2.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing..., July 31, 2011
This review is from: Rolle - Der tod Abels / Van der Kamp · Schmithüsen · Schreckenberger · Mammel · Schüller · Winter · H. Max (Audio CD)
I was curious about this small-scale oratorio by the lesser-known German composer Johann Heinrich Rolle (1716-1785), but alas, it proved to be a disappointing experience. If this work is typical of Rolle's ability, he must be judged second-rate compared to his contemporaries, Telemann and C.P.E. Bach. Rolle, after having lost out to Telemann for a musical post in Hamburg, retired to his hometown of Magdeburg where he served, comfortably, as cantor and local composer for decades. "Der Tod Abels" (The Death of Abel) was one of his more successful compositions. But there's just not much going on here, and the work is saddled with a particularly clumsy libretto (by Johann Patzke) -- and German requires some care to be fashioned into mellifluous singability. Rolle's strengths are his choruses, which are simple and tuneful--just right for humming by the good burghers of Magdeburg. The performance here by the Rheinische Kantorei is competent if not inspired. For specialists in German Baroque only.
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