Theodor Fröhlich's first Christmas music
Since its premiere during the Aargau composer's lifetime, the earlier of his «Christmas Cantatas» had been stored in the archives. Under the direction of Luiz Alves da Silva, it has now enjoyed its second, expanded performance.
The early Romantic composer Friedrich Theodor Fröhlich (1803–1836) is also known as the «Swiss Schubert.» Like Schubert, he favored piano songs, including extensive song cycles, virtuoso piano pieces, and chamber music. The musical talent of this son of a teacher, born in Brugg, was recognized and encouraged at an early age. Thanks to a scholarship from the canton of Aargau, he was able to study music in Berlin.
The lively music scene there inspired the Swiss composer. He witnessed the 20-year-old Mendelssohn Bartholdy perform Bach's St. Matthew Passion with the Berlin Singakademie in 1829. However, he himself was unable to really gain a foothold as a composer in the big city and returned home somewhat frustrated.
Fröhlich had to interrupt his first stay in Berlin (1823/24), at that time still as a law student, due to illness. He was living in Brugg again when, in 1825, he Christmas Cantata, as he called them, composed and probably also performed them there. The performance on November 29, 2025, with Luis Alves da Silva and his vocal ensemble Ton an Ton is therefore the second—exactly 200 years later. Da Silva discovered the cantata in Fröhlich's estate, which is kept in the University Library of Basel.
Simpler, less exalted, yet still sophisticated
The original of this Christmas cantata is too short for a full-length performance. So da Silva not only transferred the score to computer, he also supplemented it with six additional numbers penned by Fröhlich. These are two Christmas piano songs, the trio The Three Wise Men and two choral movements from Fröhlich's later Christmas cantata from 1830.
This second cantata was performed in 2023 in the church in Brugg. Michael Kreis interpreted it with the vocal ensemble Cantemus. Compared to the rediscovered earlier one, it is not only significantly more expansive, but also a formal curiosity. (Editor's note: see Review SMZ 12/2021, p. 22). Furthermore, it is unusually dramatic for a Christmas cantata.
The earlier cantata is simpler and less exalted in its instrumentation. One can already recognize the effervescent imagination of the 23-year-old, his heartfelt musicality, and his preference for fugal composition. The demands on the choir are high. The vocal ensemble Ton an Ton mastered the extremely wide ranges with confident intonation in Windisch. And it knew how to convey the joyful spirit of this music in an appealing way.
Old-fashioned language, cheerful music
The piano accompaniment is particularly striking in Fröhlich's choral works. This part is always technically demanding and highly virtuosic – Fröhlich was also a brilliant pianist. At the concert in Windisch, pianist Daniel Schnurrenberger accompanied with passionate dedication, technical mastery, and expressiveness.
Da Silva cast the three solo parts with loud male voices, with the highest part sung by countertenor Jonathan Kionke. This was particularly evident in the inserted trio. The Three Wise Men (No. 4) based on a humorous text by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The three singers—Kionke, tenor Rafael Oliveira, and bass-baritone Guilherme Roberto—portrayed these «hypocritical» kings with charming wit.
Goethe's text also stood out because the actual cantata text was written by Fröhlich's brother Abraham Emanuel (1796–1865). He was a theologian and classical philologist. When he, a rebellious free spirit, was denied the pastorate in Brugg, he took up a teaching position at the cantonal school in Aarau. He wrote many poems, mainly patriotic ones, but also bitterly angry fables. His style also seems rather old-fashioned in this cantata. However, this did not detract from Theodor Fröhlich's joyful Christmas music, and the audience was enthusiastic.
