Above: Johannes Brahms
~ Author: Oberon
Thursday February 7th, 2019 - Maestro Jaap van Zweden conducting The New York Philharmonic and the Concert Chorale of New York (James Bagwell, director) in a performance of the Brahms REQUIEM. Soprano Ying Fang, from the Metropolitan Opera, and the Philharmonic's current Artist-in-Residence, baritone Matthias Goerne, were the soloists.
First performed at Leipzig on February 18th, 1869, the REQUIEM was begun by Brahms in 1861 as a two-movement "cantata of mourning" for his close friend, Robert Schumann, who had died in 1856. The piece remained unfinished until 1865, when the death of Brahms' mother led the composer to expand on what he had started. He completed four additional movements by the summer of 1866, and later revisions resulted in the seven-movement form in which the REQUIEM is now presented.
The music is full of comfort and blessèd assurance; yet tonight, as it unfolded in a splendidly played and sung performance, I sometimes felt - as I do when listening the Beethoven's Pastoral - that this requiem is too much of a good thing. Unlike Verdi's take on the 'mass for the dead', Brahms's music sails pleasantly forward, rather lacking in contrasts and drama. Whereas the Italian master evokes the terror of the Judgement Day, Brahms is reassuring: 'O death, where is they sting?' We have nothing to fear, and every reason to hope.
George Bernard Shaw famously disparaged the Brahms REQUIEM, as this article tells us. His reaction is extreme, but I can sort of understand his points. For me, perhaps it's just that the music is too..."nice".
But such concerns don't alter the fact that the work means a great deal to many people; a large and wonderfully attentive audience seemed rightly enthralled with what they were hearing tonight, and there's no denying that sonically it was a performance of abounding beauty.
The excellent soloists each made their mark. Matthias Goerne's striking power, mastery of dynamics, and sense of verbal inflection made his singing thoroughly engrossing. A marvelous lyricism at "Ach, wie gar nichts sind alle Menschen" was a high point of the baritone's performance; throughout the performance, his expressive vocalism and distinctive physicality gave great pleasure. Ying Fang, after a moment of getting the voice in gear, sounded radiant in her solo. It seems to me that her voice is becoming richer and more pliant as her career progresses; her phrasing - and the shining quality of her highest notes - made an exquisite impression.
Maestro van Zweden brought a sense of grandeur to the music, with the Concert Chorale of New York making a thrilling impact. The artists of the Philharmonic produced rich textures, and, in the brief opportunities for solo expression, Robert Langevin (flute), Sherry Sylar (oboe), and Anthony McGill (clarinet), gave the music the special lustre we have come to expect from them.The evening ended with a fervent standing ovation, much deserved by everyone involved in the performance.
Prior to the start of the concert, and many times in past seasons, my friend Ben Weaver and I wondered why the REQUIEM, which is quite short (lasting about one hour), could not routinely be paired with the Brahms ALTO RHAPSODY. This heavenly music is too rarely performed. Orchestras presenting the REQUIEM already have a chorus lined up; all that's needed is contralto soloist and...voilà!...you have a longer program of two finely matched works of a spiritual nature by the same composer.
~ Oberon