Customer Reviews

Brahms - Ein Deutsches Requiem (A German Requiem) / Auger, Stilwell, Atlanta SO, Robert Shaw

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There are many recordings of the German Requiem of Brahms, and I have seven of them in my library. Robert Shaw's recording on Telarc is no longer one of them. Amazon states up front that this is the recording people "ultimately" buy. Maybe so, but I wouldn't click on "Buy Now" until I had heard samplings of some other recordings. Yes, Shaw and his musicians are amazing in their dedication to the work. It is a great performance. I have always found it necessary to boost the treble and perhaps reduce the bass to get a clear sound with this recording.

Other recordings I rank at a slightly higher level than this one and recommend with greater enthusiasm:

1. Herreweghe and the Orchestre des Champs Elysees on Harmonia Mundi. This recordng ranks among the finest and is unique in the clarity of voices, whether solo, choral, or orchestral. The woodwinds and brass are never covered by the strings, yet the string sections sound full and play with precision. The soloists are not over-miked and their voices seem to come from the midst of the greater ensemble. Especially impressive and touching is the singing of Gerald Finley (although his command of German has greatly improved since this recording).

2. James Levine and the Chicago Symphony and Chorus with Battle and Hagegard on RCA/BMG, a 1983 studio recording recently re-released on Universal at a low budget price. Levine and the Chicago deliver a big, heart-on-sleeve sound yet pay loving attention to details and the soloists sing exquisitely.

3. Rafael Kubelik with the Bavarian Radio Symphony and Chorus with Edith Mathis and Wolfgang Brendel on Audite. Recorded in concert (with no audience sounds) in 1978 and issued recently in glorious sound by Audite, this performance is generous in every way: fine musicianship, deep emotion, and rich sound.


4. Rudolph Kempe with the Berlin Philharmonic and the Choir of St. Hedwig's with Elizabeth Gruemmer and the young (therefore not yet fussy and mannered) Fischer-Dieskau. This is a very fine mono recording from 1956 still found on EMI. There are days when I think this is the best of the best in every respect. The playing and singing is exemplary in very way.

5. John Eliot Gardiner's interpretation, with his Orchestre Revolutionanaire et Romantique, the Monteverdi Choir, Charlotte Margiono, and Rodney Gilfry on Philips, is fleet and somewhat light-weight. It is a studio recording from 1990. Gardiner's tempi are the quickest by far yet never seem rushed. I've always liked this performance, but in light of those mentioned below it is relatively cerebral.

As for the other available versions, many are very fine indeed; yet I think none of them quite reaches the heights of the five I've listed above.

Most of the recordings or the performances of the German Requiem are orchestral performances with a chorus attached. They lack the passion of the text that is inherint in the Brahms score. In addition, they are recordings or performances of the Requiem that are taken on because it is a seminal orchestral/choral work. Shaw did not allow this to happen. The German Requiem was an intensly personal work for him, one that he used to teach workshops with at Carnegie Hall. And it shows on this recording. Shaw UNDERSTOOD Brahms (which I feel is very difficult to do!) And this recording is a CHORAL recording with the orchestra supporting it. You hear every subtle nuance of text and harmony in here, and the German diction (despite one reviewer's opinion) is quite good. But more than anything this recording brings the very essence of Brahms out: the tension that exists in all of Brahms' music; the beauty that can change with a simple line leading to ugliness; and the ability of Shaw and his formidable forces mastering the emotional waves that are in the score. This was a CD made to highlight the masterwork itself, with the performers doing that - performing. And his soloists serve that end as well. Arleen Auger's clean lyrical soprano, and the rich voice of Mr. Stillwell. If I had to get rid of ALL my CD's save one, it would be this one. Cannot be without it!

I have owned this recording since it's release and find it a wonderful piece. Robert Shaw has sought to convey a deeper understanding of Brahms thoughts and emotions brought to life in music. There are precious few conductors who take on this work because they know this work is more than a symphony, it requires the study and emersion of the conductor into the mind of Brahms and the trajedy that spawned this work. I am very grateful that Shaw took on the challenge and delivered an excellent interpretation.

With that said, I must say that although I do love this recording, there is one that I think is even better and is in my opinion the absolute best recording of this piece - Chicago Symphony, James Levine, Kathleen Battle, Hakan Hagegard.

For comparison -

Recording clarity - Hands down the Chicago recording is much clearer and much richer in the full spectrum of sounds from the crispness of the high woodwinds to the powerful bass of the bass viola's.

Interpretation - While Shaws recording is deliberate and steady, Levines is slower, more emotional and closer to the passion that Brahms intended to convey.

Choral - Without a doubt Kathleen Battle's voice in this piece is bordering on angelic. Nothing I have ever heard can compare to the perfection she displays in this piece. Hands down, she draws you totally into the work with a mesmorizing performance.

With technology progressing at such a fast pace, I eagerly await the arrival of a newer performance of this work, but am skeptical that anything can top what Levine has done.

Emery Rudolph

For a long time I had difficulty with Robert Shaw and the Atlanta SO. I even once sold my copy of the Verdi Requiem with Shaw at a disc trade shop in Tel Aviv.
Times Change, and people change.
I have since rebought the Verdi with Shaw and I recently aquired this recording as well. While there are performances where the orchestra is more domineering, there is no performance where the vocal music both from the soloists and from the choir are so outstanding. The second movement is often played much more energetically -- but in this performance it is played correctly. The 3rd movement is breathtaking the fugue at the end is uplifting. The 6th movement with the solo by Auger is just the best 6th movement in any performance of this Requiem to date. She puts so much into it,and the interpretation by Shaw is the best I have heard. The last movement with its deep orchestral basses and rich choral harmony is played perfectly here.
I own many recordings of this work: Masur and the NYPO, Leinsdorf and the Boston Symphony, Sinopoli and the Czech Philharmonic, and the famous Klemperer with the Philharmonia. Some of these recordings are considered "the" recordings, however, THIS will be the recording that I will take with me when I travel, THIS will be the recording that I will listen to over and over again because this recording really touches me and really moves me in a way that other recordings just did not do.
If you like this requiem, then you need to hear this performance to get a new and fresh interpretation. If you don't like this requiem, then please listen to this performance. You now might just change your mind.
Don't hesitate to purchase this performance. When you hear it you will only wish you were there to see it live.

Some time ago, I purchased this recording of the Brahms Requiem. Now, after hearing it several times, I find that my love for this profound masterpiece has deepened. It speaks to me of consolation and transcendence. In this respect, the Brahms Requiem is similar to Faure's and much different from the Verdi Requiem which, although following the structure of the Catholic Requiem Mass, is almost pagan in its evocations of judgment and fear. Rather than following the Mass, Brahms set his music to various uplifting scriptural references and this music is worthy of the angelic hosts.
I'm keeping my eyes open for alternative performances because some of the reviewers have been critical of this recording's technical aspects. However, a few weeks ago, I turned on our classical music station in Seattle, and they were playing the Atlantic Symphony/Auger recording. For my money, it certainly is a splendid, breathtaking performance.

In March, 1997, I happened to see an ad in Atlanta for a concert by Atlanta Sym. Orch. with Robert Shaw. The main program was German Requiem by Brahms. I immediately visited Arts Center in Atlanta, and I enjoyed the concert. The peformance was so great, and it was much better than my expectation. In the souvenir shop of the hall, I bought the CD. The CD was made many years ago, and I think the CD does not attain the performance level that I listened to in Atlanta in 1997. Nonetheless, we can find high quality of chorus and good beauty of the masterwork by Brahms. I am waitiing for the live recording of the work in 1997!!

I moved to Atlanta about a year after Robert Shaw passed away. Only once did I have the pleasure of attending a performance of his. When I lived in Ohio, he came and conducted Brahms' German Requiem with Sylvia McNair on the campus at The Ohio State University. Can I say that this man was a choral conducting God. The moment he stepped in front of the chorus you could feel the barometric pressure change inside the hall. Brahms' Requiem and Shaw were probably a match made in heaven. The Requiem is full of gentle, lilting lamentations that allow Shaw to mine the layers of the choir for sheer and stunning beauty. Now, normally Brahms does not excite me in the least, but whatever he did with his Requiem he was spot on. The melodies could not be more touching, nor could the aural sentiments be more moving. My only problem with this recording is the sound quality. Telarc normally captures every word with crystal clarity. However, this time around the orchestra seems a bit muddy and the choir seems just this side of distant. Check out Telarc's recent English translation of the Requiem performed by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir for a glimpse of how this masterpiece should sound on disc. But, for the quality behind the performance, this recording is a must also.

As a singer under the baton of Shaw, this recording is just like the real thing. You don't miss a beat, the quality is unsurpassed. But, beyond the basic sound of the CD, the music is to die for (excuse the pun). Brahms wrote an emotional piece that makes my heart melt. And Shaw couldn't have done better with it. This piece is refreshing and awe-inspiring. 5-stars plus!!!

Telarc should have known better. A magnificent performance by Robert Shaw's choir is badly marred by the muddy acoustics of the performance chamber. This is one of the most frustrating recordings I own -- I love the singing and interpretation, but I can hardly stand to listen to it. It sounds like it was recorded by wrapping the mics in quilts and sticking them into the air vents at the back of the hall. Very few directors achieve the fine blend of voice and instruments that Shaw demonstrates so well here... but the achievement is largely wasted, rendered irrelevant by the unsuitable performance hall. [Other Telarc/Shaw/Atlanta recordings, not staged in the Atlanta hall, are sparkling and vital; none of the Atlanta recordings share that spark.]

Back in the dark ages of 1955's no one single recording of The German Requiem of Brahms could be noted! Most of all classical recordings of Bach, Beethoven, especially Brahms were not yet recorded until Robert Shaw began his ventures with Toscanini and his RCA Red Label LP's of Bach's St. Matthew//St. John Passions, Beehoven's Ninth Symphony and The German Requiem of Brahms. That Era of the late 1950's the name of Robert Shaw's Chorale came to the attention of Classical music lovers thru Chorale Tours of mayor cities like Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Louisville, New York, San Deigo, St. Louis and Washington. My magical moment was his memorable Louisville Concert, when he first presented pieces to be later recorded as "Deep River and Other Spirituals!" That led many budding Church musicians to adopt him as 'sine qua non. of all Choral Masterworks. Most of us made time to attend his choral workshops or any of rehearsals within one hundred miles!

This version of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Chorus includes Mr. Shaw's best Chorus and favored soloists! His choice of Miss Auger came close to ones he later found in the Atlanta Chorus... Three good examples were Donna Carter, Sylvia McNair, and later Dawn Upshaw. All singers who were exposed to his interpretation of "Blessed, Blessed are they who mourn" or "How Lovely are Thy Dwellings" or any other of the 5 descriptive, dramatic, mystical pieces, likely will reflect those same magic qualities of Shaw's personality! He seldom ever allowed his sopranos or tenors as higher voices to overpower the darker richness of his inner sounds of alto, bass or baritone. Anyone singing baritone could realize occassions to switch-hit between the upper tenor part or lower basso profonda. All his great musical moments were dictated by extreme dramatic dynamics from pianissimo to full-blown fortes! If one listens to his carefully crafted restraint within those awesome comforting tones of "BLESSed, Blessed, bblessed..." in the final Chorus of similiar Biblical texts with ultra long tones stretched-out in two-bar long exquisite sounds of peaceful, hope-filled Comfort! Nothing found anywhere else in all Choral Music can match this master-piece! Gratefully from one older retired singer, Fred W Hood