Composer: Johannes Brahms
Performer: Gerald Finley, Genia Kühmeier, Netherlands Radio Choir
Orchestra: Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Conductor: Mariss Jansons
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: RCO Live
Catalogue: RCO15003
Release: 2015
Size: 1.12 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: cover
Ein Deutsches Requiem, Op. 45
01. I. Selig sind, die da Leid tragen
02. II. Denn alles Fleisch es ist wie Gras
03. III. Herr, lehre doch mich
04. IV. Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen
05. V. Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit
06. VI. Denn wir haben hie keine bleibende Statt
07. VII. Selig sind die Toten
Following the requiem masses of Dvorák and Mozart in previous seasons, this performance of Brahms’s German Requiem would have been the third in a long series of Requiems conducted by Mariss Jansons. Unfortunately the ‘new tradition’ was cut short by Jansons’s departure as the RCO’s chief conductor during the 2014/2015 season. The performance was dedicated to Kurt Sanderling, one of the orchestra’s most beloved guest conductors. He passed away the year before and would have turned 100 that very month. It proved to be a very moving performance, a fitting salute to a great conductor.
Mariss Jansons’ audiophile recording of Johannes Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem is a combination of two concert performances given Sept. 20-21, 2012, which were dedicated to the memory of Kurt Sanderling, a frequent guest conductor of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra who had died the previous year. Jansons and the RCO are joined by the Netherlands Radio Choir, with soprano Genia Kühmeier and bass Gerald Finley as the vocal soloists, so the performance is outstanding for its artistry and expressive warmth. The recording is presented in the multichannel format for optimal sound quality, but because the dynamic range of this hybrid SACD is quite wide, listeners should be prepared to make some slight volume adjustments between the extremely soft opening of Selig sind, die da Leid tragen, and the startling climax of the second movement at 9:27 at the words “ewige Freude,” though most of the recording is set to a comfortable mid-level.