Ein Deutsches Requiem

*A sentence or section between asterisks indicates an updated comment from November 2011.*

There are many recordings of the German Requiem of Brahms, and I have nine of them in my library. This recording ranks among the finest and is unique in the clarity of voices, whether solo, choral, or orchestral. The woodwinds and brass are never covered by the strings, yet the string sections sound full and play with precision. The soloists are not over-miked and their voices seem to come from the midst of the greater ensemble. Especially impressive and touching is the singing of Gerald Finley (although his command of German has greatly improved since this recording).

Other recordings I rank at the level of this one and recommend equally highly:

1. Rudolph Kempe with the Berlin Philharmonic and the Choir of St. Hedwig's with Elizabeth Gruemmer and the young (therefore not yet fussy and mannered) Fischer-Dieskau. This is a very fine mono recording from 1956 still found on EMI. The playing and singing is exemplary in very way. I hold the same high opinion of the recording made by Fritz Lehmann with exactly the same Berlin musicians but with different soloists. Maria Stader sings as movingly as Elizabeth Gruemmer, and Otto Wiener sings the words and the music with greater insight and feeling than does Fischer-Dieskau. This is a DG Originals CD and already out of print, but you can find many copies, new and used, on Amazon. *There are some days when I think Kempe is the best of the best in every respect, but more often I would give that laurel wreath to Lehmann.*

2. John Eliot Gardiner with his Orchestre Revolutionanaire et Romantique, the Monteverdi Choir, Charlotte Margiono, and Rodney Gilfry on Philips, a studio recording from 1990. Gardiner's tempi are the quickest by far yet never seem rushed. I've always liked this performance, *but compared to Lehmann and Kempe it is relatively light-weight and cerebral and it lacks Herreweghe's depth of feeling.*

*3. To my surprise I have grown very fond of the1979 Solti/Chicago recording. Like Levine, Solti takes his time with the work, but I hear it as clearer and having more momentum than either of the Levine recordings (Chicago and Boston). Still available in remastered sound on Universal.*

*4. According to most reviews, it is naughty and eccentric of me to like the Leinsdorf/Boston of 1968 as much as I do, but I just do. Perhaps because I have found so many of Leinsdorf's Boston recordings to be much greater than their reputations (his Haydn, some of his Beethoven, and definitely his Mahler 1, 3, and 5). All are on RCA/BMG now SONY and are in and out of print. Besides, I subscribe to the Boston Symphony and their hall has become my acoustic home.*

5) Rafael Kubelik with the Bavarian Radio Symphony and Chorus with Edith Mathis and Wolfgang Brendel on Audite. Recorded in concert (with no audience sounds) in 1978 and issued recently in glorious sound by Audite, this performance is generous in every way: fine musicianship, deep emotion, and rich sound. *I haven't changed my mind overall about the recording but nonetheless after a while I found it increasingly heavy in overall effect and let go of it when I had to begin downsizing.*

*Both Levine recordings, the Chicago and the Boston, have dropped off my list. I increasingly found Levine's concept heavy-footed in spite of the splendid orchestral playing and fine soloists. Perhaps this is a result of having heard the recent performances in Boston's Symphony Hall and having found them over-bearing.* Still, there is much merit in the earlier recording by James Levine and the Chicago Symphony and Chorus with Battle and Hagegard on RCA/BMG, a 1983 studio recording recently re-released on Universal at a low budget price. Levine and the Chicago deliver a big, heart-on-sleeve sound yet pay loving attention to details and the soloists sing exquisitely.

Okay, now what happened to the Robert Shaw recording on Telarc? I've left it to last because Amazon states up front that this is the recording people "ultimately" buy. Maybe so, but I wouldn't click on "Buy Now" until I had heard samplings of these other recordings. Yes, Shaw and his musicians are amazing in their dedication to the work. It is a great performance. I have always found it necessary to boost the treble and perhaps reduce the bass to get a clear sound with this recording.

*As for the other available versions, many are very fine indeed; yet for me none of them quite reaches the heights of Herreweghe, Lehmann, Kempe and Gardiner. I apologize to Klemperer fans: his recording is much praised but it just doesn't speak to me, much to my regret.*

The "classical" romanticist Johannes Brahms has created an astonishing and unique requiem after the death of his mother, and though it is not as dark as Mozart's or gentle as Faure's, it is still one of the finest ever created. Belgian-born conductor Philippe Herreweghe handles the tempi magnificiently (unlike John Eliot Gardiner, who sometimes takes the speed much faster than usual), and the orchestra and choir blend together to make one calling to the gracious Almighty.

Gerald Finley has a darn good baritone voice, and at the beginning of "Herr, lehre doch mich," his first words are smooth and not strident, just the way I like it.

Christian Oelze is good, too, although Brahms could have made just one more solo segment for the soprano.

My favorite moment in this German Requiem is the second half of "Denn alles Fleisch, es ist wie Gras." It just sounds so powerful and energetic and extremely saintly. No other conductor's rendition of this five-minute powerhouse comes close, not even Herbert von Karajan's.

Buy this recording, and also try the SACD version and pump up the volume. It'll sound like two dozen angels giving a lament inside your own room.

Brahms' "A German Requiem" has got to be one of the most glorious pieces of choral music ever written and this performance must rank at, or near, the top of the pack: a)the soloists are first rate; b)the orchestra and choir cannot be bettered; c)Philippe Herreweghe is certainly one of the most respected conductors working today, especially, for me, with choral music; d)the sound on every Harmonia Mundi recording is always tops and this one is no exception.

Certainly, the EMI Classics recording from 1962 is rightly considered by many to be the first choice in a pretty large field, mainly because of its legendary conductor, Otto Klemperer and soloists, Elisabeth Schwartzkopf and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. But if you can afford two recordings, buy this one also, if only for the 1996 sound: especially in the peaceful, reflective, quiet sections of the Requiem (and there are several of them), every word, every note is clear, perfectly sung and recorded.

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