Johannes Brahms / Wolfgang Rihm
Johannes Brahms/Wolfgang Rihm
Wolfgang Rihm. Video still © Yan Proefrock ©
Johannes Brahms
Ein deutsches Requiem (A German Requiem), opus 45
Wolfgang Rihm
Das Lesen der Schrift, four pieces for orchestra
The four pieces of Das Lesen der Schrift are inserted between German Requiem movements
Natalie Dessay, soprano
Ludovic Tézier, baritone
Matthias Brauer, Choirmaster
Radio France Choir
Radio France Philharmony Orchestra
Myung-Whun Chung, direction
Coproduction Radio France ; Festival d’Automne à Paris
With the support of Fondation d’Entreprise CMA CGM
Concert recorded by France Musique
Brahms offers nostalgia and sorrow so evocative in the vast scale of his German Requiem. Rihm has chosen to interpolate four movements – dark, slow, calm, contemplative, powerfully expressive, building on the substance and character of the work, changing form, shaping silence, sculpting lamentation, and perhaps offering consolation.