Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme

With Carl Friedrich Zelter's motet Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, Hermann Max, editor of the Choral Treasury series, has uncovered a real treasure. The three-verse text of the motet for mixed choir (SATB) and basso continuo was written by Friedrich Gottlob Klopstock who kept close to the Advent song of the same name by Philipp Nicolai. During Zelter's lifetime, the motet enjoyed great popularity. And quite rightly so: For the music teacher and friend of Goethe turned out to be a composer with an extraordinary sense of tone. An introductory choral movement is followed by a captivating bass aria which can be optionally sung by all basses of the choir. The piece culminates in an elaborate virtuoso fugue with an interwoven cantus firmus in the bass. A demanding, yet highly rewarding rarity in church music!