Johannes Brahms composed his Requiem in 1865/66, shortly after the death of
his mother. A profoundly moving work for soprano and baritone solo, chorus
and orchestra, it is the composer's largest single composition. No work did
more to win Brahms international recognition and, after the first complete
performance of the Requiem in Leipzig in 1869, he was regarded as one of
the leading composers of his time.
It was not the first requiem in German, but the first in which a composer
pieced together his text from Bible passages in Martin Luther's German
translation. It is an intensely personal selection, which speaks to the
living and seeks to offer hope and comfort. Through his subtle, almost
surreal, affinity to Brahms' unorthodox, elusive worldview, conductor
Christian Thielemann has crafted a performance that places him among the
best interpreters of this work, such as Maazel, Furtwängler, Karajan,
Klemperer...
An acknowledged specialist of romantic music, Thielemann "put forth a
dignified account that offers considerable material for reflection. At the
end, one understood all too well why the audience was requested to refrain
from applauding at the end. For the seventh and last section is the solemn,
meditative chorus 'Selig sind die Toten' ... In Thielemann's hands, this
ending became the work's delicate, expressive climax." (Joachim Kaiser,
Süddeutsche Zeitung)
The soloists in this production, which was recorded at Munich's
Philharmonie in April 2007 with the Munich Philharmonic, also rank among
the best in their voice ranges. Christian Gerhaher has become particularly
noted as a Lied singer, and won the prestigious "Echo Klassik" award in
2002 for his recording of Schubert's "Winterreise." He has since
established himself as a sought-after baritone in many opera roles
(including Papageno in the Salzburg Festival's Mozart 22 production of
"The Magic Flute" recorded by Unitel). Soprano Christine Schäfer has won
rave reviews above all for her impassioned interpretations of Mozart roles
such as Cherubino and Donna Anna (also available in Unitel's Mozart 22
project). In the Brahms Requiem, she "transforms the 'Ihr habt nun
Traurigkeit' into an angelic hymn, clear and wondrously beautiful, removed
from all pain and suffering. Flawless." (Joachim Kaiser, Süddeutsche
Zeitung).
