CD1
1. Dmitrji BORTNJANSKI
(1751-1825)
Ich bete an die Macht der Liebe [3:40]
Men’s Chorus of the Leipzig Radio Choir/Jörg-Peter
Weigle
2. Franz SCHUBERT
(1797-1828)
Tantum ergo D.962 [5:36]
Soloists from the Berlin Radio Choir,
Berlin Radio Choir, Berlin Radio Symphony
Orchestra/Dietrich Knothe
3. Anton BRUCKNER
(1824-1896)
Ave Maria [3:23]
Vienna Children’s Choir, Chorus Viennensis/Peter
Marschik
4. Max BRUCH
(1838-1920)
Jubilate, Amen, op.3 [3:41]
Dorothee Jansen, WDR Radio Choir, WDR
Radio Orchestra, Köln/Helmuth Froschauer
5. Felix MENDELSSOHN
BARTHOLDY (1809-1847)
Elijah: "Denn er hat seinen Engeln
befohlen über dir" [2:42]
Dresden Kruzchor/Martin Flämig
6. Franz SCHUBERT
Mass no.6 in Eb, D.950. Credo: "Et incarnates
est" [5:50]
Ildiko Raimondi, Bernarda Fink, Herbert
Lippert, Helmut Wildhaber, Hugo-Distler
Choir, WienerAkadamie/Martin Haselböck
7. Friedrich SILCHER
(1789-1860)
So nimm denn meine Hände [2:50]
Men’s chorus of the Leipzig Radio Choir/Jörg-Peter
Weigle
8. Joseph RHEINBERGER
(1839-1901)
Der Stern von Bethlehem op.164:
Die Hirten [6:19]
Dorothee Jansen, WDR Radio Choir, WDR
Radio Orchestra, Köln/Helmuth Froschauer
9. Edvard GRIEG
(1843-1890)
Ave Maris Stella [2:34]
Regensburger Domspatzen/Roland Büchner
10. Felix
MENDELSSOHN BARTHOLDY
Laudate pueri, op.39 no.2 [5:23]
Dresden Kreuzchor, Michael-Christfried
Winkler (organ)/Martin Flämig
11. Franz SCHUBERT
Deutsche Messe, D872: Sanctus:
"Heilig, heilig, ist der Herr" [3:05]
RIAS Chamber Choir, Berlin Radio Symphony
Orchestra/Marcus Creed
12. Carl LOEWE
(1796-1869)
Salvum fac regem [3:34]
WDR Radio Choir/ Helmuth Froschauer
13. Camille SAINT-SAËNS
(1835-1921)
Oratorio de Noël: "Consurge,
Filia Sion – tollite hostias" [6:37]
Ute Selbig, Elisabeth Wilke, Annette
Markert, Armin Ude, Dresden Kreuzchor,
Dresden Philharmonic/Martin Flämig
14. Johannes BRAHMS
(1833-1897)
Ein Deutsches Requiem, op.45:
"Selig sind die Toten" [12:45]
Leipzig Radio Choir, Leipzig Radio Symphony
Orchestra/Herbert Kegel
CD2
1. Franz SCHUBERT
Der Lindenbaum [2:41]
Men’s chorus of the Leipzig Radio Choir/Jörg-Peter
Weigle
2. Johannes BRAHMS
Waldesnacht, op.62 no.3 [4:20]
Regensburger Domspatzen/Roland Büchner
3. Edvard GRIEG
Landerkennung, op.31 [8:23]
Hans-Joachim Ribbe (baritone), Men’s
chorus of the Leipzig Radio Choir/ Jörg-Peter
Weigle
4. Franz SCHUBERT
Ständchen, op. posth.135,
D.920 [5:51]
Astrid Pilzecker (alto), Men’s Chorus
of the Berlin Radio Choir, Bernd Casper
(piano)/Dietrich Knothe
5. Robert SCHUMANN
(1810-1856)
Frühlingsgruβ [1:42]
Dresden Kreuzchor/Martin Flämig
6.Robert SILCHER
(1789-1860)
Loreley [2:45]
Men’s chorus of the Leipzig Radio Choir/Jörg-Peter
Weigle
7. Felix MENDELSSOHN
BARTHOLDY
Ödipus, op.93 [6:01]
Berlin Radio Choir, "Carl Maria von
Weber" Men’s Choir of Berlin, Berlin
Radio Symphony Orchestra/Stefan Soltesz
8. Johannes BRAHMS
In stiller Nacht [2:01]
Münster Student Madrigal Choir
9. Franz SCHUBERT
Nachtgesang im Walde, op.posth.139,
D.913 [5:32]
Gerhard Mayer, Wolfgang Stahl, Dieter
Fökel, Michael Schöppe (horns)
Men’s Chorus of the Berlin Radio Choir/Dietrich
Knothe
10. Robert FRANZ
(1815-1892)
Im Mai [1:09]
Thomanerchor Leipzig/Hans-Joachim Rotzsch
11. Carl Maria
von WEBER (1786-1826)
Frühlingslied [2:38]
"Carl Maria von Weber" Men’s Choir of
Berlin
12. Franz SCHUBERT
Rosamunde: Hirtenchor [4:16]
WDR Radio Choir, WDR Radio Orchestra,
Köln/Helmuth Froschauer
13. Johannes BRAHMS
All meine Herzgedanken [3:39]
Regensburger Domspatzen/Roland Büchner
14. Franz ABT
(1819-1885)
Ave Maria op.533, III [5:41]
Men’s chorus of the Leipzig Radio Choir/Jörg-Peter
Weigle
15. Johannes BRAHMS
Alto Rhapsody for alto solo,
men’s chorus and orchestra, op.53 [12:09]
Marjana Lipvosek (alto), Friedrich von
Spee Men’s Chorus, Radio Télé
Luxembourg Symphony Orchestra/Leopold
Hager
CD3
1. Richard WAGNER
(1813-1883)
Tannhäuser: Einzug der
Gäster auf die Wartburg [6:00]
Chorus of Bavarian State Opera, Bavarian
State Orchestra/Hanns-Martin Schneidt
2. Otto NICOLAI
(1810-1849)
Die Lustige Weiben von Windsor:
Mondchor [4:07]
WDR Radio Choir, WDR Radio Orchestra
Köln/Helmuth Froschauer
3. Albert LORTZING
(1801-1851)
Zar und Zimmermann: "Der hohen
Herrscher würdig zu empfangen"
[9:41]
Franz Hawlata, WDR Radio Choir, WDR
Radio Orchestra Köln/Helmuth Froschauer
4. Conradin KREUTZER
(1780-1849)
Das Nachtlager in Granada: Chor
der Hirten [5:32]
Regina Klepper, Hermann Prey, Martin
Blasius, WDR Radio Choir, WDR Radio
Orchestra Köln/Helmuth Froschauer
5. Albert LORTZING
Undine: Brautchor [2:03]
WDR Radio Choir, WDR Radio Orchestra
Köln/Kurt Eichhorn
6. Louis SPOHR
(1784-1859)
Faust: Blocksbergszene [7:54]
Martin Borst, Bo Skovhus, Franz Hawlata,
Sündfunkchor Stuttgart, SWF Kaiserlautern
Radio Orchestra/Klaus Arp
7. Carl LOEWE
(1796-1869)
Die drei Wünsche: Pilgerchor
[3:21]
Stuttgart Choristers, SWF Radio Orchestra/Peter
Falk
8. Victor E. NESSLER
(1841-1890)
Der Trompeter von Säckingen:
Vorspiel und Studentlied [3:54]
Hermann Prey, Franz Hawlata, WDR Radio
Choir, WDR Radio Orchestra Köln/Helmuth
Froschauer
9. Carl Maria
von WEBER
Der Freischütz: Chor
der Brautjungfern [3:11]
Bulgarian National Choir, Sofia Philharmonic
Orchestra/Georgi Robev
10. Friedrich
von FLOTOW (1812-1883)
Martha: Markt-Szene [4:55]
Franz Hawlata, WDR Radio Choir, WDR
Radio Orchestra Köln/Helmuth Froschauer
11. Heinrich August
MARSCHNER (1795-1861)
Der Vampyr: "Munter, edle Zecher"
[4:07]
WDR Radio Choir, WDR Radio Orchestra
Köln/Helmuth Froschauer
12. Johann Joseph
ABERT (1852-1915)
Ekkehard: "Mit schönste
Blumenfülle" [3:03]
Stuttgart Choristers, SWR Radio Orchestra
Kaiserlautern/Peter Falk
13. Carl Maria
von WEBER
Euryanthe: Jägerchor
[1:35]
Choir and Orchestra of the National
Opera, Sofia/Georgi Robev
14. Richard WAGNER
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg:
Finale [6:14]
Sandor Sólyóm-Nagy, Choir
and Orchestra of the Hungarian State
Opera/Janos Ferencsik
No dates or venues are quoted for these
recordings.
The vast majority of
these ‘Masters of Romantic Choral Music"
are German, as you can see. And that’s
not surprising, as these recordings
are the results of collaborations between
Capriccio and the various German regional
broadcasting companies – West German
Radio, Berlin Radio, Bavarian Radio
and South-West Radio (SWR) – using their
excellent choirs and orchestras.
Each of the three CDs
focuses on a different aspect of Romantic
choral music – CD1 being sacred, CD2
secular and CD3 operatic. I found this
final disc by far the least musically
satisfying, as most of the opera choruses
come under the general description of
‘rousing’; the cynic might say that
when you’ve heard one German hunting
chorus, you’ve heard the lot! However,
it’s not quite as bad as that, and some
of the numbers are genuinely attractive.
I particularly enjoyed the Bridal chorus
from Lortzing’s Undine, with
the fresh voices of the WDR Choir giving
the music real sparkle. The beautiful
‘Moon Chorus’ from Nicolai’s Merry
Wives of Windsor is based on music
familiar from the famous overture, while
the extract from Lortzing’s Zar und
Zimmermann (Tsar and Carpenter)
is the scene from Act 3 in which a farcical
cantata rehearsal takes place. Lots
of fun, though the lack of texts or
anything else other than the briefest
of plot summaries hampers more complete
enjoyment.
The presence of music
by numerous relatively obscure figures
is sensibly offset by finishing each
disc with a major masterpiece – Brahms
German Requiem at the end of
CD1, the same composer’s Alto Rhapsody
completing CD2, and the finale from
Die Meistersinger rounding off
CD3. Nonetheless, some of the lesser
known music is well worth hearing; Joseph
Rheinberger’s shepherd song from his
cantata The Star of Bethlehem is
quite lovely, with its straightforward
melodic utterance and sensitive orchestration
(great number for Christmas concerts
– choral societies take note!). Much
of the music on CD1 is of similarly
touching simplicity. Silcher’s So
nimm du mein Hände is little
more than a hymn tune, but when sung
with the glorious tone and phrasing
provided here by the men of the Leipzig
Radio Choir, it is a memorable experience.
Much the same goes for Grieg’s celebrated
Ave maris stella, performed by
Regensburger Domspatzen.
CD1 contains some other
little gems. Bruckner’s Ave Maria
receives a thrilling performance
from the combined Vienna Boys’ Choir
and Chorus Viennensis, the boys sailing
fearlessly up to their top notes. Mendelssohn
is represented twice; by his Laudate
pueri for choir and organ, and by
a chorus from Elijah usually
rendered in English as "For He shall
give His angels charge over thee". This
is particularly interesting, as it is
given a fine a cappella performance
by the Dresden Kreuzchor. As this number
has a full orchestral accompaniment
in its oratorio context, it would have
been good to know if this arrangement
was made or sanctioned by the composer.
Sadly, no such information is forthcoming
from Capriccio.
CD2 has a similar ‘feel’
to it – some unaccompanied items, some
with keyboard, plus one or two with
orchestra. There is more truly superlative
male choral singing in the Schubert
items; Der Lindenbaum from the
song-cycle Die Winterreise, Ständchen,
and Nachtgesang im Walde, with
splendid playing from the horn
quartet that creates the forest atmosphere.
There is a complete performance of Grieg’s
stirring Viking drama Landerkennung
("Landsighting") and the disc finishes
with a respectable, if not memorable,
Alto Rhapsody, where, though
Marjana Lipvosek sings expressively
and intelligently, the male chorus is
placed disappointingly far back in the
recording.
A highly enjoyable
and interesting compilation, then, demonstrating
the special qualities of German choral
singing and featuring some attractive
rarities.
Gwyn Parry-Jones
for
details 
CAPRICCIO 67 136/38 [3 CDs: 68:26 + 69:30
+ 66:19] 
