In a review contemporaneous
to this I wrote that the greatest composers
wrote the greatest music … even if some
of it is only rarely in the public
domain. The greatness of the choral
works of Johannes Brahms only serves
to reinforce my viewpoint. Choral music,
as illustrated by the minute number
of concert performances and the frequent
deletions from the CD catalogue, remains
unfashionable and has been so for several
decades. This is a terrible shame as
Brahms’s choral compositions are remarkable
music and are for the most part unknown
to the average listener leaving a considerable
treasure trove of precious gems to be
unearthed. The ever enterprising Chandos
label is to be heartily congratulated
on braving the obvious commercial constraints
and releasing a cycle of Brahms’s choral
works of which by my reckoning this
is the fifth in the series.
Throughout Brahms’s
career choral works, both sacred and
secular, were extremely popular. In
1859 he co-formed and became director
of the Hamburger Frauenchor (an association
which was active until 1862) a women’s
choir numbering some forty voices. This
experience undoubtedly stimulated Brahms
to write for choral forces which he
continued to do productively for the
rest of his life.
The first work on this
superb new Chandos release is the rare
and wonderful Triumphlied (Song
of Triumph) for eight-part chorus,
baritone solo and orchestra which Brahms
set with miscellaneous biblical texts
taken from The Revelation of St.
John, chapter 19. Brahms composed
this three movement thanksgiving cantata,
patriotic to his Motherland, in 1870-71
to celebrate the Imperial German army’s
victories in the Franco-Prussian war
and the humiliation of France. It was
received with great acclaim and numerous
performances. The intention behind Brahms’s
outpouring of nationalism, bordering
on extreme jingoism, is perhaps difficult
to understand today. But at the time
of its composition Brahms was only reflecting
his Empire’s mood of intense pride and
total relief associated with the victories
of warfare. It was also a celebration
of the new German Empire’s recently
crowned monarch, the work’s dedicatee
Emperor Wilhelm I, and the celebrated
war leader and politician the Imperial
’Iron’ Chancellor, Bismarck. For these
reasons it is not surprising that performances
outside Imperial Germany immediately
ceased after the start of the Great
War. Since the end of World War Two
the work also quickly lost its popularity
in Germany. However if I ever have any
doubts about Brahms being a very great
composer I listen to the Triumphlied
(Song of Triumph) together with the
cantata Rinaldo op. 50 and any misgivings
are immediately dispelled.
The Triumphlied for
reasons discussed above, is certainly
the least known of Brahms’s major choral
compositions but few who have once heard
the work will fail to become admirers.
Described as "glorious" by
J.A. Fuller-Maitland, "wonderful"
by Donald Tovey and by biographer Florence
May as having, "a power, a vividness,
a picturesque strength, that are not
transcended, even if they are equalled,
by anything ever composed in the domain
of choral music for the church or the
concert room." Praise indeed!
There are only a handful
of versions of the Triumphlied in the
catalogues of which I would single out
the fine performance from the Ernst-Senff
Choir Berlin, Dresdner Philharmonie
under Michel Plasson which is available
as part of a five disc set on EMI Classics
5 75722-2 (without texts). On this Chandos
recording of the Triumphlied the Danish
National Orchestra and Chorus under
maestro Albrecht demonstrate mastery
of the composer’s sheer splendour and
extravagant invention. In the third
movement we are joined by the characterful
and convincing performance from baritone
Bo Skovhus pronouncing St. John’s vision,
"And I saw heaven opened, and behold,
a white horse…"
Brahms originally composed
the Ave Maria in 1858
for female voices and organ. In 1859
he added some light woodwind to the
organ accompaniment. It is thought that
Brahms was inspired to write the work
by a passage from Die Lebensansichten
des Katers Murr by E.T.A. Hoffman
a work that the composer so admired.
The Ave Maria is a
charming and gentle work and is gloriously
performed by the Danish National Choir
with clarity, lightness and a real sense
of freshness. A brief piece, the Ave
Maria has been recorded many times,
frequently appearing as part of classical
compilations. Two alternative versions
that I admire are by the St. Bride’s
Church Choir, Fleet Street, London under
the baton of Robert Jones on Naxos 8.553877
and the Corydon Singers conducted by
Matthew Best on Hyperion CDA 66389.
It was undoubtedly
the success of his German Requiem, op
45, in 1868 that provided Brahms with
the inspiration to compose other large-scale
works for chorus and orchestra. Sometimes
referred to as Brahms’s ‘Little Requiem’
the Schicksalslied (Song of
Fate or Song of Destiny)
for four-part chorus and orchestra was
composed between 1868 and 1871. Whilst
visiting the German naval seaport of
Wilhelmshaven with his friend Albert
Dietrich, Brahms was captivated by a
poem he discovered by Friedrich Hölderlin
entitled Hyperions Schicksalslied;
almost immediately he was deep in composition.
Described as achingly
beautiful the Schicksalslied contains
great drama. The Danish National Symphony
Orchestra and Choir rise superbly to
the occasion giving a passionate and
vibrant performance which was quite
breathtaking. Of the several available
recordings of this piece I
have affection for the readings by the
Atlanta Symphony Chorus and Orchestra
under Robert Shaw on Telarc CD80176
and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
and Chorus under Herbert Blomstedt on
a Decca double 452 582-2.
The final work on this
release is the impressive and exciting
Nänie (Threnody or
Lament) for four-part chorus
and orchestra. Intended as a musical
memorial to his friend Anselm Feuerbach
the painter, Brahms composed the score
between 1880 and 1881 and uses a text
by Friedrich Schiller. Portraying the
shadow of death the singularly impressive
Nänie is a reflective lamentation,
extremely elegiac and strong in nobility.
In the Chandos booklet notes the author
enthuses, "For sheer heartbreaking
beauty of sound and line, Nänie
is possibly the most radiant thing he
ever wrote." In 1947 biographer
Karl Geiringer describes the work as
having, "a spirit of perfect harmony,
tranquil and serene."
The Danish National
Chorus and Symphony Orchestra are distinguished
throughout the score giving a memorable
and thoughtful performance under the
telling direction of Gerd Albrecht.
The lyrical Nänie has been reasonably
well served on record and three accounts
worthy of praise are those from the
Berlin Radio Chorus and the Berlin Philharmonic
Orchestra under Claudio Abbado on Deutsche
Grammophon 435 791-2, the San Francisco
Symphony Orchestra and Chorus under
Herbert Blomstedt on Decca double 452
582-2 and the New Philharmonia Chorus
and Orchestra under Wilhelm Pitz available
as part of a five disc set on EMI Classics
5 75722-2 (without texts).
Rarely am I entirely
satisfied with recordings of works for
chorus and orchestra where the technical
demands are clearly problematic for
the sound engineers. No problems here
on this Chandos release which has the
finest recorded sound of its genre that
I have heard for some considerable time.
None of the competition are able to
vie with this collection which is now
the pack-leader. The total playing time
is rather meagre but this becomes insignificant
with performances as superior as these;
magnificent works, magnificently recorded.
This Chandos release should be in the
collection of every classical music
lover. Indispensable!
Michael Cookson
Bo Skovhus (baritone)* 