Klaus Mertens (born 25 March 1949, in
Kleve
Kleve (; traditional en, Cleves ; nl, Kleef; french: Clèves; es, Cléveris; la, Clivia; Low Rhenish: ''Kleff'') is a town in the Lower Rhine region of northwestern Germany near the Dutch border and the River Rhine. From the 11th century ...
) is a German
bass and
bass-baritone singer who is known especially for his interpretation of the complete works of
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...
for bass voice.
Career
Klaus Mertens took singing lessons while attending school. He studied music and
pedagogy
Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...
, and had his vocal training with Else Bischof-Bornes and
Jakob Stämpfli
Jakob Stämpfli (23 February 1820 – 15 May 1879) was a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council (1854–1863).
He was elected to the Federal Council of Switzerland on 6 December 1854, and handed over office on 31 December 186 ...
(song, concert, oratorio) and with Peter Massmann (opera). After graduating with distinction he worked first as a school teacher.
[Klaus Mertens](_blank)
on bach-cantatas, 2009
![FolleJournée2009 AmsterdamBaroqueOrchestra](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/FolleJourn%C3%A9e2009_AmsterdamBaroqueOrchestra.jpg)
In the field of
historically informed performance, Klaus Mertens has worked with
Frans Brüggen
Franciscus ("Frans") Jozef Brüggen (30 October 1934 – 13 August 2014) was a Dutch conductor, recorder player and baroque flautist.
Biography
Born in Amsterdam, Brüggen was the last of the nine children of August Brüggen, a textile factory o ...
,
Philippe Herreweghe
Philippe Maria François Herreweghe, Knight Herreweghe (born 2 May 1947) is a Belgian conductor and choirmaster.
Herreweghe founded La Chapelle Royale and Collegium Vocale Gent and is renowned as a conductor, with a repertoire ranging from Re ...
,
René Jacobs
René Jacobs (born 30 October 1946) is a Belgian musician. He came to fame as a countertenor, but later in his career he became known as a conductor of baroque and classical opera.
Biography Countertenor
Born in Ghent, Jacobs began his music ...
,
Sigiswald Kuijken
Sigiswald Kuijken (; born 16 February 1944) is a Belgian violinist, violist, and conductor known for playing on period and original instruments.
Biography
Kuijken was born in Dilbeek, near Brussels. He was a member of the Alarius Ensemble ...
,
Gustav Leonhardt and
Nikolaus Harnoncourt. With various conductors he recorded the works of Bach, not only the
Passions
''Passions'' is an American television soap opera that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1999, to September 7, 2007, and on DirecTV's The 101 Network from September 17, 2007, to August 7, 2008. Created by screenwriter James E. Reilly and ...
and oratorios, but also – very notably – the
cantatas, which number around 200. Mertens took bass solo work in all parts of the project to make the first CD recording of the complete vocal works of J. S. Bach, with the
Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir is a Dutch early-music group based in Amsterdam.
The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir was created in two stages by the conductor, organist and harpsichordist Ton Koopman. He founded the Amsterdam Baroq ...
conducted by
Ton Koopman
Antonius Gerhardus Michael Koopman (; born 2 October 1944), known professionally as Ton Koopman, is a Dutch conductor, organist, harpsichordist, and musicologist, primarily known for being the founder and director of the Amsterdam Baroque Orches ...
. This project, begun in 1994, took ten years to complete with various soloists in the other vocal parts, and included concert tours in Europe, America and Japan.
"In a remarkable display of stamina and consistency, Klaus Mertens sang in every piece that required a bass soloist, 190 in all." He is also involved in the project
Dieterich Buxtehude – Opera Omnia of the same ensemble to record the complete works of
Dieterich Buxtehude
Dieterich Buxtehude (; ; born Diderik Hansen Buxtehude; c. 1637 – 9 May 1707) was a Danish organist and composer of the Baroque period, whose works are typical of the North German organ school. As a composer who worked in various vocal a ...
, begun in 2005.
As a singer of
lieder, he has interpreted songs of
Claudio Monteverdi,
Antonio Caldara
Antonio Caldara (ca 1670 – 28 December 1736) was an Italian Baroque composer.
Life
Caldara was born in Venice (exact date unknown), the son of a violinist. He became a chorister at St Mark's in Venice, where he learned several instruments, ...
,
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...
and
Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wo ...
among others. He has performed the title roles of the romantic
oratorio
An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is ...
s ''
Elijah
Elijah ( ; he, אֵלִיָּהוּ, ʾĒlīyyāhū, meaning "My El (deity), God is Yahweh/YHWH"; Greek form: Elias, ''Elías''; syr, ܐܸܠܝܼܵܐ, ''Elyāe''; Arabic language, Arabic: إلياس or إليا, ''Ilyās'' or ''Ilyā''. ) w ...
'' and ''
St. Paul
Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
'' by
Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sym ...
and, as music of the 20th century,
Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith (; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advocate of the ' ...
's ''
Requiem'' and
Igor Stravinsky's ''
Oedipus rex''. In the classical repertory he has performed with such conductors as
Herbert Blomstedt
Herbert Thorson Blomstedt (; born 11 July 1927) is a Swedish conductor.
Herbert Blomstedt was born in Massachusetts. Two years after his birth, his Swedish parents moved the family back to their country of origin. He studied at the Stockholm Roy ...
,
Roger Norrington,
Peter Schreier
Peter Schreier (29 July 1935 – 25 December 2019) was a German tenor in opera, concert and lied, and a conductor. He was regarded as one of the leading lyric tenors of the 20th century.
Schreier was a member of the Dresdner Kreuzchor conduct ...
,
Hans Vonk,
Christian Zacharias
Christian Zacharias (born 27 April 1950 in Jamshedpur) is a German pianist and conductor.
Music career
Zacharias studied piano with Irene Slavin and Vlado Perlemuter in Paris. He won second prize at both the Geneva Competition in 1969 and the Va ...
,
Edo de Waart
Edo de Waart (born 1 June 1941, Amsterdam) is a Dutch conductor. He is Music Director Laureate of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. De Waart is the former chief conductor of the Royal Flemish Philharmonic (2011-2016), Artistic Partner with the ...
and
Iván Fischer
Iván Fischer (born 20 January 1951) is a Hungarian conductor and composer.
Born in Budapest into a musical family of Jewish heritage, Fischer initially studied piano, violin, cello and composition in Budapest. His older brother, Ádám Fisc ...
; and with orchestras including the
Berlin Philharmonic
The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world.
History
The Berlin Philharmonic was fo ...
,
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra ( nl, Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest, ) is a Dutch symphony orchestra, based at the Amsterdam Royal Concertgebouw (concert hall). Considered one of the world's leading orchestras, Queen Beatrix conferred the " ...
,
Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra,
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra (Gewandhausorchester; also previously known in German as the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig) is a German symphony orchestra based in Leipzig, Germany. The orchestra is named after the concert hall in which it is bas ...
,
Dresden Philharmonic
The Dresdner Philharmonie (Dresden Philharmonic) is a German symphony orchestra based in Dresden. Its principal concert venue is the '' Kulturpalast''. The orchestra also performs at the Kreuzkirche, the Hochschule für Musik Dresden, and ...
,
Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich
The Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich is a Swiss symphony orchestra based in Zürich. Its principal residence is the Tonhalle concert hall.
Early history prior to the orchestra
Precursor music ensembles in Zürich have included the music societies ...
,
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) was founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891. The ensemble makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival. The music director is Riccardo Muti, who began his tenu ...
.
A performance of
Gustav Mahler's ''
Kindertotenlieder
(''Songs on the Death of Children'') is a song cycle (1904) for voice and orchestra by Gustav Mahler. The words of the songs are poems by Friedrich Rückert.
Text and music
The original were a group of 428 poems written by Rückert in 1833 ...
'' with the
Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra
The , also known as Tokyō (都響), is one of the representative symphony orchestras of Japan. The Orchestra was founded in 1965 by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, to commemorate the Tokyo Olympics (1964 Summer Olympics).
Currently Kazushi ...
under
Gary Bertini
Gary Bertini ( he, גארי ברתיני, May 1, 1927 – March 17, 2005) was one of the most important Israeli musicians and conductors.
In 1978 he was awarded the Israel Prize for Music.
Biography
Gary Bertini was born ''Shloyme Golergant'' i ...
in 2002 was recorded. In 2005 he performed in the
Berliner Philharmonie
The Berliner Philharmonie () is a concert hall in Berlin, Germany, and home to the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.
The Philharmonie lies on the south edge of the city's Tiergarten and just west of the former Berlin Wall. The Philharmonie is o ...
the ''
Mass in F minor'' of
Anton Bruckner conducted by
Kent Nagano
Kent George Nagano GOQ, MSM (born November 22, 1951) is an American conductor and opera administrator. Since 2015, he has been Music Director of the Hamburg State Opera and was Music Director of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra from 2006 to 202 ...
. With the
Thomanerchor
The Thomanerchor (English: St. Thomas Choir of Leipzig) is a boys' choir in Leipzig, Germany. The choir was founded in 1212. The choir comprises about 90 boys from 9 to 18 years of age. The members, called ''Thomaner'', reside in a boarding sch ...
he appeared in the ''
Christmas Oratorio
The ''Christmas Oratorio'' (German: ''Weihnachtsoratorium''), , is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach intended for performance in church during the Christmas season. It is in six parts, each part a cantata intended for performance on one of ...
'' of Bach who had conducted the group in its first performance in 1734.
Thomaskantor
(Cantor at St. Thomas) is the common name for the musical director of the , now an internationally known boys' choir founded in Leipzig in 1212. The official historic title of the Thomaskantor in Latin, ', describes the two functions of cantor a ...
Georg Christoph Biller
Georg Christoph Biller (20 September 1955 – 27 January 2022) was a German choral conductor. He conducted the Thomanerchor as the sixteenth Thomaskantor since Johann Sebastian Bach from 1992 to 2015. He was also a baritone, an academic teacher, ...
directed a recording of Bach's ''
Mass in B minor'' in 2006. Mertens has also collaborated with the
Windsbacher Knabenchor and the
Dresdner Kreuzchor
The Dresdner Kreuzchor is the boys' choir of the Kreuzkirche in Dresden, Germany. It has a seven-century history and a world-wide reputation. Today, the choir has about 150 members between the ages of 9 and 19, from Dresden and the surroundin ...
performing in the
Kreuzkirche
The Dresden Kreuzkirche (Church of the Holy Cross) is a Lutheran church in Dresden, Germany. It is the main church and seat of the ''Landesbischof'' of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Saxony, and the largest church building in the Free State o ...
as well as in the
Frauenkirche. In 2009 he sang the bass part in the ''
St Matthew Passion'' in
St. Martin, Idstein, with
Ulrich Cordes as the
Evangelist and
Andreas Pruys
Andreas Pruys (born in Kleve) is a German classical bass singer.
Professional career
Andreas Pruys studied singing and church music at the Folkwanghochschule in Essen. He worked as a church musician for several years, also as director of the m ...
. He performed Bach's cantata
''Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen'', BWV 56, in Wiesbaden and in the
Alte Oper
Alte Oper (Old Opera) is a concert hall in Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, Germany. It is located in the inner city, Innenstadt, within the banking district Bankenviertel. Today's Alte Oper was built in 1880 as the city's opera house, which was destr ...
Frankfurt, programmed in contrast to
Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throughout his life as a major compo ...
's
Symphony ''Babi Jar'', conducted by
Enoch zu Guttenberg
Georg Enoch Robert Prosper Philipp Franz Karl Theodor Maria Heinrich Johannes Luitpold Hartmann Gundeloh Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg (29 July 1946 – 15 June 2018) was a German conductor. He also owned the large winery estate Weingut Reichs ...
. He performed the
Vox Christi
Vox (Latin for 'voice') may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Fictional characters
* Vox (DC Universe character), Mal Duncan
* Vox, several characters in the anime series '' Lagrange: The Flower of Rin-ne''
* Gleeman Vox, from the ''Ratch ...
, the words of Jesus, and the bass arias in Bach's ''
Johannespassion
The ''Passio secundum Joannem'' or ''St John Passion'' (german: Johannes-Passion, link=no), BWV 245, is a Passion or oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach, the older of the surviving Passions by Bach. It was written during his first year as dire ...
'' in a concert on 27 February 2010 in Munich with
Mark Padmore
Mark Padmore (born 8 March 1961) is a British tenor appearing in concerts, recitals, and opera.
He was born in London on 8 March 1961, and raised in Canterbury, Kent, England. Padmore studied clarinet and piano prior to his gaining a choral ...
(Evangelist and arias),
Johannette Zomer
Johannette Zomer is a Dutch classical concert and opera soprano.
Career
After having worked as a microbiology technician, Johannette Zomer shifted gears in 1990 and studied voice at the Sweelinck Conservatory Amsterdam in Amsterdam with Charle ...
,
Andreas Scholl, Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks,
Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Ton Koopman conducting. He performed the part of Valens in Handel's oratorio ''
Theodora
Theodora is a given name of Greek origin, meaning "God's gift".
Theodora may also refer to:
Historical figures known as Theodora
Byzantine empresses
* Theodora (wife of Justinian I) ( 500 – 548), saint by the Orthodox Church
* Theodora o ...
'' in
Eberbach Abbey
Eberbach Abbey (German: Kloster Eberbach) is a former Cistercian monastery in Eltville in the Rheingau, Germany. On account of its Romanesque and early Gothic buildings it is considered one of the most significant architectural heritage sites i ...
in 2010. He was bass soloist for two concerts of the Bachchor
Mainz
Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...
reviving church cantatas of
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (22 November 17101 July 1784), the second child and eldest son of Johann Sebastian Bach and Maria Barbara Bach, was a German composer and performer. Despite his acknowledged genius as an organist, improviser and compose ...
in June 2010, remembering the composer's birth in 1710.
Mertens has regularly appeared at international music festivals such as the
Prague Spring International Music Festival
The Prague Spring International Music Festival ( cs, Mezinárodní hudební festival Pražské jaro, commonly cs, Pražské jaro, Prague Spring) is a classical music festival held every year in Prague, Czech Republic, with symphony orchestras an ...
,
Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
The Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (English: Florence Musical May) is an annual Italian arts festival in Florence, including a notable opera festival, under the auspices of the Opera di Firenze. The festival occurs between late April into June annual ...
,
Festival d'Aix-en-Provence and the
Salzburg Festival
The Salzburg Festival (german: Salzburger Festspiele) is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer (for five weeks starting in late July) in the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Ama ...
.
In 2006 he sang the bass part of Bach's ''St Matthew Passion'', conducted by Enoch zu Guttenberg, at the
Rheingau Musik Festival
The (RMF) is an international summer music festival in Germany, founded in 1987. It is mostly for classical music, but includes other genres. Concerts take place at culturally important locations, such as Eberbach Abbey and Schloss Johannisberg, ...
. With the same ensemble he appeared in 2009 at the 12th Beijing Music Festival in major works of
Joseph Haydn, ''
The Creation'', the ''
Nelson Mass'' and ''
The Seasons''.
Awards
* 2019
Bach Medal
Recordings
, the discography of Mertens contains more than 140 CDs and DVDs.
Selected recordings of unusual repertoire:
*
Marc-Antoine Charpentier
Marc-Antoine Charpentier (; 1643 – 24 February 1704) was a French Baroque composer during the reign of Louis XIV. One of his most famous works is the main theme from the prelude of his ''Te Deum'', ''Marche en rondeau''. This theme is still us ...
: ''Motets for double Chorus,'' H.403, H.404, H.135, H.136, H.137, H.392, H.410, H.167, 1992,
Barbara Schlick, The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra conducted by
Ton Koopman
Antonius Gerhardus Michael Koopman (; born 2 October 1944), known professionally as Ton Koopman, is a Dutch conductor, organist, harpsichordist, and musicologist, primarily known for being the founder and director of the Amsterdam Baroque Orches ...
. 2 CD Erato 1992
*
Othmar Schoeck
Othmar Schoeck (1 September 1886 – 8 March 1957) was a Swiss Romantic classical composer, opera composer, musician, and conductor.
He was known mainly for his considerable output of art songs and song cycles, though he also wrote a number of ...
: ''Elegie'' op. 36, with Mutare Ensemble,
Gerhard Müller-Hornbach, NCA, 1993/200
*
Max Reger: ''24 Geistliche Lieder'' (including ''
12 sacred songs'' op. 137), with
Martin Haselböck
Martin Haselböck (born 23 November 1954, Vienna, Austria) is the Austrian musical director of Musica Angelica in Long Beach, California, United States, and the musical director and founder of the Orchester Wiener Akademie. He is also a professor ...
(organ), 2000, NC
*
Christoph Graupner: ''3 Bass-Kantaten'' with Accademia Daniel, 2002, hr-musi
(in German)
*
Georg Philipp Telemann
Georg Philipp Telemann (; – 25 June 1767) was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. Almost completely self-taught in music, he became a composer against his family's wishes. After studying in Magdeburg, Zellerfeld, and Hild ...
: ''47 Generalbass-Lieder'', with
Ludger Rémy
Ludger Rémy (4 February 1949 – 21 June 2017) was a German harpsichordist, conductor and musicologist.
Biography
Born in Kalkar, Ludger Rémy studied the harpsichord in Freiburg im Breisgau and continued his studies with Kenneth Gilbert ...
(harpsichord), 2004, jp
* Schubert:
Winterreise
''Winterreise'' (, ''Winter Journey'') is a song cycle for voice and piano by Franz Schubert ( D. 911, published as Op. 89 in 1828), a setting of 24 poems by German poet Wilhelm Müller. It is the second of Schubert's two song cycles on Müller' ...
, with Tini Mathot
Tini Mathot
on Bach Cantatas Website (fortepiano
A fortepiano , sometimes referred to as a pianoforte, is an early piano. In principle, the word "fortepiano" can designate any piano dating from the invention of the instrument by Bartolomeo Cristofori in 1698 up to the early 19th century. Mo ...
) 2005, Antoine Marchand CC 72152
review
Göran Forsling 2006
* Telemann: ''Cantatas For Bass Voice'', with il Gardellino, 2007, ArkivMusi
review
Brian Robins in ''Fanfare''
* Johann Pachelbel: ''Arien & Concerti'', with Emma Kirkby
Dame Carolyn Emma Kirkby, (; born 26 February 1949) is an English soprano and early music specialist. She has sung on over 100 recordings.
Education and early career
Kirkby was educated at Hanford School, Sherborne School for Girls in Dorse ...
, Kai Wessel, Jan Kobow, London Baroque, 2007, Cavalli Records CCD 33
review
Steven Plank in ''Opera Today''
* Gustav Mahler: ''Lieder Cycles arranged for Chamber Ensemble'', with Mutare Ensemble, Gerhard Müller-Hornbach, NC
References
External links
*
* Klaus Mertenson All Music Guide
CDUniverse
recordings
on the website of (Cologne Bach Association) (in German)
Entries for recordings by Klaus Mertens
on WorldCat
WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mertens, Klaus
1949 births
Living people
People from Kleve
German basses
German bass-baritones
German classical musicians
Members of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts