Celebrating 80 years of vigorous artistic life with Brahms’ expansive and consoling mass for the dead, Ein deutsches Requiem, the hr-Sinfonieorchester (Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra) under its Chief Conductor Paavo Järvi, is joined by soprano Natalie Dessay, baritone Ludovic Tézier and the Swedish Radio Choir in an interpretation described as “exemplary” by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
Ein deutsches Requiem (A German Requiem) Op.45: I. Selig sind, die da Leid tragen (Ziemlich langsam)
Ein deutsches Requiem (A German Requiem) Op.45: II. Denn alles Fleisch es ist wie Gras (Langsam, marschmässig)
Ein deutsches Requiem (A German Requiem) Op.45: III. Herr, lehre doch mich (Andante moderato)
Ein deutsches Requiem (A German Requiem) Op.45: IV. Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen (Mässig bewegt)
Ein deutsches Requiem (A German Requiem) Op.45: V. Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit (Langsam)
Ein deutsches Requiem (A German Requiem) Op.45: VI. Denn wir haben hie keine bleibende Statt (Andante)
Ein deutsches Requiem (A German Requiem) Op.45: VII. Selig sind die Toten (Feierlich)
8th April 2011
****
“a performance of compassion and sensitivity. Natalie Dessay's soprano aria in the fifth movement adds lightness and spiritual aspiration between Ludovic Tézier's more sombre baritone solos, and rather than a big, declamatory climax, the serene conclusion finds the piece effectively evaporating into the ether.”
The Independent on Sunday
17th April 2011
“Paavo Järvi's spacious, serene reading of A German Requiem is beautifully recorded. Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra's strings balance silkiness of tone with clean articulation, while the delicate woodwind and noble brass glint through the textures. A similarly crisp translucence is heard from the Swedish Radio Choir.”
June 2011
***
“Järvi's beautifully judged tempos and pacing...find the natural breadth and pulse of Brahms's word setting. Whether sowing in tears of reaping in joy, whether withering as grass, or bearing the fruit of harvest's eternity, Järvi finds and recreates with compelling engagement.”
May 2011
“[Tézier] is impressively smooth and entirely comfortable with the tessitura in 'Herr, lehre doch mich'...This is splendidly done, and without milking the operatic tap...Paavo Järvi is clearly in firm control throughout...he forces both choir and orchestra to be firm in observing the countless indications of dynamics or accentuation with which Brahms has spattered this youthful score, and the orchestra is superbly balanced.”
July 2011
“I'd call this a text-driven recording for the care Järvi takes to tie words and instruments in intimate union”
July 2011
****
“The Frankfurt Radio Symphony sounds like German orchestras of old, deep of bass, warm of viola and flecked with ear-catching tone colours. Paavo Järvi's probing interpretation is reassuringly old-fashioned, too...The Swedish Radio Choir's professional forces supply well-tempered sounds and compelling choral energy...while Ludovic Tézier's gutsy baritone also impresses.”
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Ein deutsches Requiem (A German Requiem) Op.45: I. Selig sind, die da Leid tragen (Ziemlich langsam)
