Shaws rehearsals for a 1990 Carnegie Hall performance of the Brahms Requiem, captured on video and screened at the symposium, begin with the opening notes, but not with the words Selig sind. Instead, the singers intone One and two and tee and four and, one and two and tee and four and, one and. The technique, count singing, is often associated with Shaw. 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. Speaking of slow performances As summarized by Patrick Lang in his CD liner notes, Celibidache's Brahms was thoroughly serious, weighty and deep, with controlled, internalized passion and severe aristocratic stillness governing all its emotions. The fidelity is only fair, but it far outstrips Furtwngler's other extant recording at the 1947 Lucerne Festival (with Hans Hotter and Elizabeth Schwartzkopf, also on Music & Arts). 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, while the tenor is fine, the soprano soloist is more grating than comforting, so you may want to invoke historical precedent and emulate the work's second premiere by skipping the fifth movement. WebSummary. Brahms, though, based his work on his own selection of texts from the Lutheran Bible and, unlike in a requiem Mass, shifts the focus from the dead to the living. With the sixth movement we reach the dramatic climax. 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). He changed our profession, he changed choral music in the United States of America, says Ann Howard Jones, a symposium faculty member who assisted Shaw with the Atlanta Symphony Chorus in the 1980s and 90s and went on to direct choral activities at Boston University. The last movement to be added the fifth, in which a solo soprano sings of a mother's comfort is generally attributed to the memory of Brahms' mother, but less as an immediate response to her death than a later tribute. It begins with the pulse. The intense concentration and focus of this 1943 Toscanini concert is the converse of Mengelberg's more intuitive interpretive approach. One of the last vestiges of the vigor that distinguished Walter's long career until the very end (which regrettably is the only portion most classical fans know nowadays from his final Columbia stereo remakes), this magnificent reading is beautifully paced, never rushed but always pressing forward with energy and a strong rhythmic thrust, including overpowering timpani in II, an extraordinary rarity in the entire Walter discography. One of the last sections they worried over was the final movement: Blessed are the dead that they rest now from their labors and that their works follow after them. To this day, Frink cant listen to those words and that music without thinking of Shaw. A recent Pristine restoration improves the fidelity to a remarkable degree, but, with equal irony, at the expense of reinstating the linguistic problems. Jessop considers it the pinnacle of craftsmanship in composition for chorus. 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. The performance itself faithfully follows Shaw's own interpretations. Indeed, he often seems to thwart our expectations an ardently sung and highly operatic V is drained of its usual sense of comfort, and the clipped articulation leading up to the VI fugue falls flat when the fugue itself reverts to a rather reflexive vantage. On the one hand, performances in the local language would seem take the composer's desire for accessibility to its logical conclusion, enabling audiences to understand the words and better appreciate their musical settings. WebBrahms chose the texts that were dearest to him. The event was poorly publicized, so the audience, according to Jessop, consisted only of Shaws wife Caroline, a few other people, and a cat. As evidenced by the timings noted so far, the traditional "German" pacing for the German Requiem tends to be measured, and so here. Abandoning the conventional Latin liturgy, he used his intimate knowledge of scripture to select 15 passages from the German Bible and the Apocrypha that would express his own beliefs. These two historically-informed recordings bring us squarely to the question of the performance characteristics that Brahms would have wanted to hear. Nevertheless, the work was soon performed all over Europe, including in a piano duet performance in London in 1871. Brahms had long carried the idea of writing a requiem. The underlying problem may have reflected a dispute over Brahms generally; as Edwin Evans noted in 1912: "no one seems able either to like or to dislike him only a little. Karajan's first two stereo Berlin Philharmonic remakes (he made yet another with the Vienna Philharmonic (1985, DG), which I haven't heard sorry, but even I have my limits) are quite similar, hovering between profundity and aloof abstraction. Craig Jessop, Utah Symphony, Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Nathan Gunn, Janice Chadler (1999, Telarc; 69'). WebAn analysis and overview of Johannes Brahms Ein deutsches Requiem. According to Craig Jessop, another faculty member, No one conducted more performances of the Requiem or lavished more care on it than Robert Shaw. The former music director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and current dean of Caine College of the Arts at Utah State University. Brahms crafted the structure of his German Requiem to bolster the impact of the disparate textual sources he had assembled. Yet the two realizations, while both exceptional, are far from identical the Norrington is notably leaner, crisper and faster and with good reason our only indications are indirect and thus somewhat speculative. Although the fifth movement was not performed till 1869, ten months after the Bremen premiere, Musgrave does not believe it was a late addition to the other six movements, as some have claimed. For his own recording, Shaw tempered the Maestro's fundamental objectivity with a welcome infusion of flexibility and warmth that avoided a feeling of impersonal mechanical rigidity. Remarkably, perhaps overrun by the stereo revolution, this splendid monaural recording was never released at the time and was issued only in 1972 on the budget Odyssey LP label. Nor was Brahms likely to have known an obscure 1818 Deutsches Requiem that Franz Schubert had written for his brother. Indeed in terms of tempos alone this is quite possibly the most sizable variance among all known Toscanini performances of any given work. The logic of the voice leading is as inevitable as if decreed from heaven., Shaw was famously obsessive in his efforts to understand composers intentions and distill them for his singers. For Brahms work on the German Requiem was cathartic; he told friends upon its completion: "Now I am consoled. Arturo Toscanini, NBC Symphony, Westminster Choir, Herbert Janssen, Vivian Della Chiesa (1943, Guild CD, Pristine download; 71'). The vibrato-free Orchestre Rvolutionnaire et Romantique may divide listeners, but the payoff of this live performance from 2008 is the fabulous recorded sound quality across the range, from the throbbing subterranean bass which opens the work to the piercing, high solo winds of the inner movements. Take, for example, the opening phrase, "Selig sind." Take away the dynamics. I feel like an eagle, soaring ever higher and higher." The second movement the most overwhelming, almost Verdian number begins with an exquisite weariness, evoking the dragging feet of slowly processing mourners. The memory will stay with me all of my life.. James Levines 2004 recording with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra would reinforce that view it is dirge-like without grandeur, unrelentingly static. Bruno Walter, New York Philharmonic, Westminster Choir, George London, Irmgard Seefried (1956, Odyssey LP, Sony CD, 63'). She is a regular critic for BBC Music Magazine and broadcaster on BBC Radio 3 and BBC TV. But the catalyst for the decision seems to have been the death of his mother on February 2, 1865. Brahms-haters often complain that they find his music claggy, densely textured and over-serious. What's in a name? 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. Even though Mengelberg culminates with a slowly unfolding and majestic VI fugue and a ruminative finale, the overall impression is not one of mournful regret, but rather a contemplative celebration of life. Shaws longtime personal assistant, Nola Frink, was by his side as he struggled to find the right syllable for every note. But you must make it clear if youre not absolutely sure so the next generation knows where they stand. 1 in C minor, by Johannes Brahms. An October 30, 1937 Toscanini concert with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus (and soloists Alexander Sved and Isobel Baillie) presents an astonishing contrast in which he unfolds the Requiem with extreme reflection, basking in a remarkable 82 minutes. Natasha Loges is the head of postgraduate programmes and professor of musicology at the Royal College of Music. While conductors views often evolve over time, at first it seems hard to reconcile such radically different perspectives arising within a mere six years. What was going on in Brahmss life and work at the time he wrote the Requiem? Olaf sound. Shaw changed all that., That Shaw would be working on the Brahms Requiem as he neared his death seems almost preordained. By 1872 its text had been translated into English. Brahms's setting is framed by an instrumental prelude and postlude. All the score's details are heard clearly in an ideal balance without highlighting even the superstar soloists are placed back in the proper perspective, so that Fischer-Dieskau's effortless conviction and Schwartzkopf's sweet modesty are embedded within, rather than dominating, their sections. It comprises seven movements, which together last 65 to 80 minutes, making it Brahms's longest composition. He has freedom because of the rhythmic discipline.. It was his love for this art form. 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. The choir sounds both substantial and luminous, with crystalline German, effectively navigating the long and demanding fugues. Try 6 issues for just 9.99 when you subscribe to BBC Music Magazine today! The preparation of a new edition of the work by the team of the Brahms Collected Edition has taken decades but Brahms-lovers can rejoice that it is finally in print. He also held his first demanding job as conductor of the Vienna Singakademie, a role that exposed him to several centuries worth of choral repertoire. Wonderfully played, sung and recorded, everything fits together superbly. In keeping with the two soloists' respective functions, the baritone aptly quakes with excitement, while the soprano is serene. The soloists are nicely restrained and the choral fugues unfold with clarity and detailed interplay of their vocal lines. "), and then launches into a massive C-major fugue in praise of God as the creator of all. Hanslick added that "a work so hard to understand and dwelling on nothing but ideas of death should not expect a popular success and should fail to please many elements of the great public." 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. Robert Shaw rehearsing the Atlanta Symphony at Carnegie Hall. Throughout his session on the Requiems origins, Musgrave made it a point to pause occasionally to remind his listeners how little about the works creation we really know. One of the most fascinating consequences of the composer's free selection of his libretto is the variety of interpretations his text has stimulated. WebVince Sheehan explores the themes, structure and text of this choral masterpiece. 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. The title From the opening notes of this 1995 performance, we know that this will be a serious, dignified experience, characterised by a large-scale choral-orchestral sound and spacious, grand tempos. Were going to do it anyway, Shaw decided. Historians have also argued for other possible associations: for instance, with the death of Schumann, Brahmss mentor and friend; with a broader humanist message; and finally, with a nationalist imperative. The miniature score 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. Joseph Braunstein contends that Brahms was deeply affected by Schumann's suicide attempt the next year and wanted to express his emotions in a large-scale work but realized he was not yet prepared and abandoned the effort. Following her separation from Brahmss father, the composers beloved mother Christiane died of a stroke, aged 76, in early 1865. I prefer the earlier one, if only for the massively potent timpani that galvanize the II climaxes (and suggest control-room manipulation drums just can't be that loud!). Within those large sections, look for cadences to determine where the divisions are. While looking at structure, dont get distracted by the text, Jones counsels. The full work was first heard in Leipzig on February 18, 1869, completed by the lovely new fifth movement. Maurice Durufl's Requiem: the best recordings, Britten's War Requiem: the story of how Britten came to compose his most famous piece. Although Brahms had al-ready worked on A German Requiem, his Some of my colleagues think Im crazy, admits Musgrave, but Im convinced Ochs was right. I don't mean to be overly critical leaving aside comparisons to Furtwngler, this is a fine, compelling performance in its own right that underlines the score's drama and rises to a stirring, triumphant VI that leaves any thought of morbidity far behind. Just what did Brahms mean by a "German" Requiem? It provides historical information, performance considerations, musical analysis, and resource material for all who enjoy the musicology behind this magnificent work. Legend has it that Elizabeth Schwartzkopf, who sings her comforting solo with ravishing nurture, selflessly sang along with the chorus sopranos to bolster their efforts. Kargs sound is dramatic, if not ideally matched to Goerne, but again it is the silky-smooth orchestral-choral sound that wins over. So any gain in comprehension is offset by a loss of musical suitability. It was important for us to make things as easy as possible, because he could be extremely hard on himself. Never dull but rather purposeful and focused, it flows inexorably. This becomes evident at the very outset, as Abendroth, like Furtwngler, begins in shadowy mists but then leaves subtlety behind by turning the subtle <> markings of the second set of "selig sinds" at measure 29 into major sonic swells. Indeed, the only oblique allusion to Christ is the opening line ("Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted"), a brief quotation from the Sermon on the Mount. 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. It was about the music and nothing else. The author of this paper "The Symphony No 1 in C Minor Brahms" examines and analyzes the Symphony No. The primary stimulus appears to have come with Schumann's untimely death in 1856. 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. 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). In Powerpoint style Dr. Ted gives us an introduction to Brahms greatest choral work. WebA German Requiem, To Words of the Holy Scriptures, Op. 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. I could see he could channel more than music, but life itself. The most palpable point of distinction is with the far more prevalent Catholic requiem Mass. That, in turn, points to the sheer modernism of the work, not only reflecting the emerging secular spirit of the time to probe traditional material for individual expression, but launching the egoistic attitude of personal viewpoints that would come to challenge and even override established faith (as in Benjamin Britten's 1961 War Requiem and Leonard Bernstein's 1971 Mass). There was ample precedent for that approach, but none among major religious works of the time. 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. R. Kinloch Anderson cites the ghostly sound of the opening as proof of Brahms' sense of orchestral color and the patter of harp, flute and pizzicato violins as his sensitivity to specific words (in this instance accompanying mention of raindrops). You cant use that voice to begin rehearsals. For the Requiem, or any piece, he refused to tax his singers voices to achieve balance. and then plunges into a magnificent choral fugue assuring that "the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God." Composers of Latin requiems could inject themselves only partially into the final product, as each section had to illustrate, if not advance, the dogmatic progression as well as the prescribed wording of each required section a mournful Requiem aeternam, a fiery Dies irae, a somber Rex tremendae, a fearful Lacrymosa, a comforting Agnus Dei, etc. Later, he replaced the first movement Andante with Ziemlich langsam und mit Ausdruck (Quite slow and with expression), suggesting a weightier, more nuanced conception. Rethinking Brahms - Jul 24 2021 As a result, Lehmann leaves an overall impression of implacable sadness, only occasionally relieved by especially prominent brass within the shallow sonics. Eduard Hanslick, who ultimately would bestow upon the work the supreme praise of being a worthy successor to Bach's B Minor Mass and Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, likened the ending to "rattling through a tunnel on an express train" and wrote: "After long expanses of delicately lyrical, poetic music, the piece seemed to end by clubbing the audience about the head." As Andr Tubeuf quipped, Vienna may have lacked everything at the time except music. 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. From the very outset, the German Requiem has found favor, both with choral societies (especially amateur ones), who appreciated its relatively undemanding technical requirements and stamina, and with audiences, who undoubtedly welcomed its warm messages of comfort and hope. Modern commentators are able to view the work with greater perspective; writing in the 2001 Grove Dictionary, George Bozarth hails its diversity and historical awareness, ranging from the movement II opening of strict homophony to the elaborate neo-Handelian fugues that close III and VI, and even the IV opening that evokes a Viennese waltz. Either people insist upon regarding him as the legitimate successor to Beethoven or they deny him the position of a great master altogether." 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. In the meantime, in addition to isolated movements, two exceptional concerts had been recorded, although not released at the time. The fourth movement, an interlude reflecting the contentment of living with God, begins and ends simply and serenely, bracketing a double fugue that emerges to expand upon the thought of praising God. 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. His death on January 25, 1999 came just weeks before a planned recording session with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, which he had intended to conduct. WebBrahms: Ein deutsches Requiem. The final movement at last delivers a long-deferred prayer for the dead from Revelations 14:13. These include: John Eliot Gardiner, Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique, Monteverdi Choir, Rodney Gilfrey, Charlotte Margiono (1990, Philips CD, 66'), Roger Norrington, The London Classical Players, Schtz Choir of London, Olaf Br, Lynne Dawson (1992, EMI CD, 63').
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