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Johannes
BRAHMS (1833-1897) Ein Deutches Requiem (A
German Requiem) Op. 45 (1854-1868)
Siri Karoline Thornhill (soprano); Klaus
Mertens (baritone);
Choir of St. Peter's Cathedral, Bremen
Kammer Sinfonie Bremen/Werner Helbich
rec. 9-13 April 2001, St. Peter's Cathedral,
Bremen. DDD
German texts and English translations
included
MUSIKPRODUKTION DABRINGHAUS UND GRIMM
MDG GOLD 3341137 [63:18]
Though heard everywhere,
the German Requiem is a work that requires a lot more
finesse and attention to detail than many another "perennial".
It can safely be said that this particular recording succeeds
in these regards only about half the time. In addition, it
represents a trend increasingly encountered on disc nowadays:
musicians who have made a name for themselves in the early
music field applying their methods to music where no recreation
of the performing tradition is needed. Werner Helbich and
the Bremen Domkor are eminent for their performances of Bach
cantatas and music of other composers of the same period,
but I found that their Brahms, while admirable for its attention
to detail, definitely lacked what used to be called "Romanticism",
or vitality, if you prefer.
The opening section of
the work, Selig sind, die da Leid tragen (Blessed
are they that mourn) begins glacially and doesn't really
pick up for more than half its length. There is almost no
regard paid to Brahms' rhythmic instructions. Things pick
up about seven minutes in (...und tragen edlen Samen)
where Helbich is able to bring out both the pathos of the
music and its lyricism. In this he is well aided by the playing
of the woodwinds. He generates some real excitement at the
end of the section. The second section, Denn alles Fleisch
ist wie Gras (Then all flesh is as grass) is in some
ways the most dramatic in the whole work. But in this performance
the main theme is taken too fast and the choir is hushed
where they should be energetically reverent. Again things
pick up towards the end. On the other hand, in the third
section, Herr, lehre doch mich ... (Lord, let me know...)
the baritone adds some much-needed warmth to the proceedings
and seems to inspire the chorus to do likewise. Mertens sings
in a manner that is almost conversational and this seems
perfectly suited to what Brahms had in mind.
The fourth movement Wie
Lieblich sind deine Wohnungungen (How lovely is thy
dwelling place) features the chorus and they again display
much lyrical feeling, sounding more Brahmsian. This is
perhaps the highpoint in the performance for them. The
soprano appears in the fifth movement Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit (You
who now are sorrowful). As she always does, Ms. Thornhill
sings clear as a bell and with much feeling. Unfortunately,
the acoustics in the Cathedral dampen some of her best
moments and her tempi could be a little more lively. But
her high notes are lovely. Mertens returns in the sixth
section Denn wir haben hei keine bleibende Statt (Here
on earth we have no stable place) and while he is not quite
as impressive here as in the third section he still combines
exceptionally with the chorus, who also are very good in
the passage "...wir warden nicht alle entschlafen...". Helbig
brings the whole work together in the last section Selig
sind die Toten (Blessed are the Dead), perhaps by making
it sound more Classical than one would expect.
The engineering on this
disc is quite good, but it cannot always overcome the cavernous
sound of the Bremen Cathedral. This affects the soprano and
sometimes the chorus most. The notes by Irmind Capelle -
appropriately named - not only ably describe the genesis
of the work, but how it has fared as both a concert and a
religious work. In short, an earnest but unfulfilled attempt.
Sometimes the old ways of performance are the best ways.
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