{"id":15844,"date":"2022-05-18T17:41:08","date_gmt":"2022-05-18T15:41:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/?p=166735"},"modified":"2022-05-18T18:00:10","modified_gmt":"2022-05-18T16:00:10","slug":"a-guide-to-brahmss-a-german-requiem-and-its-best-recordings","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/a-guide-to-brahmss-a-german-requiem-and-its-best-recordings\/","title":{"rendered":"A guide to Brahms\u2019s A German Requiem and its best recordings"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Dr Natasha Loges\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 18 May 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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A \u2018sort of German Requiem\u2019 \u2013 this was the unformed compositional plan that the 32-year-old Brahms announced to his friend Clara Schumann in a letter 1865. Four years later, this magnificent work fulfilled the prophecy of Brahms\u2019s genius made by Clara\u2019s husband Robert in 1853.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

When did Brahms compose A German Requiem <\/i>and what inspired it?<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Brahms began to write his A German Requiem<\/i> roughly midway through the long, tortured process of composing his First Symphony, a work begun in 1854 but not premiered until 1876. Aged 32 at the time, his output up to this point had consisted largely of solo piano works and chamber music \u2013 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. That same year had also seen him break off his engagement to Agathe von Siebold who, he later told a friend, was the last love of his life.<\/span><\/p>\n

The requiem emerged from a decade of turmoil. The composer was moving between cities, seeking professional opportunities. He was absorbing musical influences ranging from Wagner\u2019s operas to Schubert\u2019s choral and orchestral works, which were emerging posthumously in Vienna. He also held his first demanding job as conductor of the Vienna Singakademie, a role that exposed him to several centuries\u2019 worth of choral repertoire. <\/span><\/p>\n

However, circumstances were increasingly troubled at home in Hamburg. Following her separation from Brahms\u2019s father, the composer\u2019s beloved mother Christiane died of a stroke, aged 76, in early 1865. Johannes rushed home but was too late to see her. By April, he sent Clara Schumann two movements of the Requiem<\/i>. <\/span><\/p>\n

The rest of the year was preoccupied with concerts and other compositions, but Brahms returned to the Requiem<\/i> in early 1866. Three movements were trialled unsuccessfully in Vienna, but some listeners recognised that it was perhaps too austere, too \u2018Bach-Protestant\u2019 for the pleasure-loving Viennese. Brahms\u2019s friend Albert Dietrich sent the score to the organist of Bremen Cathedral, Karl Reinthaler. He was so impressed that he organised a performance for Good Friday, to be conducted by the composer himself. <\/span><\/p>\n

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, \u2018Blessed are they who mourn\u2019; 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 \u2018The trumpet shall sound\u2019, and continuing to demand \u2018Death, where is thy sting?\u2019; reconciliation is achieved in the last movement with the words \u2018Blessed are the dead\u2019. <\/span><\/p>\n

However, Reinthaler pointed out a hitch, namely that none of the movements clearly stated Christian doctrine. Brahms responded that he\u2019d deliberately omitted such passages. A compromise for the premiere was achieved by including the aria \u2018I Know that My Redeemer Liveth\u2019 from Handel\u2019s Messiah<\/i>.<\/a><\/strong> The performance was a huge success \u2013 for Dietrich, it was \u2018simply overwhelming\u2019 \u2013 and Brahms was celebrated afterwards at a banquet. <\/span><\/p>\n

Inserting the Handel aria was clearly a sticking-plaster solution, so Brahms wrote a new fifth movement, for soprano solo and chorus, on the words: \u2018Now you mourn, but I will comfort you like a mother\u2019. For many, this is the expressive heart of the work, recalling Brahms\u2019s own tragic loss. <\/span><\/p>\n

Historians have also argued for other possible associations: for instance, with the death of Schumann, Brahms\u2019s mentor and friend; with a broader humanist message; and finally, with a nationalist imperative. Certainly, the Requiem<\/i>, completed just before the Franco-Prussian War, touched German listeners, symbolising the dead of war as well as signalling the emergence of a new empire. <\/span><\/p>\n

Nevertheless, the work was soon performed all over Europe, including in a piano duet performance in London in 1871. Given its vast performance tradition, it\u2019s hard to pin down Brahms\u2019s intentions. For example, most of the tempo markings in early versions were simply Andante<\/i>. Later, he replaced the first movement Andante<\/i> with Ziemlich langsam und mit Ausdruck<\/i> (\u2018Quite slow and with expression\u2019), suggesting a weightier, more nuanced conception. Similarly, the Andante con moto <\/i>of the final movement was replaced with Feierlich<\/i> (\u2018ceremonially\u2019) \u2013 regardless of how it is done, it remains challenging even for experienced choirs. <\/span><\/p>\n

Nearly 30 years later, Brahms asked his publisher to remove the metronome marks from the score, saying that \u2018good friends\u2019 had persuaded him to add them. This has led to much controversy in the best way to present his intentions. The preparation of a new edition of the work by the team of the Brahms Collected Edition has taken decades \u2013 but Brahms-lovers can rejoice that it is finally in print. <\/span><\/p>\n

The best recordings of Brahms\u2019s <\/span><\/strong>A German Requiem<\/i><\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Daniel Harding <\/span>(conductor)<\/i><\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Christiane Karg (soprano), Matthias Goerne (baritone); Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra\/ Daniel Harding <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Harmonia Mundi HMM902635<\/i><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Recordings of Brahms\u2019s large-scale choral-orchestral works have to pass two acid tests: first, the balancing of massive structures so that the whole thing hangs together, neither rushing nor dragging;\nand secondly, the handling of texture, so that listeners can hear individual orchestral-vocal lines and timbres, but also enjoy the seamless fusion of the gigantic collective sound which give such works their meaning. <\/span><\/p>\n

Harding\u2019s 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. The orchestral sound is revelatory, evoking the austerity of a church organ without relinquishing a jot of emotional weight. The unusual string sound borrows much from the world of historical performance, but without sacrificing the luxurious sound and emotional vulnerability that come with the use of vibrato. The choir sounds both substantial and luminous, with crystalline German, effectively navigating the long and demanding fugues.<\/span><\/p>\n

The second movement \u2013 the most overwhelming, almost Verdian number \u2013 begins with an exquisite weariness, evoking the dragging feet of slowly processing mourners. The build-up to the climactic cry that \u2018all flesh is as grass\u2019 leaves the listener broken, before the visceral relief at the major-key reassurance which follows. Matthias Goerne is a superbly racked soloist in the third movement \u2013 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. <\/span><\/p>\n

The fourth movement is tidily sung, but it is the orchestra that truly shines here, each timbre emerging, glowing from the overall texture, whether high winds, or rounded brass. It is an ideal set-up for the solo soprano movement that follows. Karg\u2019s sound is dramatic, if not ideally matched to Goerne, but again it is the silky-smooth orchestral-choral sound that wins over. The sixth movement is the perfect dramatic corollary to the second, Goerne\u2019s surprisingly tender utterance of \u2018We shall be changed\u2019 leading to tremendously exciting choral singing of \u2018Death, where is thy sting?\u2019. The stillness and tranquillity of the final movement brings a satisfying sense of closure and healing. <\/span><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

W<\/i><\/span>olfgang Sawallisch (conductor)<\/i><\/span><\/h3>\n

Orfeo C039101A<\/i><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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. But there is pathos here, too; each phrase breathes naturally, never sounding regimented. Thomas Allen brings a rugged grief to his solos, while Margaret Price\u2019s sound is both richly resonant and angelic. The pace picks up in the last two movements, beautifully conveying the mourner\u2019s healing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n