Bertouch: Three Sacred Cantatas

Georg von Bertouch (1668–1743), a German-born musician and military officer who spent the last twenty-five years of his life in Norway, is largely remembered for his sonatas in each of the twenty-four keys, finished in 1738 (B 144). But statements made by Mattheson indicate that Bertouch produced an extensive body of sacred compositions as well. Only three cantatas, composed before 1694, are known to survive; the manuscripts, which are part of the Bokemeyer collection, are held in the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin. Two of these works are solo cantatas for a single voice, while the remaining one is a large-scale chorale cantata based on "Wachet auff." Both solo cantatas end with a joyful Alleluia movement and were obviously written for professional singers with considerable lung capacity. The chorale cantata, too, makes substantial demands on the soloists. Contrasting sections, tone-painting and occasional chromatic writing are features that should arouse the interest of singers and scholars studying seventeenth-century northern German vocal music.