Choral music, as illustrated
by the paltry number of concert performances
and the frequent CD deletions remains
unfashionable and has been so for several
decades. This is a terrible shame as
the choral compositions of Brahms and
also Rheinberger contain remarkable
music which is for the most part unknown
to the average listener. A considerable
treasure trove of precious gems remain
to be unearthed from these sources.
Thankfully, the tide now seems to be
turning and in the last three or so
years there have been several welcome
new Brahms cycles released by Chandos,
ClassicO, Brilliant Classics, Harmonia
Mundi and Hyperion.
Throughout the careers
of Brahms and Rheinberger, choral works,
both sacred and secular, were extremely
popular throughout most of Europe. This
trend continued to an unprecedented
degree that has not been seen since
right up to the outbreak of the Great
War. In 1859 Brahms co-formed and became
director of the Hamburger Frauenchor,
a woman’s choir numbering some forty
voices, an association which was active
until 1862. This experience undoubtedly
inspired Brahms to write for choral
forces which he continued to do productively
for the rest of his life. Rheinberger,
the largely ignored composer of twelve
Masses, a Stabat Mater,
a Requiem and many other sacred
music scores, followed an association
with choral music similar to that of
Brahms. He was engaged as accompanist
to the Munich Choral Society in 1854,
progressing to director ten years later.
He resigned in 1877 when he became director
of the Königliche Hofkapellmeister.
Brahms’s early Missa
Canonica for four/five part choir
and organ is something of a rarity.
Composed around 1856, it lay unperformed
until its publication in 1983 despite
being regarded highly enough by its
composer for him to have re-used some
of its material in the popular Motet,
Warum ist das Licht gegeben?
The absence of both the Gloria
and Credo settings - these texts
being too long to be easily suited to
the form of a Canon - probably explains
the neglect of the score. Yet the four
movements of this youthful work show
all the hallmarks of Brahms’s compositional
mastery and a deft handling of choral
effect; qualities well known from his
many Motets. The Motets represented
here are: Es ist das Heil uns kommen
her, Op. 29/1; Schaffe in mir,
Gott, Op. 29/2; O Heiland, reiss
die Himmel auf, Op. 74/2 and Warum
ist das Licht gegeben?, Op. 74/1.
The sublime Sacred Song, Geistliches
Lied, Op. 30 is also recorded here
as is the popular setting of the Mendelssohn-influenced,
Ave Maria, Op. 12.
Although I was hearing
the score for the first time Joseph
Rheinberger’s extraordinary Mass
in E flat major for unaccompanied
double choir, Op. 109 from 1878, is
undoubtedly the star work and concludes
this Hyperion release. The marketing
information to the release explains,
"This is music born of the polychoral
Venetian tradition of Gabrieli and Monteverdi,
nurtured on the harmonic milk of Bach
and Mendelssohn, and finally offered
up to the world as a miniature choral
symphony that is uniquely Rheinberger’s."
Dedicated to Pope Leo XIII, Rheinberger’s
Mass for double choir was written
in the months immediately following
his rejection of the ideals of the Cecilian
movement. The organisation attempted
to place church music firmly within
the liturgy by deliberately suppressing
musical individuality in favour of clear
declamation of the text. The Cecilians
aimed to restore a Palestrina-like ‘purity’
to liturgical music.
Rheinberger’s Mass
for double choir, although undeniably
dependent on earlier models, exhibits
the composer’s new-found freedom and
flexibility when writing sacred music.
Right from the opening bars, the antiphonal
writing harks back to the late-Renaissance
splendour of Venice’s cori spezzati
(spaced choirs) tradition, and the
spectres of Bach and Mendelssohn are
never far away. However, this music
belongs to Rheinberger and shows to
great effect his gloriously unpredictable
powers of invention and strong gift
for liturgical communication.
It is hard to imagine
finer singing of these sacred scores
from Brahms and Rheinberger than that
from the Westminster Cathedral Choir.
The Cathedral choristers display a remarkable
technical prowess and refinement. From
the riveting Kyrie of the Missa
Canonica to the symphonic conclusion
of the Agnus Dei of the Mass
for double choir, Martin
Baker directs winning performances,
that are marvellously fresh and well-paced.
In the exceptional ecclesiastical acoustic
of Westminster Cathedral the male choir’s
timbre is rich and immediate, with a
robust edge that seems ideal for these
compelling scores. The highlight for
me is the direct and vital quality to
the Westminster choir’s singing in Rheinberger’s
magnificent Mass. The
contribution from organist Matthew Martin
is first rate, providing immediacy,
without ever being obtrusive.
These are superbly
performed and recorded sacred works
that lovers of choral music will surely
relish.
Michael Cookson
for
details
The Choir of Westminster Cathedral/Martin Baker
