The pace picks up in the last two movements, beautifully conveying the mourners healing. Robert Shaw: (1) RCA Symphony Orchestra and Chorale, James Pease, Eleanor Steber (1947, RCA; 65'); (2) Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Richard Stilwell, Arleen Auger (1983, Telarc; 70'). But while using the same forces, Lehmann and Kempe exemplify two interpretive extremes within that tradition. That aspect of the Requiem deserves its own attention. As summarized by Michael Murgrove, the overall focus of the work is on comfort, hope, reassurance and reward for personal effort rather than the judgment, vengeance, sacrifice and overt references to Christian symbolism that characterize the Latin requiem mass. The requiem emerged from a decade of turmoil. Even the pastoral IV surges with a radiant spirit and strongly assertive choral singing. Singers were given numbers to represent their voice ranges, starting with 101 for the lowest bass, a tool Shaw used to adjust balances in advance, saving precious rehearsal time. Nor was Brahms likely to have known an obscure 1818 Deutsches Requiem that Franz Schubert had written for his brother. Matthias Goerne is a superbly racked soloist in the third movement anyone who has helplessly contemplated their own mortality can relate to the Promethean despair (and the rage, in the repeated section) of that molten, burnished voice. Thomas Allen brings a rugged grief to his solos, while Margaret Prices sound is both richly resonant and angelic. And the way we learn about his feelings is by learning to speak his languageas perfectly and trustingly as we can.. He was so impressed that he organised a performance for Good Friday, to be conducted by the composer himself. Abendroth's concert is superficially similar to Furtwngler's but with enough crucial distinctions to highlight why Furtwngler's magic is unique and eludes others who might be tempted to emulate him. With steady tempos and intense moderation, it's hard to characterize this reading, but that's intended as a high compliment. That may have had something to do with family history. And in his 1997 biography, Jan Swofford degrades it as "too consistent in mood, without enough variety of texture, tempo and feeling to create the illusion of a satisfying story unfolding throughout.". In the second Thus, George Bernard Shaw sniped that the German Requiem was fit for a funeral home and the 1873 Musical Times echoed that "the Philharmonic concert hall is not the place for a funeral service." The recorded sound has great immediacy, and the chorus produces a beautifully sustained and richly coloured Requiem is a poem sequence composed over a twenty-year period; it includes four sections of introduction, ten numbered central parts, and two epilogues. Unlike most large religious works, the German Requiem was not written in response to a commission or for a public event, and so efforts to trace its inspiration are somewhat diffuse. WebLSU Digital Commons | Louisiana State University Research By 1872 its text had been translated into English. 2012-2023, Chorus America. It opens with a solemn march in time (derived from the slow scherzo of the abandoned symphony), lightens with hope, proclaims the word of God in bold unison, and ends in varied radiant assertions of "ewige Freude" ("everlasting joy"). Nevertheless, the work was soon performed all over Europe, including in a piano duet performance in London in 1871. Robertson further notes that there is no official Lutheran funeral service, nor even a prayer for the dead, thus reflecting Martin Luther's teachings that faith alone frees believers from sin and that, once saved, their entry into heaven is automatic. Take, for example, the opening phrase, "Selig sind." Johannes Brahms: A German Requiem - Classic FM Sometimes he communicated these ideas through letters, many of them included in the 1996 Shaw biography, Dear People. A large chorus can be a mucilaginous mess. Interviewed for the video, he called it the fastest way to unify sound and find metric divisions, adding, youd be surprised how you can undiscipline a choir by beginning with text the first time., Answering a symposium participants question, Shaws longtime assistant, Norman Mackenzie, current director of choruses at the ASO, explained the rationale for count singing this way: Its the principle of building blocks. Shaws approach facilitated his singers understanding of structure and their ability to avoid mistakes. After a long hiatus, the sporadic recording history of the German Requiem resumed in curious fashion in 1955, when two mono LP sets were recorded at the same location by the same orchestra and chorus but released on competing European labels. Were going to do it anyway, Shaw decided. Let's begin by exploring these, together with some others that follow the paths blazed by the pioneers. However, circumstances were increasingly troubled at home in Hamburg. Music that is truly great has in it many prof'ound lessons that may be learned by the teacher or student of harmony. To make a thorough study of these lessons is to became a better teacher or student, and also to became a more discerning musician. It was with these purposes in mind that I chose to make an harmonic analysis of the Requiem by Brahms. In advance of a 1972 performance of the Brahms Requiem, he wrote to the Atlanta Symphony Chorus, As artistsand as human beingsour concern is not with how we feel about death or the textual imagery of the German Requiem, but how Brahms felt about these things. Although Brahms did not point to the precise source, Ochs decided he was referring to Bachs chorale Wer nur den lieben Gott., Moving to the nearby piano, Musgrave played the tune in question, familiar to Lutherans as the hymn If thou but suffer God to guide thee. The comparison was convincing. The build-up to the climactic cry that all flesh is as grass leaves the listener broken, before the visceral relief at the major-key reassurance which follows. WebNot surprisingly, the title of Requiem has at times been called into question, but Brahms stated intention was to write a Requiem to comfort the living, not one for the souls of the Aged 32 at the time, his output up to this point had consisted largely of solo piano works and chamber music one notable exception was his First Piano Concerto which, after an underwhelming premiere in Hanover in 1859, had gone on to enjoy a better reception elsewhere. A symposium presented by Chorus America in honor of the Shaw centenary explored the conductors deep connection to this masterworkand what it reveals about his approach to music and his legacy. He solved all the challenges long before the first rehearsal of a piece in a way that made total sense to a singer.. Alas, the only source is a shortwave transmission; even after exhaustive restoration efforts severe irreparable sonic defects of constant swish, considerable phase distortion, low fidelity, dropouts and a major gap remain, leaving more to the imagination than this extraordinary souvenir deserves. Jones learned from Shaw that this systematic building of discipline and attention to detail are essential, because such efforts can result in an unrivalled beauty and clarity of sound. Brahms I saw in that moment what motivated his entire life. For a taste of Furtwangler's magic in modern sound, Barenboim comes quite close, with nearly identical tempos, beautifully shaped phrases, thundering climaxes (with hugely imposing timpani Furtwangler reportedly asked his timpanist if he was playing as loudly as he could and when assured that he was demanded that he play even louder), and deep spirituality he invests the mourners' opening with a wondrous sense of longing by stretching each phrase and magnifies the explosive triumphant outbursts of the climaxes with deeply serious preparatory passages. Steven Ledbetter agrees that although the text belongs to no formal liturgy of any church, it "nonetheless represents a deeply felt response to the central problem of human existence.". Recommended. Shaws longtime personal assistant, Nola Frink, was by his side as he struggled to find the right syllable for every note. Indeed in terms of tempos alone this is quite possibly the most sizable variance among all known Toscanini performances of any given work. It provides historical information, performance considerations, musical analysis, and resource material for all who enjoy the musicology behind this magnificent work. Kargs sound is dramatic, if not ideally matched to Goerne, but again it is the silky-smooth orchestral-choral sound that wins over. How Brahmss A German Requiem Became an Anthem for Our WebFor the Requiem, he draws melodic inspiration from the tunes and rhythms of Gregorian chant, which thought in similarly long phrases. There was ample precedent for that approach, but none among major religious works of the time. Shaw was drawn to the texts Brahms selected; he dissected and researched all of them. Jessop remembers especially how Shaw responded to the text from Revelation Brahms used in the final movement: I dont know if the soul is immortal, but I do know your good works will follow after you.. Even so, Alex Robertson notes that Brahms' return to the source writings carries historical weight, as it invokes the earliest Christian burial arts and practices, as preserved in the Roman catacombs, in which themes of rest, peace and sleep are combined with depictions of everyday life activities. All Rights Reserved. He sent her the fourth movement, and described the first and second movements. By far the slowest German Requiem on record, this concert both exemplifies and validates Celibidache's view. Perchance through his title Brahms is modestly telling us that he did not purport to have created "the" definitive German requiem nor any other sort of authoritative proclamation, but rather sought to offer just one among infinite approaches toward understanding and grappling with the ultimate mystery of life and accepting the inescapable tragedy of our mortality. This overview is If he realized a certain passage was going to require a little more from the first altos, for example, hed assign some second sopranos to join them for a few measures. And as is equally apparent from the timings, the "American" tradition, if indeed there was one, favored far quicker tempos and a feeling of overall vitality. Brahms humbly suggests that all we can do is accept our unavoidable fate while life goes on for the benefit of the living, who must make the most of their brief time and pass along their deeds, findings, thoughts, hopes and wisdom as others have done before them. An harmonic analysis of the German requiem of Brahms Regardless of their means and intentions, the Gardiner and Norrington readings bridge past and present and are compelling evidence, if any indeed is needed, that Brahms' German Requiem speaks with as much force to new generations as to his own. It begins with the pulse. Brahms had long carried the idea of writing a requiem. Practical Guide for Performing, Teaching, and Singing But perhaps the most significant but overlooked word in the title is the first and least prominent: "Ein" ("A"). Christiane Karg (soprano), Matthias Goerne (baritone); Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra/ Daniel Harding. WebBrahms: Ein deutsches Requiem. [All listings below are in the format of: conductor, orchestra, chorus, baritone soloist, soprano soloist (year, source, timing in minutes). For many, this is the expressive heart of the work, recalling Brahmss own tragic loss. The memory will stay with me all of my life.. WebAn analysis and overview of Johannes Brahms Ein deutsches Requiem. It comprises seven movements, which together last 65 to 80 minutes, making it Brahms's longest composition. The primary stimulus appears to have come with Schumann's untimely death in 1856. More likely is that by shunning Latin for the vernacular, Brahms intended the work to be more accessible to modern audiences. The harmonic progression and sarabande-like rhythm evoke the Requiems second movement funeral march. Natasha Loges explores Brahmss unique reflection on the journey towards the grave and the afterlife as she compares the best recordings of A German Requiem. The former is 28 bars long and tonicizes E-flat major. Many commentators have noted with great admiration Brahms' deep knowledge of the Bible. At that point there were six movements, settings of Lutheran Bible texts Brahms had collated himself, which trace a trajectory from suffering to acceptance: the first movement opens, Blessed are they who mourn; the dramatic second movement opens by declaring that all flesh is like grass, but the word of the Lord endures; the third introduces the baritone soloist, who pleads with God for acceptance of his transience; the sunny fourth, the most popular standalone number, contemplates the beauty of heaven; the original fifth movement matches the second, setting the famous The trumpet shall sound, and continuing to demand Death, where is thy sting?; reconciliation is achieved in the last movement with the words Blessed are the dead. With respect to dynamics, Brahms appeared to favor a wide range, asking that the first vocal entry be as soft as possible, although the score is merely marked p. As for his preferred size of the performing forces, Brahms worked with a wide scale, ranging from lean provincial ensembles to festival choruses many hundred strong, although he ordered 200 vocal parts and 12 of each string part for the Bremen premiere, thus suggesting a far smaller orchestra than choir (Norrington uses 64 of each). The timings, both overall and of individual movements, are somewhat deceptive, as his fast sections are very rapid, while the slow portions tend to be quite measured. Shaw's brisker pace itself provides sufficient vigor to obviate a need for overt dramatizing, although he accelerates the proclamation of victory swallowing death in VI to a white heat, which further underlines its climactic role in the overall structure, and leads logically into a steadfast rendition of the following fugue praising God the Creator, as if to emphasize the inevitability of that thought. For example, most of the tempo markings in early versions were simply Andante. Three movements were trialled unsuccessfully in Vienna, but some listeners recognised that it was perhaps too austere, too Bach-Protestant for the pleasure-loving Viennese. The miniature score Thus, when it was suggested that Brahms add references to Christ as the central point of the Christian faith, he responded: "I have chosen one thing or another because I am a musician, because I needed it." Just what did Brahms mean by a "German" Requiem? Karajan applies his trademark polish, but without lapsing into the slickness that would tend to dominate his later work. (In contrast, Bach's secular 1727 "Funeral Ode" cantata, # 198, whose title suggests a more direct connection, is a diffuse treatment of a pompous ceremonial poem with far more musical than literary merit.). This will be between the soloists, the audience, and me. Ratzlaff says the singer next to him vowed he would never perform for Shaw again. Brahms responded that hed deliberately omitted such passages. Indeed, during rehearsals Brahms asserted a desire for even more openness: "I would happily omit the 'German' and simply say 'human.'". Revisions led to an Like Shaw, Walter saves his most potent firepower for VI so as to emphasize its thematic importance in the overall structure, but unlike Shaw's dissipation of that energy he plunges into an equally energetic fugue. Hardings sense of structure in this 2019 recording is assured and persuasive, evoking a slow, dignified but steady move from the depths of grief into a bruised but courageous renewal. He says it was no accident Shaw was drawn to the Requiem. He feels the touching soprano solo transforms the entire work. The reason for holding it back, he suspects, is that Brahms needed the reassurance of a successful premiere before unveiling this section of the piece. Indeed, while the Catholic requiem begins with a blessing for the dead, here death is not even mentioned until the penultimate movement, nor are the dead themselves addressed until the finale. While sorting through Schumann's estate, Brahms came upon a bare reference to a German Requiem and felt compelled to take up the task. Brahmss friend Albert Dietrich sent the score to the organist of Bremen Cathedral, Karl Reinthaler. Perhaps the key observation was by Alec Robertson, who called it "a flawed work" for the very reason that "one is left asking questions that cannot be answered." He must have been preoccupied with it for a long time. Indeed, nearly all prior musical requiems (including the famous ones of Mozart, Cherubini and Berlioz), and most that would follow (Verdi, Dvorak, Faure, Britten) used the standardized Latin text of the Catholic mass for the dead. A 1983 remake with Shaw's Atlanta forces, which by then he had led for 15 years, boasts a superlative early digital recording and a somewhat broader overall pace that trades the sweep and momentum of the earlier reading for a sense of well-being. The recording is somewhat crude and uncomfortably poised between clear vocals and hazy instrumentals. What's in a name? The titles of most classical works are merely generic ("Symphony # 1 in C Major"), descriptive ("Scheherazade") or appended by others and often sadly inappropriate (the "Moonlight" Sonata). We got to the downbeat of O schne Nacht, and he started to cry. Most of us would say, Well, well adjust that when we hear it. observes Jones. By April, he sent Clara Schumann two movements of the Requiem. Arturo Toscanini, NBC Symphony, Westminster Choir, Herbert Janssen, Vivian Della Chiesa (1943, Guild CD, Pristine download; 71'). With the sixth movement we reach the dramatic climax. Yet doubt as to whether it might have been misattributed seems dispelled by a nearly comparable 1935 New York Philharmonic Toscanini concert. Nearly all the great Furtwngler concert recordings reflect his long leadership of the Berlin or Vienna Philharmonic Orchestras (and the corresponding familiarity and empathy of their musicians with his deeply personal and erratic style), and his results with foreign ensembles were mostly disappointing. In the meantime, in addition to isolated movements, two exceptional concerts had been recorded, although not released at the time. The chorale lay at the root of the Requiem.. For this first European studio German Requiem, producer Walter Legge reportedly passed up the opportunity to preserve Furtwngler's glowing account and instead gambled on his young wartime rival. From the outset, Mengelberg extends the logic of Brahms' musical architecture to a microcosmic scale, sculpting each phrase of the opening movement with constant swells of sound and adjustments of tempo to create mini-climaxes that animate the generally level terrain. Its greatest message, says Musgrave, is a message of comfort, especially apparent in the fifth movement soprano solo, which quotes Isaiah: I will comfort you as a mother would. Although Brahms did not like people asking him about it, Musgrave says everyone in the composers circle believed he wrote this movement for his own mother, who died in February 1868.

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