Ferdinand Ries - Der Sieg des Glaubens, Op. 157 (1829) {Live}

Ferdinand Ries (28 November 1784 [baptised] – 13 January 1838) was a German composer. Ries was a friend, pupil and secretary of Ludwig van Beethoven. He composed eight symphonies, a violin concerto, eight piano concertos, three operas, and numerous other works in many genres, including 26 string quartets. In 1838 he published a collection of reminiscences of his teacher Beethoven, co-written with Franz Wegeler. The symphonies, some chamber works —most of them with piano— his violin concerto and his piano concertos have been recorded, demonstrating a style which is, unsurprising due to his connection to Beethoven, somewhere between those of the Classical and early Romantic eras.

Oratorium "Der Sieg des Glaubens", Op. 157. Bonn, 1829
Libretto: Johann Baptist Rousseau (1802–1867)
First Performance: 1829 — Grossen Niederrheinischen Musikfeste, Aachen

First Part
1. Introduzione; Larghetto con moto
2. Recitativo ; Andante (Baritone) (3:08)
3. Female choir of the Believers (5:50)
4. Male Choir of the Believers (7:46)
5. Recitativo; Andante (Baritone) (11:17)
6. Duetto & Choir ((12:20)
7. Choir of the Believers ((19:27)
8. Recitativo & Aria (20:42)
9. Recitativo (Bass) (25:46
10. Choir of the Unbelievers (27:47)

Second Part
11. Introduzione; Larghetto (32:17)
12. Recitativo & Aria with Choir (36:09)
13. Triple Choir (43:14)
14. Arietta; Andantino (Alto) (48:08)
15. Quartetto 50:27)
16. Aria (Bass) (55:45)
17. Choir of the Unbelievers (58:24)
18. Recitativo (Soprano) (1:01:53)
19. Duetto (1:04:06)
20. Choir of the Unbelievers (1:06:50)
21. Double Choir of the Believers and Unbelievers (1:07:34)
22. Final Choir (1:09:49)

Christiane Libor, soprano; Wiebke Lehmkuhl, alto; Markus Schäfer, tenor; Markus Flaig, bass
Rheinische Kantorei; Kleine Konzert conducted by Hermann Max

Ferdinand Ries (1784-1838) was a pupil of Beethoven, and his father had been Beethoven’s teacher. Beethoven thought Ries tended to sound a bit too much like him, but the sound here in this 1829 oratorio reminds one of no-one so much as of Mendelssohn. Indeed Mendelssohn could well have heard Ries’s choral-orchestral music even before they met in 1832.

The oratorio moves steadily, with one number usually coming out of the previous one by means of a simple bridge passage. The text, by Johann Baptiste Rousseau, poses the aspiration of the believers against the rejection of belief, though without going into the nitty-gritty of what one actually has to believe in. There is no real story here, and even less theology. The unbelievers remain empty of belief until the final grand chorus when, overcome by the endless harping of the believers, they just give in. This vague and unspecific text gives Ries the space to write many vigorous choruses, interspersed with a few solo sections to give the chorus time to catch its breath.

Видео Ferdinand Ries - Der Sieg des Glaubens, Op. 157 (1829) {Live} канала Bartje Bartmans