Vlaams Radiokoor, Jan Michiels, Inge Spinette, Lore Binon - Brahms & Schumann: Ein Menschliches Requiem (2022) [24/96]

Johannes Brahms is an icon. Say Johannes, and you know you are talking about Brahms. The successor to Beethoven, the sober man who valued seriousness, the champion of classical traditions, a close friend of the Schumanns. But how well do we really know Brahms? How close does he let us get to him in his music? In his Requiem we go in search of the human Brahms and in the music of his mentor and good friend Robert Schumann.

Come, come a bit closer: there he is, sitting in his study. Look over his shoulder – what is he working on so intensely? Why that sorrowful glance in his youthful eyes? First his mother, then his good friend and mentor Robert Schumann, two people very dear to him were no more…

Johannes Brahms is an icon. When you say Johannes, you know it refers to Brahms. The successor to Beethoven, the sober man who took seriousness very seriously, the chief protagonist of the classical tradition, an intimate friend of the Schumanns.

But how well do we really know Brahms? How close does he let us come to him through his music? In search of the man who was Brahms, through his Requiem and the music of his good friend Robert Schumann.

The death of his mother and his mentor Schumann, two people so close to him marked Brahms – but it also led to the creation of one of his finest works.

Bent over his writing desk, full of sorrow over his loss, Brahms wanted to write music that would nevertheless offer some support: hope for those near him, comfort for the living – and not with a sombre funeral march. Initially, he gave his composition the title Ein menschliches Requiem (A Human Requiem). The monumental composition for orchestra and choir that would become Ein deutsches Requiem (A German Requiem) lies far from that intimate beginning. But Brahms did not forget his initial plan: he even transcribed a version for piano 4 hands, soloists and choir: transparent, intimate, colourful and, most importantly, very personal.

In search of the man who was Brahms, we weave some childhood memories of his good friend Schumann in between the movements of the Requiem. In his Kinderszenen (Scenes from Childhood), Schumann in turn combined various short works that were close to his heart and through which he thought back, filled with nostalgia, to his own childhood.

Jan Michiels, piano
Inge Spinette, piano
Lore Binon, soprano
Sarah Wegener, soprano
Thomas Oliemans, baritone
Vlaams Radiokoor
Bart van Reyn, conductor

Tracklist:
1. Jan Michiels – Kinderszenen, Op. 15: IV. Ein bittendes Kind (01:03)
2. Jan Michiels – Ein deutsches Requiem, Op. 45: I. Selig sind, die da Leid Tragen (09:58)
3. Jan Michiels – Kinderszenen, Op. 15: VIII. Am Kamin (01:01)
4. Jan Michiels – Ein deutsches Requiem, Op. 45: II. Denn alles Fleisch, es ist wie Gras (12:50)
5. Jan Michiels – Kinderszenen, Op. 15: XII. Kind im Einschlummern (02:12)
6. Jan Michiels – Ein deutsches Requiem, Op. 45: III. Herr, lehre doch mich (08:46)
7. Jan Michiels – Kinderszenen, Op. 15: XIII. Der Dichter spricht (02:23)
8. Jan Michiels – Ein deutsches Requiem, Op. 45: IV. Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen (04:48)
9. Jan Michiels – Kinderszenen, Op. 15: X. Fast zu ernst (01:57)
10. Jan Michiels – Ein deutsches Requiem, Op. 45: V. Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit (06:52)
11. Jan Michiels – Kinderszenen, Op. 15: I. Von fremden Ländern und Menschen (01:52)
12. Jan Michiels – Ein deutsches Requiem, Op. 45: VI. Denn wir haben hie keine bleibende Statt (09:38)
13. Jan Michiels – Kinderszenen, Op. 15: VII. Träumerei (02:57)
14. Jan Michiels – Ein deutsches Requiem, Op. 45: VII. Selig sind die Toten (10:13)


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