Bruch: Arminius, Oratorio op. 43

Rheinische Kantorei;
Max, Hermann;
Goettinger Symphonie Orchester

CPO 777 453-2

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!

CD x 2

Muzyka klasyczna

CPO

25-08-2009

761203745326