brahms requiem analysis brahms requiem analysis
WebTo make a thorough study of these lessons is to became a better teacher or student, and also to became a more discerning musician. James Levines 2004 recording with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra would reinforce that view it is dirge-like without grandeur, unrelentingly static. Nor was Brahms likely to have known an obscure 1818 Deutsches Requiem that Franz Schubert had written for his brother. It was about the music and nothing else. The contradictions in Brahmss theologyreligious skepticism combined with undeniable spiritualityappealed deeply to Robert Shaw, according to Craig Jessop. This first recording of the German Requiem was a propitious match of artists and repertoire. At that point there were six movements, settings of Lutheran Bible texts Brahms had collated himself, which trace a trajectory from suffering to acceptance: the first movement opens, Blessed are they who mourn; the dramatic second movement opens by declaring that all flesh is like grass, but the word of the Lord endures; the third introduces the baritone soloist, who pleads with God for acceptance of his transience; the sunny fourth, the most popular standalone number, contemplates the beauty of heaven; the original fifth movement matches the second, setting the famous The trumpet shall sound, and continuing to demand Death, where is thy sting?; reconciliation is achieved in the last movement with the words Blessed are the dead. All you can do is use musical instincts and question, Musgrave acknowledged. Within those large sections, look for cadences to determine where the divisions are. While looking at structure, dont get distracted by the text, Jones counsels. Hanslick added that "a work so hard to understand and dwelling on nothing but ideas of death should not expect a popular success and should fail to please many elements of the great public." Otto Klemperer, Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Elisabeth Schwartzkopf (1961, EMI, 69'). Recordings of Brahmss large-scale choral-orchestral works have to pass two acid tests: first, the balancing of massive structures so that the whole thing hangs together, neither rushing nor dragging;and secondly, the handling of texture, so that listeners can hear individual orchestral-vocal lines and timbres, but also enjoy the seamless fusion of the gigantic collective sound which give such works their meaning. As summarized by Michael Murgrove, the overall focus of the work is on comfort, hope, reassurance and reward for personal effort rather than the judgment, vengeance, sacrifice and overt references to Christian symbolism that characterize the Latin requiem mass. The requiem emerged from a decade of turmoil. But he didnt want us to know much about it. An 1865 letter to his dear friend Clara Schumann provides the first recorded evidence of its existence. On the one hand, performances in the local language would seem take the composer's desire for accessibility to its logical conclusion, enabling audiences to understand the words and better appreciate their musical settings. The German Requiem bears the distinction of having had no less than three premiere performances. WebFew realize just how late in his life Johannes Brahms took to composing orchestral music compared to his chamber music, which, alongside his own piano virtuosity, An October 30, 1937 Toscanini concert with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus (and soloists Alexander Sved and Isobel Baillie) presents an astonishing contrast in which he unfolds the Requiem with extreme reflection, basking in a remarkable 82 minutes. One of the most fascinating consequences of the composer's free selection of his libretto is the variety of interpretations his text has stimulated. Nearly all the great Furtwngler concert recordings reflect his long leadership of the Berlin or Vienna Philharmonic Orchestras (and the corresponding familiarity and empathy of their musicians with his deeply personal and erratic style), and his results with foreign ensembles were mostly disappointing. Jessop was singing for Shaw in France, and a concert of Brahms songs all related to evening, was to take place in a Toulouse cloister. Shaws longtime personal assistant, Nola Frink, was by his side as he struggled to find the right syllable for every note. Never dull but rather purposeful and focused, it flows inexorably. Morton Ennis agrees, noting that Brahms had composed works associated with death and mourning throughout his life, and so there is no reason to associate the German Requiem with any specific death neither Schumann's nor his mother's. He was absorbing musical influences ranging from Wagners operas to Schuberts choral and orchestral works, which were emerging posthumously in Vienna. Three more movements may have been completed as a cantata by 1861, but then work appears to have lapsed until early 1865, when Brahms was jolted once more by the death of his beloved mother. That may have had something to do with family history. "), and then launches into a massive C-major fugue in praise of God as the creator of all. Take, for example, the opening phrase, "Selig sind." That same year had also seen him break off his engagement to Agathe von Siebold who, he later told a friend, was the last love of his life. What impresses me now, as an older man, is seeing Shaw free to float, to make a vocal line. Murgrave even questions the relationship of the fifth movement to Brahms' late mother, and suggests that it was simply too personal and intimate to have been given public exposure until after the success of the rest of the work had been assured. Finally, 1947 brought not one but two fine studio recordings of the German Requiem. The rest of the year was preoccupied with concerts and other compositions, but Brahms returned to the Requiem in early 1866. Thus, George Bernard Shaw sniped that the German Requiem was fit for a funeral home and the 1873 Musical Times echoed that "the Philharmonic concert hall is not the place for a funeral service." Take the fundamental issue of timing Brahms provided metronome indications for the Bremen premiere, but he later had them removed, and in any event they are far faster than any conductor is willing to accept thus, for the 158-bar common-time first movement he specified 80 quarter notes to the minute, which would yield a performance of just under 8 minutes; Gardiner takes 9:50 and Norrington 8:48, while among traditional conductors the fastest are Walter's 8:52 and Shaw/RCA's 9:15; the average hovers between 10 and 11. He would never do that. In working on a piece, Shaw guided his singers through the music painstakingly, one facet at a time. Although Brahms had al-ready worked on A German Requiem, his The second movement combines thoughts of mortality ("All flesh is as grass"), patience, the permanence of God and the joy of redemption. Yet, a translation that reflects the tight interdependence of Brahms' music and the sheer sound evoked by his original words seems elusive, if not utterly futile. Even the instrumentation can be somewhat variable; although the score is marked for a contrabassoon anchor, Brahms reportedly preferred an organ. More likely is that by shunning Latin for the vernacular, Brahms intended the work to be more accessible to modern audiences. I used to say, My job is to get the water ready for him to walk on. I nearly drowned many times. Jones remembers that even a little thing like stumbling over a name would cause him to take it out on us. Also noteworthy was Shaws instruction that singers begin by count singing between pianississimo and pianissimo. My only quibbles are a slightly stodgy pacing of the VI fugue and a bad splice before its final "Where is thy sting." Were going to do it anyway, Shaw decided. Take away the dynamics. In the meantime, in addition to isolated movements, two exceptional concerts had been recorded, although not released at the time. Klaus Blum found resemblances between the Brahms German Requiem and two requiems that Schumann had written. Requiem is a poem sequence composed over a twenty-year period; it includes four sections of introduction, ten numbered central parts, and two epilogues. The opening movement begins with a warm, flowing instrumental figure derived from a Georg Neumark hymn that had been a favorite of Bach. With the NBC concert, we confront the vexing issue of translation. Jessop considers it the pinnacle of craftsmanship in composition for chorus. Brahms, though, based his work on his own selection of texts from the Lutheran Bible and, unlike in a requiem Mass, shifts the focus from the dead to the living. The most common English renderings of "Blessed are" or "Blessed they" generate multiple problems at the very outset. WebAbstract: Johannes Brahms was the first composer to claim the requiem genre without utilizing the Catholic Missa pro defunctis text. Musgrave describes him as a cultural Christian; Brahms referred to himself as a heathen. Absent from his Requiem are both the specter of eternal damnation and the promise of redemption through Christs sacrifice. One of the last vestiges of the vigor that distinguished Walter's long career until the very end (which regrettably is the only portion most classical fans know nowadays from his final Columbia stereo remakes), this magnificent reading is beautifully paced, never rushed but always pressing forward with energy and a strong rhythmic thrust, including overpowering timpani in II, an extraordinary rarity in the entire Walter discography. It comprises seven movements, which together last 65 to 80 minutes, making it Brahms's longest composition. By 1872 its text had been translated into English. By setting the final thought that "their works follow them" to the same music as the opening prayer for comfort (but with brighter orchestration), Brahms not only ties the conclusion back to the initial focus upon those who remain to mourn but envelops the entire work and, by implication, all human endeavor, fear and hope with the supreme consolation of a Divine embrace. Just what did Brahms mean by a "German" Requiem? The soloists are nicely restrained and the choral fugues unfold with clarity and detailed interplay of their vocal lines. Martin Emmis has noted its broad structural symmetry, in which the central movements IV and V convey the key theme of consolation; II, III and VI move from images of death and despair to triumph and hope; and I and VII close the circle by blessing both mourners and the departed with common text in the same key. Following her separation from Brahmss father, the composers beloved mother Christiane died of a stroke, aged 76, in early 1865. In the second Symposium chair Andr Thomas, director of choral activities at Florida State University, dreamed that for the participants, it would feel something like sitting around the table with the renowned mentor Nadia Boulanger, a chance for them to spend four days immersed in the genius of Brahms and one of his greatest interpreters, Robert Shaw. Indeed, he often seems to thwart our expectations an ardently sung and highly operatic V is drained of its usual sense of comfort, and the clipped articulation leading up to the VI fugue falls flat when the fugue itself reverts to a rather reflexive vantage. Its performance direction, Langsam und sehnsuchtsvoll (slow and full of longing), is an unusual tempo designation for Brahms. From the very outset, the German Requiem has found favor, both with choral societies (especially amateur ones), who appreciated its relatively undemanding technical requirements and stamina, and with audiences, who undoubtedly welcomed its warm messages of comfort and hope. WebBrahms: Ein deutsches Requiem. It is especially directed toward conductors, but it is also useful for choristers and What's in a name? Legend has it that Elizabeth Schwartzkopf, who sings her comforting solo with ravishing nurture, selflessly sang along with the chorus sopranos to bolster their efforts. Shaw's brisker pace itself provides sufficient vigor to obviate a need for overt dramatizing, although he accelerates the proclamation of victory swallowing death in VI to a white heat, which further underlines its climactic role in the overall structure, and leads logically into a steadfast rendition of the following fugue praising God the Creator, as if to emphasize the inevitability of that thought. He was absorbing musical One of the last sections they worried over was the final movement: Blessed are the dead that they rest now from their labors and that their works follow after them. To this day, Frink cant listen to those words and that music without thinking of Shaw. In a perverse stroke of fortune, earlier releases of the Toscanini recording were sufficiently blurry so as to preclude perception of the actual words, thus, ironically, relegating the piece largely to musical abstraction and, in so doing, restoring its artistic integrity. The piece unfolds patiently and beautifully, with due attention to detail instead of the customary blur of growly bass, movement I begins with its joined quarter notes articulated just enough to add rhythmic support to the coalescing haze. WebIt is an oratorio, a choral setting of biblical texts, and has little to do with the Latin Requiem Mass. As might be expected, the choral singing is rich and natural, with confident pacing. He also held his first demanding job as conductor of the Vienna Singakademie, a role that exposed him to several centuries worth of choral repertoire. In the first movement, theres a big A and a coda. When his brother was killed, Frink says his mother told him, That should have been you, Robert. It tortured him the rest of his life., People close to Shaw would put up with his difficult side because, says Jones, we knew that there was a more profound exposure to the music and exposure to him that was possible. Craig Jessop remembers him as a towering intellect, the likes of which I had never encountered. The full work was first heard in Leipzig on February 18, 1869, completed by the lovely new fifth movement. The former is 28 bars long and tonicizes E-flat major. WebFor the Requiem, he draws melodic inspiration from the tunes and rhythms of Gregorian chant, which thought in similarly long phrases. and then plunges into a magnificent choral fugue assuring that "the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God." The study highlights the four main movements of this symphony, the language in which musical ideas are presented, the rhythm, repetition of exposition. These two historically-informed recordings bring us squarely to the question of the performance characteristics that Brahms would have wanted to hear. Matthias Goerne is a superbly racked soloist in the third movement anyone who has helplessly contemplated their own mortality can relate to the Promethean despair (and the rage, in the repeated section) of that molten, burnished voice. It was not immune from the 19th century temptation to find specific fanciful references in place of musical allusion; thus, biographer Richard Specht writes of the opening: "One has the impression of seeing a tranquil procession of white-clad women walking slowly past sacred pools toward a chapel ." The dead march which follows ranks with his most outstanding accomplishments: haunting of key, with violins and violas subdivided into three parts each, and over a relentless distant tattoo in the timpani. WebThis book is intended to help those who are contemplating performing or studying the Brahms Requiem. For this first European studio German Requiem, producer Walter Legge reportedly passed up the opportunity to preserve Furtwngler's glowing account and instead gambled on his young wartime rival. The Brahms Requiem: Questions for the Conductor Along with questions about his musical and textual motivation, Brahms left several other issues to puzzle Brahms once stated it would be as well to call the work A Human Requiem. This human focus, as well 1 in C minor, by Johannes Brahms. Its greatest message, says Musgrave, is a message of comfort, especially apparent in the fifth movement soprano solo, which quotes Isaiah: I will comfort you as a mother would. Although Brahms did not like people asking him about it, Musgrave says everyone in the composers circle believed he wrote this movement for his own mother, who died in February 1868. This has led to much controversy in the best way to present his intentions. As Andr Tubeuf quipped, Vienna may have lacked everything at the time except music. Nola Frink must know how that feels. Yet others plumb Brahms' compilation for even deeper meaning. The recording quality is decent and the only trace of the rapt audience is their light stirring between movements. The logic of the voice leading is as inevitable as if decreed from heaven., Shaw was famously obsessive in his efforts to understand composers intentions and distill them for his singers. The fidelity is only fair, but it far outstrips Furtwngler's other extant recording at the 1947 Lucerne Festival (with Hans Hotter and Elizabeth Schwartzkopf, also on Music & Arts). But the catalyst for the decision seems to have been the death of his mother on February 2, 1865. WebSummary. So he would prepare obsessively, anticipating issues with balance, pitch, and rhythm, and so on. WebAlbum: Songfacts: "A German Requiem, To Words of the Holy Scriptures," is a large-scale choral work composed between 1865 and 1868 by German composer Johannes Brahms. Arturo Toscanini, NBC Symphony, Westminster Choir, Herbert Janssen, Vivian Della Chiesa (1943, Guild CD, Pristine download; 71'). Natasha Loges explores Brahmss unique reflection on the journey towards the grave and the afterlife as she compares the best recordings of A German Requiem. Karajan's first two stereo Berlin Philharmonic remakes (he made yet another with the Vienna Philharmonic (1985, DG), which I haven't heard sorry, but even I have my limits) are quite similar, hovering between profundity and aloof abstraction. Robert Shaw rehearsing the Atlanta Symphony at Carnegie Hall. For Shaw, rehearsal time was precious. At the time, Shaw wrote, Bachs first concern was to affirm and quicken a faith. Critics, though, were less enchanted, often tempering admiration of its universal message and its integration of old and new musical elements with concern over its deliberately attenuated range and overriding sobriety. That, in turn, points to the sheer modernism of the work, not only reflecting the emerging secular spirit of the time to probe traditional material for individual expression, but launching the egoistic attitude of personal viewpoints that would come to challenge and even override established faith (as in Benjamin Britten's 1961 War Requiem and Leonard Bernstein's 1971 Mass). Robert Shaw: (1) RCA Symphony Orchestra and Chorale, James Pease, Eleanor Steber (1947, RCA; 65'); (2) Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Richard Stilwell, Arleen Auger (1983, Telarc; 70'). Yet in the more segmented movements he manages to differentiate the individual sections, thus maintaining their integrity and distinctive character, even while integrating them through logical transitions. The worst thing you can do is start by trying to sing a piece on pitch. It provides historical information, performance considerations, musical analysis, and resource material for all who enjoy the musicology behind this magnificent work. Johannes rushed home but was too late to see her. This becomes evident at the very outset, as Abendroth, like Furtwngler, begins in shadowy mists but then leaves subtlety behind by turning the subtle <> markings of the second set of "selig sinds" at measure 29 into major sonic swells. WebRather like one of the best contemporary requiems, that of Classic FM's erstwhile Composer in Residence Howard Goodall, A German Requiem is not primarily a Mass for the dead. Remarkably, perhaps overrun by the stereo revolution, this splendid monaural recording was never released at the time and was issued only in 1972 on the budget Odyssey LP label. To return to the title, a further connotation addresses the issue of language itself. The text that Brahms fashioned is derived from the Old and New Testaments as well as the Apocrypha, with all but the fourth movement a blend of these sources. In Powerpoint style Dr. Ted gives us an introduction to Brahms greatest choral work. Yet he achieved a magnificent German Requiem with these Stockholm forces, undoubtedly due to the special rapport developed during his wartime visits to the neutral Sweden, which had provided his only contact with music and emissaries of the free world. Shaws rehearsals for a 1990 Carnegie Hall performance of the Brahms Requiem, captured on video and screened at the symposium, begin with the opening notes, but not with the words Selig sind. Instead, the singers intone One and two and tee and four and, one and two and tee and four and, one and. The technique, count singing, is often associated with Shaw. George London adds a fine but subtle human touch as a bass, he has to strain at the very top of his range and thus magnifies the struggle expressed in the text written for a baritone. 45 (German: Ein deutsches Requiem, nach Worten der heiligen Schrift) by Johannes Brahms, is a large-scale work for chorus, orchestra, and a soprano and a baritone soloist, composed between 1865 and 1868. That aspect of the Requiem deserves its own attention. The miniature score Herbert von Karajan: (1) Vienna Philharmonic, Vienna Singverein der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, Hans Hotter, Elizabeth Schwartzkopf (1947, EMI; 75'); (2) Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Singverein, Eberhard Waechter, Gundula Janowitz (1964, DG, 76'); (3) Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Singverein, Jos Van Dam, Anna Tomowa-Sintow (1977, Angel LP, 76').
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