Customer Reviews

Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

A performance of Brahms "free from sentimentality" is an interesting question.

And I won't pretend to be perfectly impartial to the question.

The "German Requiem" is something of an old friend. I'm a clarinetist who has served as a bass in various choruses over the years, so I have taken part in two performances of this magnificent work, alternatively as instrumentalist and singer. And before that, I was introduced to "How Lovely is Thy Dwelling Place" (in English translation) in the choir of an Episcopal parish, by a director whose fondness for the piece was evident in his management of the choir that Sunday.

Probably, none of these performances was quite free from sentimentality; but my impression is that none of these performances suffered greatly from the sentiment brought to the piece, brought out of the piece. Hey, the nineteenth-century was something of an Age of Sentiment, in music. It would be dishonest and musicologically suspect to prune away all sentimentality from the music of that day.

Which is not to say that the sentimentality cannot be overdone, hideously overdone.

I am a great fan of Brahms. Love the clarinet sonatas, the symphonies, the violin concerto, the piano concerti, the solo piano music, the lieder. And especially the German Requiem.

And this is all preface to a description of Gardiner's recording of this last.

It is not excessively sentimental; which is all to the good.

Nor is it soullessly dry, which is better still.

The character of Brahms' work sings through here (Brahms' music ALWAYS sings, whether there are voices or no - so different in so many respects, Brahms and Chopin are alike in this, that their music sings like angels hovering over a child's cradle; even when the music surges towards forte, there is something assuringly like a lullaby about it). I want to say this performance is perfect. Not in any exclusionary sense, to say that no other performance which may do things differently is necessarily inferior. But in the plain sense that everything in this performance works; that everywhere, the music says convincingly what the composer meant it to say; that without ever yielding to sloppy affection for the music, the performance brings out the music's heart. The performance has both the voluptuous softness which is really a quality of the music, and the direction and focus which makes it work, which makes it artistic, which displays its true genius.

The great service Gardiner does Brahms here is, ironically, something of a rehabilitation. Brahms' music sometimes suffers from its easy popularity, and his reputation is sometimes sullied by the sloppy affection I mentioned above; not everyone who wishes to do Brahms' music, does it brilliantly well. Gardiner here does it brilliantly well. This is fresh, unrumpled Brahms. Listen again, this recording bids us, for the first time.

Compared to the person who wrote the scathing review that lurks on these pages somewhere, I find that I have some rather positive things to say about this recording of Brahms's choral masterpiece. Firstly, unlike most recordings you hear of the piece, this recording is free of the slow, mannered Wagnerian speeds that have dogged the piece for many years. This recording, which follows Brahms's original speeds, really makes the supple melodies soar and sing out to us, yet remain sublime and heartfelt at the same time. Secondly, this recording shows a sense of commitment in everyone involved. Apart from the clean and transparent recording, the period orchestra is well-balanced and the choral singing is first-rate. Even in the solemn movement, "Denn alles Fleisch", there is a sense of seriousness and devotion throughout. But perhaps the real highlights are the soaring and lyrical "Wie lieblich sine Deine Wohungen" and the closing and comforting "Selig sind der Toten." The two soloists are first-rate, with Charlotte Margiono displaying a motherly warmth in her solo number, and Rodney Giffry making a vulnerable but submissive soloist who also sings his solos in the sixth movement with a certain hope in his voice. This is indeed a wonderful recording, and a fresh view at a masterwork that has been dogged by stodgy interpretations, and the crisp choral singing is an added plus.

The recordings I'd like to review here are (a) John Eliot Gardiner with the Orchestre Revolutionaire et Romantique / Monteverdi Choir (1990) [PHILIPS 432 140-2] and (b) Carlo Maria Guilini with the Vienna Philharmonic / Wiener Staatsoperchor (1988) [DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 432 574-2].

For the last twenty years John Eliot Gardiner has been associated with a rather scholarly approach to performance practice involving period instruments, obsolete tuning systems, and unusual bowings. Some argued that his approach had turned music into museum culture, thus alienating already flustered audiences; others saw in it a true revival of the music tarnished by centuries of irreverent incompetence. Gardiner's experience with the Baroque invariably comes across in the Brahms Requiem, particularly in the handling of choral polyphony modelled upon Schütz and Palestrina. Facilitated by the orchestra playing period instruments, Gardiner consciously attempts to 'free the work from the tradition of solemn, but smooth performances, by concentrating on the ruggedness of the original score.'

Carlo Maria Guilini represents an entirely different tradition, very much a Romantic one, less keen on details, concerned with thicker brush strokes and the overall Stimmung. Guilini's approach to this work is almost solely based upon its roots in the grand symphonic and choral traditions. His main fortes are the soloists Barbara Bonney and Andreas Schmidt, and an orchestra capable of producing mighty climactic textures.

The discrepancies between the performances are most discernible in the second movement 'Denn alles Fleisch, es ist wie Gras' and the sixth movement 'Denn wir haben hie keine bleibende Statt'. In the beginning of the second movement Gardiner's muted violins have a particularly silky 'autumnal' quality, as opposed to Guilini's rather metallic sound. However, Gardiner's brass is much harsher than that of Guilini. Whereas Gardiner's use of vibrato is quite scarce, Guilini uses it almost ubiquitously. By and large, the balance is superior in the Guilini performance. Guilini's timpani played with soft mallets, despite their anachronistic use, create a better support for the orchestra.

From the outset of the sixth movement one is forced to think of the Credo from Bach's B minor Mass due to the manner in which Gardiner executes the 'walking' bass accompaniment (or Baroque recitatives in the case of his baritone solos). His greatest asset is the chorus-clear, expressive, and always in tune, which is not unimportant (e.g. 'Herr, du bist würdig' fugue)! One may object to some of his tempo choices, as in the above-mentioned fugue, where the reading of Brahms's Allegro marking as Allegro moderato or Allegro ma non troppo results in the loss of momentum. However, he manages to achieve remarkable rhythmic clarity at Vivace later on, particularly in his execution of the triplet figures that are completely lost in the stormy Guilini performance. Gardiner's performance is very transparent and especially graceful in chamber textures. Partly because of this transparency, one can, for instance, distinctly hear the organ towards the end.

Guilini's performance of this movement is overtly Late-Romantic, even somewhat Brucknerian, particularly in the gradual textural build-up of 'zu nehmen Preis und Ehre' and the climactic ecstasy of 'Tod', 'Hölle', 'Wo', 'Sieg' and 'Kraft' . His wonderfully piercing trombones at 'letzten Posaune' and 'Tod' coupled with the incredibly gritty-sounding strings produce a truly stunning effect. Despite the over-emphasised portamenti and an excessively operatic baritone Andreas Schmidt utilising the 'spitting consonants' singing style, it is a very clear performance with a firm grip on the piece's overall form and structure.

With all due respect, I find Gardiner's Requiem rather experimental in his search for a kind of 'historical truth' than Guilini's bold Romanticism, although much less researched. Yet both maestri's renditions reveal the basic dichotomy present in the music itself; namely, Brahms's keen interest in the past combined with the burning desire to break new spiritual and musical grounds. Ein Deutsches Requiem is a good specimen of this tendency, and perhaps on the basis of this one can grow to appreciate both recordings.

...by which criterion, Brahms must have been one of the Blessed. Few composers have portrayed the emotions of mortality with as much pathos as Brahms in the German Requiem, or offered such resonant consolation. Every musical detail of these seven "motets" is full of craft, yet one hardly notices the workmanship while listening, being absorbed in the poignancy. How amazing that Brahms, an atheist or at least a grim agnostic, should have composed the most potent expression of spiritual consolation of all 19th C music!

Most performances of the German Requiem are mono-dimensional, treating all seven motets with equal musical solemnity - even sanctimony - though they were not composed at the same time nor in the same spirit. Just look at the texts, which Brahms has chosen from the German translation of the Christian Bible that he acknowledged not believing! #1 - Blessed are they that mourn... #2For all flesh is as grass... #3...surely every man walks in a vain show...he heaps up riches and knows not who shall gather them... #4How lovely are thy tabernacles... #5...You see how for a little while I labor and toil... #6...the trumpet shall sound...oh death, where is thy sting... #7 Blessed are the dead... Brahms has chosen a compendium of the best poetry in the Bible, such as Walt Whitman used as the model for his great free-verse arias in Song of Myself. Every poem should have its own musical voice, from quiet resignation to defiance to exultation in mortality.

John Eliot Gardiner has achieved just such an expressive triumph of poetry, of setting the music to the words rather than vice versa, and his is the first performance I've ever heard that does so. Thus it seems to me to be the first performance of Brahms that accomplishes what the composer intended, both musically and emotionally.

In his notes, Gardiner links Brahms to his great early Baroque predecessor, Heinrich Schuetz, whose "Musikalische Exequien of 1636" was the first German requiem. Choral directors familiar with Brahms's smaller vocal compositions will quickly support Gardiner's assertion that Brahms was in a sense the last composer of the prima prattica, that is, the last master of Renaissance polyphony. For that reason, Gardiner is careful to treat Brahms's rhythms as freely and contrapuntally as he would if he were conducting Josquin or Palestrina. The effect is magical, like torches shining through a haze. As usual with a performance on original instruments and with original forces, the transparency and precision of tuning allows voices to emerge from the whole texture in every musical direction. Was it necessary for Gardiner to use specifically Viennese oboes? Perhaps not, but the whole effort toward integrity and clarity of concept certainly pays off. Indeed, the most audible difference in Gardiner's sound comes from the violins, played without pitch-spoiling vibrato and with a bowing technique, as Gardiner writes, "...to clarify muddy textures and to expose, as it were the 'rock face' of Brahms's complex contrapuntal textures..." Gardiner aims to fulfill Brahms's intention to use "...all the typical Baroque devices -- from dissonance, anticipation and syncopation to hemiolas and cross rhythms of all kinds...in the interest of true word-accentuation." And he succeeds! After Gardiner's Requiem, all other performances sound like blanc-mange.

Why then, you ask, have I given this CD only four stars? Alas, the recording technology is mediocre, for no good cause. Was it the acoustical ambience, the miking, what? At any rate, the sound is muffled and not "present" -- not realistic to my well-tested ears. The Revolutionary and Romatic Orchestra and the Monteverdi Choir did their parts, but the engineers tried their darndest to make Gardiner sound like another Robert Shaw. May they rest in disquiet!

What a lovely recording. Is it the absolute, no questions asked, number one, greatest recording of the work ever made? Who knows? Besides, I haven't heard them all.

I find it uproariously funny that the person who identifies himself as "Music Fan", after carping mindlessly about this performance states "What IS good IMO? A relatively unheralded recording - Van Karajan's recording with BPO, Schwartzkopf, et al."

Excuse me, boys and girls, but there is no recording of Ein Deutsches Requiem with Herbert von Karajan conducting the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra that features Elizabeth Schwartzkopf as soloist.

He also expresses a preference for a Morman Tabernacle Choir performance of the piece based on sound clips he previewed. Whatever.

So much for faux-knowledgeable blow hards.

Rest assured. If you buy this recording you won't be sorry.

Cheers.

In this recording, John Eliot Gardiner brings new life and drama to one of Brahms' greatest masterpieces. The playing of the Orchestre Revolutionnair Et Romantique is superb and the singing of the Montiverdi Chior is some of the best that I have ever heard. The re-creation of an orchestra similar to those of Brahms' time, with period intruments and techniques, sheds a new light on the work. The orchestra plays with incredible depth and at times can be explosive in the drama of the second, third, and sixth movements. While Gardener carries the drama of these movements to new hieghts, the softness and peacfulness of the other movements effectivly brings out the texture, form and meaning of the Requiem. Rodney Gilfry has an incredible and very expressive voice, and Charlotte Margiono sings beautifully in the fifth movement. Overall, this is one of the best recording of one of the greatest works of all time and should be a part of every persons music collection.

There are many recordings of the German Requiem of Brahms, and I have seven of them in my library. 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.

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. Okay, now what happened to the Robert Shaw recording on Telarc? I've left it to last because 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 these 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.

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.

To correct "A Music Fan" s' review I think he (she) was talking

about the recording with Karajan and the VPO with Hotter and

Schwartzkopf and Chorus this recording is available on Classic

D' Oro #1004. As for the Gardiner Recording of the Requiem it is

one of Gardiner's finest efforts. The soloists aquit themselves

quite well and the ORR and the Montiverdi Choir prove once again

that they can perform anything well. I am hoping that Gardiner

the ORR and the MC will record a Berlioz Requiem someday too.

This recording has great sound with a satisfying orchestral transparency, fluid movement that still retains a satisfying degree of weightiness, and wonderful solos. Still, for me it is somehow lacking in some of those "invisible" qualities that might had made this a true personal favorite. Passion, emotion, egotism...I can't put my finger on what's missing for me. There is also a greatly-exaggerated syncopation in the second movement, which becomes a virtual grace-note to the third beat. I've never seen the score and don't know if it may be an accurate interpretation, but I'm thankful that other recordings avoid this. However, this still remains one of the best recordings out there, especially for you "period instrument" nuts like me.

This is the best recording I have heard of the Brahms Requiem. Gardiner and the period-orchestra provide a strong base to the choir. The dynamic expression of both the choir and the orchestra are amazing, and bring more music out of the music than I have ever heard. If you are deciding between this recording and others of the Brahms Requiem, go with this one. If you have never heard the Brahms Requiem, buy it now. It is one of the most beautiful works for chorus and orchestra ever written.