Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem, OP. 45 This DVD of the Requiem,recorded live in 1992 and released in 1993 by Deutsche Grammophon with the Swedish Radio Chorus, Eric Ericson Chamber Choir, Cheryl Studer (soprano), Andreas Schmidt (bass-baritone), is of excellent quality. The image and the sound are superb. It is like being right there in the concert hall. A very pleasant interpretation, thrilling at times, moving at others.
75 minutes of pure emotion I have been in love with Brahms German Requiem for more than 25 years now, since I had the wonderful opportunity to perform the baritone part in the choir of my high school. Even though I do believe that this requiem cannot be considered as one of the most popular or well known amongst other requiems (ex. Mozart, Verdi and others), to me it seems certainly to be the most grateful in terms of choir interpretation. It's lovely, it's beautiful, it is rather a comforting requiem than a scaring death mass. The interpretation on this DVD, conducted by Claudio Abbado, is very precise and emotionally well tempered in terms of both its orchestral and choir performance. A special credit, in my opinion, belongs to solo baritone Bryn Terfel (I haven't known this artist before) who does an excellent interpretation. The technical quality (2 channels only) is nice and clear, for my personal taste the mastering could be a litte more forward oriented. Concluding, I can certainly recommend this DVD to everybody who is interested in getting to know the Brahms Requiem or to whom simply wants to close the eyes and sing along with the artists.
Moving An extraordinary and moving performance. I'm a member of the Phoenix Symphony Chorus and we performed this piece (along with the Phoenix Symphony) in the fall of '07. I must admit, I was a bit bored with the piece in the months preceding the performance, having done it some years ago. Yet this DVD performance captures the passion of the work. At times I was moved to tears. It was a wonderful gift and enhanced my enjoyment and delivery during our performances....
Aside from the excellent performance on the DVD, there is the simple yet powerful enhancement of enabling the English subtitles. They are not obtrusive and add a wonderful depth to the experience. I think orchestras should borrow a page from opera and project the lyrics during the performance. Simply printing them in the program is not enough...
The Brahms Requiem As It Should Be! You're not going to hear a better rendition of the Brahms Requiem than this one. Other reviewers have provided excellent insights. What I especially liked was the true-to-the-score performance by Barbara Bonney, without the embellishment and showboating that sopranos seem to be compelled to add. Baritone Bryn Terfel has an amazingly resonant voice. There's not a single musical flaw in this performance. Even though Maestro Abbado chooses not to augment the bass violins with organ bass as Roger Wagner does in his audio recordings, the recording has plenty of bottom. The video editing is excellent. Between movements, as one reviewer pointed out, there's the usual audience coughing; but listen for the long, perfect silence after the last note, before the applause begins.
Best performance ever! by Shant Norashkharian After listening to Brahms and reading about him most of my life, I think this is exactly how Brahms would have wanted his Requiem to be performed! I think Clara Schumann whom he escorted to the first performance would have agreed! composcla@aol.com [...]
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