Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Missa solemnis in D major, Op. 123 (1823)
Hector Berlioz (1803-1869)
Grande Messe des morts, Op. 5 (1837)
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Ein deutsches Requiem, Op. 45 (1868)
Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR/Roger Norrington
rec. 1999 (Beethoven), live, 9 May 2003 (Berlioz), 2014 (Brahms), Liederhalle (Beethovensaal), Stuttgart, Germany
Booklet in English and German (no texts or translations)
SWR Music SWR19532CD [4 CDs: 224]
Sir Roger Norrington, who retired in 2021, was Chief Conductor of the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra (today the SWR Symphonieorchester) from 1998 to 2011. This was a bold appointment for a significant German radio orchestra, given it was clear how the conductor would develop their sound. “The Stuttgart Sound” combined historically-informed performance practice (swift tempi, little vibrato, rearranged orchestral layouts and variations in size) with the instruments of a modern orchestra. Norrington’s aim, as with all his various orchestral and operatic activities, was to come as close as possible to the sound the composer would expect to hear. For me, he succeeded superbly more often than not, and was an enlightening force in our musical lives for over half a century. But this reissue offers fairly little of all that, as it brings together three great sacred choral works of the 19th century: Berlioz’s Requiem, Brahms’s A German Requiem and Beethoven’s Missa solemnis.
Here is the first thing to say to any who disapprove of the Norrington musical worldview: these performances are all very good, and fairly central in interpretation. I do not think it was not so much that Sir Roger has mellowed in the new century (these accounts come from 1999-2014). Rather, he looked at the scores and followed the instructions, and the results happen to involve no iconoclasm.
The Missa solemnis is solemn alright, even the first choral entry which avoids a big shout and is invested more with entreaty. The Kyrie is just that after all, and the soloists are all good if not spectacular. One does not need the four best opera stars in the world, for this is not Verdi’s Requiem. The tempi are broad but never drag: Norrington is not one to mistake very slow tempi for deep spirituality! The Gloria is a different matter, bursting out of the blocks to glorify the deity. Rattling timpani underline strong choral entries, with a sturdy fugue (11:13). The Credo is as devout as one could wish, the “Et incarnatus est” (3:57) especially so. It also is given to the choral tenors as in the autograph score, not the solo tenor as in some editions. The Sanctus is sublime, the Benedictus blessed, and the solo violin uses only a touch of vibrato on longer notes. On balance, this is certainly a good Missa Solemnis, even if some other classic versions find more of its devotional spirit.
Berlioz’s Grande Messe des morts has fewer devotional qualities than Beethoven’s Mass. The composer’s attitude is expressed on page one of his glorious Memoirs. He writes that Catholicism is “a charming religion, so attractive since it gave up burning people”. But he was more than capable of using the Latin Requiem text to apprehend the sacred through the dramatic and the sublime. This is a Requiem for the concert hall, or maybe a large ecclesiastical space, but not for the liturgy. It is spectacular, of course, not least in the Dies irae which Berlioz intended to “strike terror in the hearts of its hearers”. The thunderous timpani and extra brass have all the effect one requires in this thrilling live performance. Each section of the Mass is beautifully rendered, not least the lovely Sanctus for tenor solo (plus sopranos and altos in three parts), where Toby Spence is suitably seraphic. Norrington was always a considerable Berliozian – I once heard him conduct a superb Les Troyens in concert – and this is my pick of the three performances in this box.
Ein Deutsches Requiem is different again – these three great sacred works are contrasted in almost every way – not least because Brahms sets the German of the Lutheran Bible. It is also aimed, as it is sometimes said, at comforting the living. The very opening is one section where you can easily hear the “pure tone” (Norrington’s preferred phrase) afforded by the absence of vibrato in the cellos and violas. Check this passage if you think you might be allergic to the effect!
Norrington was himself a singer early in his career, so it is not surprising that he is clearly successful directing his excellent choirs. The NDR Choir is one of the leading professional chamber choirs in Germany, but then all the choral groups in this programme are professional broadcasting groups. This matters in passages led or dominated by the tenors, who are often superior even to the best amateur symphony choruses (who love to sing The German Requiem), and in the balance and accuracy of individual lines in complex fugal sections.
Both soloists are good. Florian Boesch’s baritone has sufficient heft and pathos for his great third movement taken from Psalm 39 “Lord let me know mine end, and the number of my days”. Soprano Christina Landshamer’s sixth movement solo with chorus “Now hath man sorrow, yet I shall again behold you” is sweetly sung. Overall, this is a very good account indeed of a much recorded work.
In summary, this box is very good value, with fine accounts of the Berlioz and Brahms works, and a perfectly good one of Beethoven’s Mass. The sound in the latter is fine too, if it does not quite have the effect of the two later recordings. The booklet has track listings and timings, brief notes on the orchestra and the conductor, and nothing else: no notes on the music, no texts or translations, not even the dates of composition of the three works.
Roy Westbrook
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Performers
Missa solemnis
Amanda Halgrimson (soprano), Cornelia Kallisch (mezzo-soprano), John Aler (tenor), Alastair Miles (bass), SWR Vokalensemble, NDR Chor
Grande messe
Toby Spence (tenor), MDR Rundfunkchor Leipzig
Ein deutsches Requiem
Florian Boesch (baritone), Christina Landshamer (soprano), SWR Vokalensemble, NDR Chor
