Johannes BRAHMS (1833-1897)
Ein deutsches Requiem, Op. 45 (1867) [64:07]
Sally Matthews (soprano); Christopher Maltman (baritone)
London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus/Valery Gergiev
rec. live, Barbican Centre, London, March 2013
LSO LIVE LSO 0748 [64:07]
Gergiev's refined treatment of the German Requiem is
welcome, avoiding the turgidity associated with this music in some quarters.
Sometimes, this light touch is reflected in tempi brisker than the norm:
the airy lift of Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen, for example,
recalls some of the composer's spring-like lieder. At other times,
Gergiev sets a standard pace but lightens the textures, rather than letting
them go thick.
The first two movements most vividly illustrate Gergiev's approach.
Selig sind, die da Leid tragen begins quietly, with unusually
intense concentration. The pulsing low strings are clear, yet, as the
textures build, the sonority is warm. The woodwinds, as they enter, are
pleasingly transparent, so the textures stay "open" and clear
rather than thick: the reed and string sonorities set each other off nicely.
Denn alles Fleisch begins with a similar lightness, pounding
timpani and all, and with restraint, maintaining the mood of the "mourners"
referenced in the text of the first movement. The choral is consistently
well-blended and -balanced, save when some whitish sounds occasionally
escape the tenors.
Yet, for all its insights, this performance falls short, for reasons that
may be elusive. The fugues in the second and third movements are unusually
buoyant, and impeccably voiced and balanced - every strand is clear. Yet,
despite Gergiev's propulsive manner, there's no sense of
an overall shape to either of them; Denn alles Fleisch, having
already gone on for a while before its fugue begins, sounds particularly
aimless. Similarly, the concluding Selig sind die Toten movement
is played and sung with the tact that marked the opening of the piece,
but it feels somehow detached, an unsatisfactory resolution of the musical
journey.
Should the soloists interest you, Christopher Maltman takes a while to
warm up, figuratively and literally. At the start of Herr, lehre doch
mich, he sounds a bit gruff, and the rise at "und ich davon
muss" is uncomfortable. That phrase goes better when it returns at
full voice later on, and the baritone gradually settles into a clearer,
more open sound, though his closed vowels are pressed. Sally Matthews
does as well as most other sopranos in Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit.
Perhaps her float isn't ideal, but the tessitura is cruel, and
she conveys the appropriate consolation, with the voice maintaining its
presence as it drops into the midrange.
A good performance - and from an unexpected quarter, at that - but no
challenge to your particular favourite from analogue days: the burnished,
reverent Solti (Decca), perhaps; or the silky, luminous Karajan (DG);
or the taut, imposing Klemperer (EMI).
Stephen Francis Vasta
Stephen Francis Vasta is a New York-based conductor, coach, and journalist.
Previous review: Gwyn
Parry Jones
Masterwork Index: Brahms
requiem
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