Musicians of the Old Post Road deliver rediscovered gems to Trinity Lutheran concert
Musicians of the Old Post Road can be counted on to deliver and unwrap rediscovered musical treasures for the holidays, and its "American Originals: A Moravian Christmas" program to be performed at 4 p.m. Dec. 10 in Emmanuel Church in Boston and 4 p.m. Dec. 11 (and online Dec. 11) in Trinity Lutheran Church in Worcester continues the tradition.
There's a lot to be said for having masterpieces such as "Messiah" performed every year and listening to timeless classic Christmas carols, but it can also be uplifting to see and hear a gem uncovered and performed for the first time in decades, perhaps even centuries.
The Boston area Musicians of the Old Post Road has been including Worcester in its travels since its founding in 1989 by wife and husband Suzanne Stumpf (co-artistic director and flutist) and Daniel Ryan (co-artistic director and cellist) and specializes in performances of music from the Baroque, Classical and early Romantic eras on period instruments at historic venues. Besides being musicians, Stumpf and Ryan are also both interested in musical and cultural history and have researched and come across many fine works from the past that got overlooked by time, giving them their first modern day era performances.
With "A Moravian Christmas" many of the program selections will receive their modern day premieres at the Dec. 10 and 11 concerts, Stumpf said. "It's a real exciting musical rediscovery."
'Music was essential for every day life'
Members of the Moravian community began to immigrate to the American colonies in the mid-1700s. They were German speaking Protestants largely from what at the time was Bohemia in Central Europe, now part of the Czech Republic. The immigrants were fleeing religious persecution and established several self-sustaining communities in Pennsylvania and North Carolina, said Ryan. He noted that they also established communities in South Africa and Labrador, Canada.
"They were incredibly music-loving people," Ryan said. "They thought that music was essential for every day life. It was an amazing musical culture."
Moravian Protestantism was of a type that emphasized speaking from the heart, and this is reflected in the music, Ryan said.
Moravian church services had many hymns, and also anthems and arias. The musical style, just a generation after J.S. Bach, will be recognizable to modern-day concert-goers and has "such a charm and heartfelt character," Stumpf said.
The Christmas music can range from "contemplative to festive and uplifting. So quite wonderful for the season and very true to our tradition (of rediscovered seasonal programing)," Stumpf said.
in Moravian communities, opportunities were given to all to learn music and contribute to the music of religious services, resulting in a nearly universal level of musical literacy of its members. Their passion for music-making and dedication to composing resulted in a rich archive from which Musicians of the Old Post Road constructed the "A Moravian Christmas" program.
"We came up with the concept that we wanted to explore music Moravians had done for the Christmas season," Stumpf said.
Coming to America, Moravians took with them the music of Moravian composers from Bohemia, and work from other German composers that they were familiar with and whose music they played. Many of these works would have been lost forever except for the manuscripts meticulously preserved by the community in America, said Ryan.
A lot of Moravians who wrote music did not seek to have their names identified as composers because they regraded music as part of everyday life, Ryan said. "To their way of life the only professional musician was the organist," he said.
"Despite the technical sophistication of the music the composers are unknown because they had no interest in personal acclaim," Stumpf said. "They were very selfless and accomplished."
'Incredible richness of expression'
Recognized Moravian composers whose works will be featured in program include Christian Gregor (1723-1801), a Moravian composer and bishop, Johan Christian Geisler (1729-1815), and Johann Daniel Grimm (1719-1720), all of whom lived and died in Central Europe but whose music would have been well known to Moravian immigrants here and featured in services and gatherings. Also, Johannes Herbst (1735-1812) a German Moravian minister who came here to serve congregations in Pennsylvania and North Carolina, and John Antes (1740-1811) who was born in Pennsylvania. "Loveliest Immanuel" by Antes, which can be found online, is a lovely short vocal and instrumental work.
In addition to vocal solos, duets, and instrumental works penned by the Moravians themselves, the Musicians of the Old Post Road program will include "lively and sublime" instrumental selections by German composers J.C.F. Bach (the fifth son of J.S. Bach) , Johann Gottlieb Graun, and Johann Joachim Quantz. Some of these works are well known, others would have been lost but for their preservation by the Moravians, Stumpf said.
The Christmas program is divided into four sections: Anticipation; The Story; Reflection; Celebration.
Featured vocal soloists for the concert are soprano Jessica Petrus and mezzo-soprano Hilary Anne Walker. Instrumentalists for the program include flutists Stumpf and Wendy Rolfe, violinists Sarah Darling and Jesse Irons, violist Marcia Cassidy, cellist Sarah Freiburg, and organist Michael Beattie. Walker is making her first appearances with Musicians of the Old Post Road this season. Petrus has performed with the ensemble at several acclaimed concerts and also with well known groups such as the the Handel and Haydn Society.
Moravians were German-speaking in America up until the later 18th century when people fanned out more across the country and "American culture began to be incorporated," Stumpf said.
Many of the musical archives have been consolidated with the Moravian Music Foundation in Winston-Salem, N.C., which has "thousands and thousands of manuscripts." said Ryan.
Works on microfilm can be "very hard to read," he said. Still, "American originals: A Moravian Christmas" will be a program with "incredible richness of expression."
Other holiday concerts by Musicians of the Old Post Road over the years have included "Christmas in Baroque Europe," "Joyeux Noel - A French Baroque Christmas" and "Mediterranean Baroque Christmas."
Fittingly, the ensemble's title for this season is "Forgotten Voices — A Season of Discovery."
For this season the group has also resumed its full in-person concert schedule while continuing to offer programs online.
The pandemic brought changes in 2020-21 with the ensemble presenting three pre-recorded concerts with live Zoom receptions and a concert live-streamed from the sanctuary of Trinity Lutheran Church in Worcester. There was no in-person audience.
Last season included four concerts presented live from four of its regularly visited historical venues, including Trinity Lutheran Church in Worcester, while simultaneously live streaming.
For 2022-23, the group will come to Worcester for two of its four programs — on Dec. 11 at Trinity Lutheran Church, and April 29 at the Worcester Historical Museum. It will also be at Salisbury Mansion in Worcester for its "Delving Deeper" series on Feb. 4.
The concert series opened in October with "Masterful Madames: Women Composers in the Circle of Frederick the Great" at First Church Sudbury and Emmanuel Church in Boston.
In March the career of 18th-century superstar Faustina Bordoni will be spotlighted in "Baroque Diva" with concerts March 11 at First Parish, Wayland and 4 p.m. March 12 in Old South Church, Boston.
The Season Ahead
The season concludes with the unveiling of lost works by Christoph Graupner, an unsung German composer who was as legendary in his day as his contemporaries Bach and Telemann. "Into the Light: Unearthed Treasures by Christoph Graupner" will introduce audiences to his concertos, suites, and sonatas along with works by his colleagues Fasch and Telemann. Concerts will be performed at 4 p.m. April 29 in the Worcester Historical Museum and 4 p.m. April 30 in Old South Church, Boston (and also online April 30).
"We discovered that there is a need and interest for people to view our programs remotely and afar around the globe," Stumpf said, noting that Musicians of the Old Post Road has expanded its audience as a result.
Performing groups and presenters have also noted a continued reluctance from some former concert-goers to resume attending live-in-person performances as pandemic restrictions are lifted.
"Some people are reluctant to be in a room still," Stumpf said. However, "It's wonderful to see increasing numbers (of ticket sales). The two-pronged approach does add another layer of things that need to be thought out, but it's all good."
The opening program "Masterful Madames" went well, Stumpf said. "People enjoyed the the female composers that we introduced, so that was great."
The April 29 concert at the Worcester Historical Museum will be the ensemble's first performance there since 2019. "We've missed being there," Ryan said.
In terms rediscovered composers, "Graupner is one of our favorites. What a unique voice he had," Stumpf said.
A question Stumpf and Ryan get asked a lot is " 'how do you find this repertoire?'" Stumpf said.
The "Delving Deeper" program Feb. 4 will provide some answers, she said. Titled "Behind the Curtain: Mining, Polishing and Showcasing Lost Musical Gems," the episode will culminate with a performance of a rediscovered work by Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges at Salisbury Mansion.
"American Originals: A Moravian Christmas" — Musicians of the Old Post Road
When: 4 p.m. Dec. 11
Where: Trinity Lutheran Church, 73 Lancaster St., Worcester, and live-streamed at www.oldpostroad.org
How much: In person audience ticket — $35-$50; children free with adult. Online audience tickets — $35 individual, $70 family, $10 student. In-person and online subscriptions available. For more information visit www.oldpostroad.org
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Musicians of the Old Post Road find forgotten gems for Trinity concert
