This year the Requiem, which takes place every Remembrance weekend, was Brahms\’ Deutsches Requiem not, however, in German, as the choir does all this with only 3 hours\’ rehearsal.
It was certainly the best choir that I have ever heard. James Sherlock, who seems to have magic powers in coaxing his forces to respond in so short a time, had placed the ladies in the chancel, and the men in the galleries on each side, just above them. And may I say how much the choir benefited by having far more men than usual? It also included some teenagers, which was very good to see. So we were immersed in sound from both sides.
Brahms said himself that he would have liked to put \”Human\” instead of \”German\” in the title – probably now he would have called it a Humanist Requiem. All the texts are from the Lutheran Bible, and one section at least, which I will come to later, is familiar from Handel\’s Messiah.
It had its first performance on Good Friday 1868 in Bremen Cathedral, perhaps not one of the most glamorous settings, and Brahms was there to supervise a good deal. He shouldn\’t have been but, on tour in Denmark, with his famous lack of tact, he said it was a pity the collection of the Thorwaldsen Museum wasn\’t in Berlin. Whereupon the tour ended.
The Cathedral authorities were worried by its Humanist slant, so \”Erbarme dich\” from Bach\’s St Matthew Passion and \”I know that my Redeemer liveth\” from Handel\’s Messiah were performed as well. But, as a work, it was a huge hit. Brahms had been worried – he said the choir in Bremen was more chary about top As than in Vienna!
We heard the perfectly genuine piano duet version, in which Peter Foggitt and Somi Kim performed miracles at the keyboard and were a tower of strength. Some of the piano part made one think of the \”Vier ernste Gesänge\” in the first chorus. It was obvious the choir were giving their all, from the beginning.
The next chorus is interesting. To the words \”Behold, all flesh is as the grass\” the music advances with slow sombre chords. If you didn\’t know we were in a Protestant musical world it would recall the slow, lurching processions of the Madonna and Passion figures, with their candles and hooded penitents, in Spain or Latin America. But no – the music changes to a very Germanically joyful tone where the ghost of Bach hovers, and even though the first theme returns, Protestant determination wins through, \”and sorrow and sighing shall flee away\”.
Section 3 brought forward our baritone, Nicholas Mogg, who is incredibly consistent. Whatever it is, musically, he delivers, and he did it again. I have never not heard every word he sings, in ensemble or solo, and this was no exception.
Then came the \”pop\” number which everybody tends to know – the warm flow of \”How lovely are thy dwellings\”. In the original German \”Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen\”. Wohnung, in modern terms, means a flat. We are told that \”In my Father\’s house are many mansions\” but somehow this translation conjures up a picture of a happy heaven with smaller residences as well! And indeed the chorus finishes by saying how blessed people are who dwell there.
Rachel Ambrose Evans, our soprano, then showed us her clear silvery sound in her solo of comfort. She floated above the choir, just as she should, and also literally. While she stood to sing the choir joined in, but seated. Her top voice is never hard, and she came through without strain.
Nicholas then returned to the section which uses the same words as \”The Messiah\”, starting \”Behold I show you a mystery\”. The setting demonstrated both ends of his range, and he ran up and down it with ease, with an impressive \”Last Trumpet\”. Some of the chorus looked towards the Verdi Requiem, I thought.
A great virtue of this piece is that it is just the right length. Any more might be too much, but no one could say it was all gloom and doom. The final chorus is like a glorious musical wallow in a warm bath of sound, in the nicest possible way. It says \”For they rest from their labours\”.
And so it was. After the first performance, everyone went to the pub and had a excellent supper. A fine speech was made about Brahms, and his dear friend, Clara Schumann, was delighted!