Brahms: Werke für Chor und Orchester

Herreweghe, Philippe;
Collegium Vocale Gent;
Orchestre des Champs-Elysées

LPH 003

Phi is Philippe Herreweghe's own record label, which in the past has released a fine disc (LPH002) of motets by Bach, a composer with whom Herreweghe and his Collegium Vocale Gent have been closely associated ever since he established the choir in 1970. However, like other ensembles that started out in early music, the Collegium Vocale has crept forward in time. On this new CD the Dutch conductor reveals that same understanding of, and interpretative sympathy for, Brahms's music that he brought to his Harmonia Mundi recording of A German Requiem (HMC 901608). Here he directs five shorter Brahms choral works, Schicksalslied (Song of Destiny), Alto Rhapsody, Begräbnisgesang (Funeral Song) for chorus and wind instruments, Gesang der Parzen (Song of the Fates) and the unaccompanied motet Warum ist das Licht gegeben dem Mühseligen? (Why is Light given to the Unfortunate?), with its clear, evocative references to the Lutheran tradition of Bach and Schütz.The intensity and power of singing and playing in the Begräbnisgesang are awe-inspiring. And to hear this early (1858) work alongside the late (1882) Gesang der Parzen makes the hair stand on end. If the Funeral Song embraces Bachian aesthetics, the Song of the Fates, to Goethe's words, comes laden with all Brahms's experience to create a rich, stormy tapestry. Contrasting with that, the mezzo-soprano Ann Hallenberg brings a rapt, mellow, consolatory warmth to the Alto Rhapsody, and Herreweghe taps the Song of Destiny for its potent, spiritual essence. The variety of utterance is broad, but united by the inspirational nature of the performances, delivered with lucidity, luminosity and a lithe sense of the music's texture and temperament. --Geoffrey Norris - The Daily Telegraph

CD

Muzyka klasyczna

Phi

17-01-2012

5400439000032

ICMA 'Nominee' (2012)

MusicWeb International: 'Nominee for Recording of the Year' (2012)