unto Thee), certainly began with a chorus that was striking in its almost quasi-romantic writing, this led to a sequence of accompanied recitatives for tenor, soprano and bass that led to a repeat of the opening chorus. The whole creating one single sophisticated multi-section movement, that was followed by a final chorale that mixed strong direct choral writing with vigorous orchestral accompaniment. The work was effective indeed and notable more for the sophisticated construction than the depth of emotion.
We ended with a return to Bach for his cantata Jesus nahm su sich die Zwölfe. An expressive oboe solo led to an arioso where Thomas Hobbs' short solo as Evangelist led seamlessly to Edward Grint's solo as Jesus with finally the chorus responding in highly vivid manner. There was a gentle, lyrical sadness to Maarten Engeltyes's solo 'Mein Jesu, ziehe mich nach dir' despite the music's dance rhythms and an elaborate solo oboe line. A long accompanied recitative from Edward Grint demonstrated his vivid narrative skills, particularly as the music was enlivened with lively vocal flourishes. Thomas Hobb's solo was also in dance mode, but this time it was joyful. We ended with a remarkable chorale were fast and vivid instrumental passagework was paired with a brisk chorale. It felt like a remarkable experiment and you wondered what the Leipzig congregation with its diet of Kuhnau thought of it.
Afterwards Paul Agnew commented that in the Nekrolog written after his father's death, CPE Bach said that JS Bach directed with absolute certitude, but sometimes very fast indeed. So Agnew and his forces gave us the brisk final chorale again, only this time very fast indeed! An intriguing exercise in experimental musical archaeology.
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