Johannes BRAHMS (1833-1897)
Ein deutsches Requiem, Op 45
Christiane Karg (soprano)
Matthias Goerne (baritone)
Swedish Radio Choir
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra / Daniel Harding
rec. 2018, Berwaldhallen, Stockholm, Sweden
German text, English & French translations included
HARMONIA MUNDI HMM 902635 [70:32]
Ein deutsches Requiem has been much on my mind recently. It’s long been one of my favourite choral works and I’ve had the delight of singing it several times. As I write this review, in early November, the choir to which I belong is about to give two performances of the work so, through rehearsals, I’ve been immersed in it for some weeks now.
This new recording from Daniel Harding gets off in a questionable fashion, I think. The tempo marking of the first movement is Ziemlich langsam und mit Ausdruck (Moderately slow and with expression). I’m afraid that every time I’ve listened to this disc, I’ve felt that Daniel Harding misjudges the tempo. He takes the music slowly, the broad pace emphasised by a quite pronounced bass line which, while not unwelcome in itself, adds to the impression of a heavy tread. To my surprise, in the first two bars that the chorus sings he broadens further an already slow tempo, something which certainly isn’t marked in the vocal score. I strongly prefer the sombre yet purposeful pace adopted by Otto Klemperer in his 1961 EMI recording, still an interpretation to be reckoned with after all these years, though collectors should be aware of Rob Barnett’s reservations, not least over the sound in its latest Alto incarnation (review). To my mind, Klemperer gets the approach just right in this movement, as does Philippe Herreweghe in his live 1996 reading (Harmonia Mundi HMG 501608). It’s noticeable that Harding takes 11:24 over this movement compared with Klemperer’s 9:56 and Herreweghe’s 10:12. Pacing is all important here because, for me, it goes to the heart of Brahms’ intentions. Ein deutsches Requiem is not a setting of the Mass for the Dead and it’s worthy of note that the departed get scarcely a mention until the final movement. In that last movement the words are ‘Selig sind die Toten’ but here, at the opening, Brahms selects words from St Matthew’s Gospel, ‘Selig sind, die da Leid tragen, denn sie sollen getröstet werden’ (Blessed are the sorrowful, for they shall be comforted). Harding’s trudging pace brings little solace, whereas the way in which Klemperer allows the music to move onwards allows more reassurance.
However, though I’m not convinced by Harding’s way with the first movement I’d urge collectors who feel as I do about that to stay the course for there’s much to admire and appreciate in the movements that follow. Furthermore, I should say that the first movement is beautifully performed by Harding’s Swedish chorus and orchestra. One thing that’s noticeable right from the very start is that Harding gets his string players to be sparing with vibrato so, for example, a very grainy string sound is apparent in the orchestral introduction; it’s not unlike hearing period instruments. I mentioned the very firm bass line and an important contributing factor to this is the organ which is well recorded so that the instrument enriches the texture, here and elsewhere, without ever being intrusive.
The imposing funeral march of ‘Denn alles Fleisch’ is very well paced by Harding and he builds the march purposefully. I like the airiness and lightness with which the ‘So seid nun geduldig’ episode is delivered; it’s a real contrast to the march, as it should be. The big contrapuntal passage (‘Die Erlöseten des Herrn’) is very well done and the frequent references to ‘Freude’ are very convincingly exclaimed by the choir. The movement’s tranquil close comes off very well. At the start of the third movement Matthias Goerne sings with splendid tone and with presence. He phrases beautifully and expressively – the passage beginning ‘Ach, wie gar nichts’ is a case in point. His easy, unforced production at the top of his compass is a particular pleasure to hear. After the radiant ‘Ich hoffe auf Dich’, the chorus achieves great clarity in the fugue on ‘Der Gerechten Seelen sind in Gottes Hand’.
Chorus and orchestra offer a fluent and airy account of the fourth movement. Then we hear Christiane Karg in ‘Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit’. This movement was added to the work a few months after the first performance of Ein deutsches Requiem in 1868. Was it Brahms’ tribute to his mother, whose death in 1865 was a loss that he felt deeply? It’s plausible that this was the case, not least because Brahms included a line from Isaiah, ‘Ich will euch trösten, wie einen seine Mutter tröstet’ (As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you). The music is intimate and consoling and Christiane Karg’s silvery tone and expressive approach is ideal. Hers is a fine contribution.
In the following movement we hear Matthias Goerne again. He brings subtlety and lightness to his lyrical solo. His approach is softer-grained than many baritones I’ve heard in this work. I like very much what I hear. My only reservation is to wonder if this is a performance for the microphone. In other words, would Goerne project the music more strongly – out of necessity – if he were singing the work in a concert hall? However, there’s no denying the beauty of his performance on this disc and when he gets to ‘Dann wird erfüllet werden das Wort’ his singing is commanding. Because Goerne has been so subtle at the start of the movement the sound of ‘der letzten Posaune’ comes as something of a shock, the more so because Harding and his musicians make the passage so fiery. The passage where the choir demands ‘Tod, wo ist dein Stachel?’ (Death where is thy sting?) is really exciting – the choir hurls out its challenges to Death and the Grave. The last of Brahms’ great fugues (‘Herr, du bist Würdig’) is superbly done. Though this is essentially an outpouring of praise there’s a great deal of dynamic light and shade written into the score and that’s all scrupulously observed here, especially by the Swedish Radio Choir. In terms of fidelity to the score, this is just how the section ought to be sung, but very often isn’t.
Harding invests the opening of the final movement with an ideal mix of solemnity and momentum. When he reaches that wonderful passage beginning ‘Ja, der Geist spricht’ there’s first of all an air of mystery which then gives way to consoling reassurance. This passage is expressively done by Harding’s singers and players. This is a radiant movement and the performance does the music justice.
I started out by having reservations about Daniel Harding’s approach to Ein deutsches Requiem and those reservations remain. Once past the opening movement, though, I found his interpretation was very much to my taste. The execution of the performance itself is extremely good from start to finish and the performance has been captured in excellent sound, which combines clarity and warmth. The documentation, which is in English, French and German, is very good indeed, not least the valuable essay about the work by Christopher H Gibbs.
John Quinn
Previous review: Simon Thompson
