Customer Reviews

Paul Hindemith: When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd (A Requiem for Those We Love)

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Robert Shaw knew "Lilacs" better than anyone--not only has he performed it more than anyone else, it was he who commissioned Hindemith to write the work in 1945 following the death of President Roosevelt.

I had the chance to hear Robert Shaw lead the Yale Glee Club in a performance of "Lilacs" in 1996, on the 50th anniversary of the work's completion (Hindemith was a music professor at Yale at the time). I was blown away from the very opening, played over a four-minute pedal point, and held with rapt attention to the very end.

This disk captured all the emotion of that performance; Stone and De Gaetani give extraordinarily warm and expressive performances, and the Atlanta Symphony Chorus, as always, is flawless. Shaw captures all the nuances of the work, from the menacing Orchestral Introduction, to the exquisite "Death Carol" ("Come, lovely and soothing Death"), to the 'sunset'-like finale ("Lilac and star and bird . . .").

This disk is a must-have for fans of Shaw or Hindemith. I recommend it highly.

Robert Shaw was one of the greats of choral music, that goes without saying. Even if some of his recordings sound a bit "dated" to some ears, he was an important pioneer of American music.

The vocalists, Stone and de Gaetani, are without a doubt ideally suited to this work. They clearly grasped the poetry of Whitman and the wonderful music of Hindemith, and wove them into wonderful vocal art.

Hindemith, in my opinion a vastly underrated composer, spreads his wings and shows his overall musical talent in this requiem. Not just as the "German academician", but as a sensitive artist. He combined the genius of the German tradtion he represented as a refugee from Europe with the American genius of Whitman. In doing so, he created powerful art during some of the darkest days of the 20th century.

This recording is highly recommended. I've listened to it dozens of times and it never fails to impact me emotionally.

Abraham Lincoln's funeral may well have been the greatest and most heart-felt pageant of mourning in American history. The funeral train from Washington to Springfield, Illinois, stopped and exhibited the catafalque and casket in town after town, with huge lines of mourners, 100,000 at some stops, waiting to express their grief.

One mourner, Walt Whitman, wrote a poem to express his feelings of devastation. That poem, "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd", is my choice for the most powerful elegy in English, ever. Paul Hindemith set the poem to music at the end of World War II, and included in his setting a Jewish folksong. There's no reasonable doubt that he intended to extend the meaning of Whitman's poem to include mourning for all of modern history. It's a piece of music so moving that it shouldn't be performed for mere entertainment.

When it is performed, however, it should be done superbly, and this recording by Robert Shaw and the Atlanta Symphony is far from superb. For one thing, the diction is awful; the words can't be understood. The muddiness of the chorus and the Wagnerian sostenuto of Shaw's conducting turn the dirge into a drudge. There's only one other recent performance available on CD, by a German orchestra and chorus singing in German, and yet the impact of the words is stronger in that performance. Please, somebody! Give this monument of literature and music the performance it deserves!

There have been some exquisite works for large orchestra and chorus composed in the last century, works that compare favorably with the great requiems and oratorios of the past. Evidence: Britten's 'War Requiem', Adams' "Harmonium", Gorecki's Symphony #2, Lauridsen's 'Lux Aeternam'. Not the least among these is the breathtakingly beautiful Hindemith WHEN LILACS LAST IN DOORYARD BLOOM'D based on the poetry of Walt Whitman. This massive yet gentle work is given a definitive performance by Robert Shaw and his Atlanta forces with the incomparable Jan de Gaetani and the fine William Stone bringing all the lonely haunting beauty to Hindemith's score. It is with a bit of sadness to remember that both Shaw and de Gaetani are no longer with us, but that adds to the power of this elegant requiem.

I have long been a fan of the musical genre of the Requiem. Though this piece is not actually a requiem, I wanted to hear this elegy to Pres. Roosevelt as interpreted by the man who commissioned it. The work is fantastic in its form, and the ensemble, esp. the soloists, is marvelous. I am very impressed by it, and I recommend it wholly.

Altho Mr Shaw invariably knew the Soloists, best-fitted for each of his musical choices; This pair, William Stone/Jan de Gaetani are ideally chosen, awesome singers in their wondrous musical and textual roles! Whenever Shaw employed Stone, such a handsome impressive Basso, it was obvious how closely they related. This fearless bass promptly gave one huge bear hug to Caroline Shaw!

Such over-powering words of Walt Whitman demanded and received descriptive, dramatic settings by Shaw's great Atlanta Chorus, during one inspired period of later-life in Atlanta. I regret in waiting too long the enjoyment of hearing this while writing on my Computer. From an opening 4-tone theme: A up-to C- down to F, followed by E-natural, all of which give extra tension by added, unwavering, underlying C# pedal tone! All together they enhance descriptive sorrow in anguished results of a Choral Masterpience from a wondrous team of Shaw's commissioning of Paul Hindemith to adding the extra-ordinary Requiem text of Walt Whitman!

Hindemith, new resident of the USA knew of Shaw's love for Walt Whitman's Poetry, leading him to Commission Hindemith suggested Whitman Poems nearly in 1945! At that time Hindemith recalled, how he felt like the "Sorcerer's Apprentice" enough that he was caught-up in the "Trinitarian Symbolism" of W.W.'s three themes: 1) "the fallen Star of Abraham Lincoln" (Father Abraham) 2) "the profusion of Lilacs, banking the coffin of Lincoln" (Crucified as the Son) 3) "the beautiful singing Warbler entwined with the chant of my soul." Two Favorite Stanzas, No 6) Song, Oh How Shall I Warble"; No 8) "Oh Sing on! You Gray-Brown Bird" Both are greatly inspired as Symbolic of the Holy Spirit!

All of Walt Whitman's picturesque symbolism was given full sway by Hindemith and Shaw! It is Awesome hearing this carefully crafted Masterpiece after an earlier Columbia recording of N.Y. Philharmonic, Louise Parker, George London + Choral-Master, Hugh Ross. The differences become sparkling with Shaw's Carnegie Hall Preview by the Collegiate Chorale to this one of the ASO in 1990. From one who is grateful for this Love-Feast, Long-Retired Chap Fred W. Hood