Nikolaus Harnoncourt - Johannes Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem (2010) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

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Nikolaus Harnoncourt - Johannes Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem (2010) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

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Something new is always to be expected whenever Nikolaus Harnoncourt turns his attention to an important piece of music. In recent years he has been giving audiences a fresh view on some of the masterpieces of Romantic and late-Romantic music. His account of Brahms’ German Requiem is based on a thorough study of the composer’s ideas on how it should be performed.

His is a sensitive interpretation that takes a completely new approach to the work. Technically and artistically, the new disc is a perfect record of the concert given in Vienna in December 2007, which was greeted enthusiastically by music press and audiences alike.

A high-profile line-up comprises the Arnold Schoenberg Choir, whose connection with Harnoncourt goes back more than thirty years, and the Vienna Philharmonic, one of the world’s greatest orchestras. The two solo vocal parts are ideally cast with soprano Genia Kühmeier and internationally-renowned baritone Thomas Hampson.

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Nikolaus Harnoncourt - Johannes Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem (2010) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

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This recording really is the exact opposite of four-square or pedestrian. There's so much tender loving care and dedication from all involved performers. I own quite a few recordings of this piece (Klemperer, Karajan, Giulini, Jochum, Shaw, Levine, Herreweghe, Tennstedt, Toscanini, Furtwangler, Celibidache) and this is perhaps the most organic, earthy, and simple.

At times, it's almost overwhelmingly beautiful, in that the singers seem to be some sort of celestial force, floating above an almost primordial bubbling and gurgling of the orchestra. Harmonies are allowed to resolve, chords painstakingly evolved.

At times, it's also almost horrifying. The amount of colors and tension released throughout are absolutely incredible, making the slow moments seem completely natural and sublime, rather than forced or expected. Each and every punctuation is absolutely apparent. The usual outbursts of pseudo-excitement are avoided, in an effort to let the music itself actually roar.

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Nikolaus Harnoncourt - Johannes Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem (2010) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

Close