Max Bruch - Rheinische Kantorei / GSO / Hermann Max - Arminius: Oratorio op. 43 (2009)

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Max Bruch - Rheinische Kantorei / GSO / Hermann Max - Arminius: Oratorio op. 43 (2009)

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Max Bruch - Arminius: Oratorio op. 43
Rheinische Kantorei / Göttinger Symphonie Orchester / Hermann Max
2xCD | EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 378 MB | Full Artwork: 152 MB | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: CPO # 777 453-2 | Country/Year: Germany 2009
Genre: Classical | Style: Romantic, Oratorio

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Max Bruch - Rheinische Kantorei / GSO / Hermann Max - Arminius: Oratorio op. 43 (2009)

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Oratorio for the Varus Year
In February 1875 Max Bruch chanced upon an epic poem by the young Westphalian teacher J. Cüppers and wrote enthusiastically of it to his publisher Simrock: »The verses are magnificent, of dithyrambic swing; the melodies automatically spring forth everywhere from this beautiful rhythm.« At the very same time that the Arminius Monument was dedicated in the Teutoburg Forest near Detmold, Max Bruch was sitting with friends in the Bergisches Land and composing his Arminius. This work based on the historic defeat of the Romans under Varus two thousand years ago has a remarkably logical dramaturgy. The development of the contrast between oppression and liberation producing the formal suspense results in a constant process of intensification throughout the oratorio’s four parts. The last part, »The Battle,« forms the magnificent climax of the work without ever slipping into an embarrassing national pathos. Although the text of Bruch’s Arminius can be understood only in the context of the foundation of the German Empire in 1871, its music continues to move us even today: a genuine masterpiece by this still undervalued Brahms contemporary!

klassik. com 09 / 09: "Ein beeindruckend exemplarisch vorgetragenes Werk." klassik-heute. com 09 / 09: "Auch ohne den Medien-Rummel um das zweitausendjährige Jubiläum der Varus-Schlacht hat Max Bruchs Oratorium 'Arminius' die Wiederbelebung verdient. Das Göttinger Symphonie Orchester steht unter der Leitung von Hermann Max der vorzüglichen Rheinischen Kantorei an Beweglichkeit und Kultiviertheit kaum nach." Das Opernglas 01 / 10: "Hermann Max kostet den puren Wohlklang dieser Musik genussvoll aus. Sehr stimmungsvoll entwickelt Bruch ein florifizierendes Klanggemälde, wobei das Orchester vo allem im virten "Die Schlacht" betitelten Abschnitt brillant aufzutrumpfen weiß." American Record Guide: "Erstklassige Darbietung."

Review by Uncle Dave Lewis

Max Bruch's oratorio Arminius, published as his Op. 43, is an elephantine and operatic work on the subject of Arminius – also called Hermann or Armin – who led a unified force of Germanic tribes to a decisive victory over three legions of Roman forces in the Battle of the Teutoborg Forest in 9 A.D. This historic event, in which between 15-20,000 Roman soldiers were killed, has long served as a stimulus to the spirit of Germanic patriotism, and just as Bruch began this work – one of five oratorios that he composed – interest in Arminius was at its peak; a giant statue of Arminius in the Teutoborg Forest begun with private funds in 1839 had just been completed, and Germany itself was in a politically unified state such as never known before owing to their successful prosecution of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871. Germany had reason to feel good, and Bruch was providing the party favors by drawing up this massive edifice, scored for three soloists, chorus, orchestra, and organ. It was first heard in 1877; not in Germany, curiously, but in Zurich, and was an immediate success that was widely revived throughout German-speaking lands, heard in England and even in the United States. However, Arminius had lost its musical currency by 1900; the innovations of Wagner – which Bruch detested – had taken hold and Bruch's sturdy, solidly romantic oratorio would lay fallow until revived in this 2009 NDR 1 recording, made by the Rheinische Kantorei and the Göttinger Symphonie Orchester under Hermann Max.

First of all, Bruch's music is totally great; there's not a dull moment anywhere in Arminius. It is rousing, heroic, compelling, and follows a libretto that makes strong dramatic hay of its distant historical event in musical terms that certainly would have caused the sun to shine for its intended audience. The orchestration is thrilling, the choral writing bountiful, and the soloists here put over their parts in an effective way without overdoing it. Max of course is best known for conducting Baroque music, but in this two-disc set Max decisively puts his best foot forward. The big issue here – and it's an issue so big that it's almost equal to the size of the statue of Arminius in the Teutoborg forest – is the heritage of the Nazi period and general attitudes toward celebrating German military strength and might. Not only this, but also misconceptions about Bruch himself; as composer of the popular Kol Nidrei for cello and orchestra, his name and seemingly Jewish appearance in old photographs, a lot of listeners think Bruch was Jewish and would wonder why he would undertake such a property as Arminius. The liner notes to the CD decide to take the high road and do not bother to address the fact that Bruch was not Jewish but a patriotic German and that in the 1870s the two were not viewed as mutually exclusive, at least not universally anyway. This is yet another conundrum owing to the culture of the 19th century being viewed through eyes educated in the 20th; if you can make it through all of these hurdles, then you will find Arminius as compelling and enjoyable as, say, Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, except that Arminius is much longer and contains a lot more singing. It's not so long, however, to fully fill the two CDs that contain it; the first disc runs 57 minutes and the second only 32, so those who value "music-by-the-yard" might find this CPO set of less than optimum value. allmusicguide

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Max Bruch - Rheinische Kantorei / GSO / Hermann Max - Arminius: Oratorio op. 43 (2009)

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Max Bruch - Rheinische Kantorei / GSO / Hermann Max - Arminius: Oratorio op. 43 (2009)

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