THE BRAHMS SERIES RECORDINGS
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| SDG702 | SDG703 | SDG704 | SDG705 |
SDG is proud to be releasing a new series that sees John Eliot Gardiner and his Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique explore the music of Johannes Brahms.
Importantly, Gardiner has set Brahms' symphonies in the context of his own superb and often neglected choral music, and that of the old masters he particularly cherished (Schütz and Bach especially) and of recent heroes of his (Mendelssohn, Schubert and Schumann). In doing so, Gardiner gains a new perspective on his symphonic compositions, drawing attention to the intrinsic vocality at the heart of his writing for orchestra.
The recordings from this series are drawn from Gardiner's two-year Brahms and his Antecedents project which is in two parts. The first segment of the project, featuring the first two symphonies and the German Requiem, began in October 2007 and included two concerts at the newly reopened Royal Festival Hall. The second part of the project featuring the 3rd and 4th symphonies – also in a historical and vocal context - will take place in September/October 2008.
This project not only celebrates Brahms the composer, but traces the roots from which Brahms drew his creative inspiration. No other composer of the 19th century had such a close and informed relationship to music of the past and for this reason, great choral works by composers as varied as Bach, Schütz and Mendelssohn are performed alongside Brahms' compositions.
This series is an important milestone for SDG heralding the development of the label beyond the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and the Renaissance choral repertoire which have so far dominated its catalogue.
...this is one of the most stimulating Brahms releases to have appeared in recent years. - BBC Music Magazine
A good start to what promises to be a fascinating series. - The Guardian
The singing of the Monteverdians is luminous. - The Sunday Times
While studio accounts of the symphony are numerous, this new addition to the discography is surely a serious competitor thanks to the pedagogical aspect provided by the choral items. Future installments in the series are greatly anticipated, if this one is anything to go by. - musicalcriticism.com
...dynamic, astringent: admirably transparent in its textures and super-sweet in Peter Hanson's violin solo at the close of the "Andante sostenuto". - Independent on Sunday
This release is the first in the series and coincides with the second part of Gardiner's project, which will be touring extensively in Europe during autumn 2008.
This exciting new recording combines the large-scale vigour, drama and passion of Brahms with the expert musicianship and authentic approach that has come to be expected of John Eliot Gardiner, The Monteverdi Choir and his superb Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique.
Unique to this recording is the way in which Brahms' Symphony is set within its historical and vocal context. As Gardiner explains:
"When we approach Brahms nowadays the temptation is to concentrate exclusively on his orchestral output - the overtures, concertos and symphonies - and replicate a safe 'meat-and-two-veg' approach. But the more I thought about it, the more convinced I became that a worthwhile approach would be to juxtapose his symphonies with vocal music - music which Brahms himself cherished (studied, edited and conducted) - and so to set them in a historical Brahms-specific context rather presenting an encyclopaedic survey of all his orchestral output".
For this project, Gardiner not only explores Brahms' musical origins but he attempts to reveal the very sounds which inspired him. Such authenticity has been sought by using instruments favoured by the composer. Valveless natural horns, for instance, give exactly the right flavour to the haunting, valley-resounding alphorn theme in the finale of the First Symphony.
Click CD to play soundbites.
SDG 702 - Brahms Symphony 1 (1 cd) contains:
Brahms - Begräbnisgesang, Op. 13
Mendelssohn – Mitten wir in Leben sind Op. 23
Brahms – Schicksalslied, Op. 54
Brahms - Symphony no.1 in c minor, Op. 68
(recorded: London & Paris)
The Monteverdi Choir | Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique | John
Eliot Gardiner
Click
here for a French Translation of the sleeve notes.
Click
here for a German Translation of the sleeve notes.
Click
here for the English sleeve notes.
Following on from the phenomenal worldwide success of the first release in the Brahms series (recently nominated in the orchestral category of the 2009 BBC Music Awards), SDG continues the series with Brahms' Symphony 2 which sees John Eliot Gardiner and his Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique explore the music of Johannes Brahms.
Importantly, Gardiner has set Brahms' symphonies in the context of his own superb and often neglected choral music, and that of the old masters he particularly cherished (Schütz and Bach especially) and of recent heroes of his (Mendelssohn, Schubert and Schumann).
The recordings from this series are drawn from Gardiner’s two-year Brahms and his Antecedents project which not only celebrated Brahms the composer, but traced the roots from which Brahms drew his creative inspiration. No other composer of the 19th century had such a close and informed relationship to music of the past and for this reason, great choral works by composers as varied as Bach, Schütz and Mendelssohn are performed alongside Brahms' compositions.
Brahms' dark, deeply personal and moving Alto Rhapsody for alto solo, male chorus and orchestra is included here alongside three choral works by Franz Schubert. In Schubert's Gesang der Geister über den Wassern D714 (1821) comparisons between the two composers could not be more clear. Brahms draws on the effective example of his beloved Schubert firstly by composing the rhapsody for male chorus and secondly, basing the work upon a poem by Goethe.
The lyrical beauty of Brahms's Second Symphony makes it perhaps the most popular of the four works he composed in this form. The contrast between this symphony and the heroic First is complete, and it is strikingly analogous to the differences between Beethoven's Fifth and Sixth symphonies.
Inside the same elegant packaging used for the Bach Cantatas CDs, the booklet notes feature an in-depth conversation between John Eliot Gardiner and composer Hugh Wood.
Click CD to play soundbites.
SDG 703 - Brahms Symphony 2 (1 cd) contains:
Brahms - Alto Rhapsody Op.53
Franz Schubert 1797-1828
Gesang der Geister über den Wassern D714 (1821)
Gruppe aus dem Tartarus D583 (1817, arr. Brahms 1871)
An Schwager Kronos D369 (1816, arr. Brahms 1871)
Brahms - Symphony No.2 in D major Op.73 (1877)
I Allegro non troppo
II Adagio non troppo - L’istesso tempo, ma grazioso
III Allegretto grazioso (quasi andantino) -
Presto ma non assai - Tempo I
IV Allegro con spirito
(recorded: Salle Pleyel, Paris)
The Monteverdi Choir | Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique | John
Eliot Gardiner
Click
here for a French Translation of the sleeve notes.
Click
here for a German Translation of the sleeve notes.
Click
here for the English sleeve notes.
Soli Deo Gloria is proud to release the third instalment in the successful Brahms Symphony series which sees John Eliot Gardiner and his Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique explore the music of Johannes Brahms.
The recordings from this series are drawn from Gardiner’s two-year Brahms and his Antecedents project which not only celebrated Brahms the composer, but traced the roots from which Brahms drew his creative inspiration. No other composer of the 19th century had such a close and informed relationship to music of the past and for this reason, great choral works by composers as varied as Bach, Schütz and Mendelssohn are performed alongside Brahms’ compositions.
This album features Brahms’ grand, heroic third symphony alongside his setting of Schiller’s dirge Nänie and Goethe’s dramatic ballad Gesang der Parzen. These are preceded by a little group of choir pieces threaded together by an autumnal hunting-horn theme.
The choral pieces on this release demonstrate beautifully the extent to which choral thinking permeates Brahms’ orchestral writing. Gardiner states that
“just as there is choral thinking evident in his symphonies, surely there are also signs of orchestral thinking embedded within his choral writing.”
Both Nänie and Gesang der Parzen show fascinating links with Brahms’ last two symphonies Parzen sharing with the Third not just an adjacent opus number but an immensely powerful orchestral opening, with passing references to ‘early music’ styles next to passages of the most advanced harmony.
Einförmig ist der Liebe Gram, an irresistible little piece written for women’s voices, sees Brahms take the final song from Schubert’s Winterreise and turn it into a haunting six-part canon. Another example of Brahms forging links with a revered predecessor.
Written nearly six years after Brahms completed his Second Symphony, his Third Symphony was described by Hans Richter on its premiere as Brahms’ ‘Erioica’. A friend of Brahms and music critic at the time, Eduard Hanslick, wrote:
“Many music lovers will prefer the titanic force of the First Symphony; others, the untroubled charm of the Second, but the Third strikes me as being artistically the most nearly perfect”
Inside the same elegant packaging used for the Bach Cantatas CDs, the booklet notes feature an in-depth conversation between John Eliot Gardiner and composer Hugh Wood.
Click CD to play soundbites.
SDG 704 - Brahms Symphony 3 (1 cd) contains:
Johannes Brahms
1833-1897
Ich schwing mein Horn ins Jammertal Op.41/1 (1861)
Es tönt ein voller Harfenklang Op.17/1 (1860)
Nachtwache I Op.104/1 (1888)
Einförmig ist der Liebe Gram Op.113/13 (1891)
Gesang der Parzen Op.89 (1882)
Symphony No.3 in F major Op.90 (1883)
I Allegro con brio
II Andante
III Poco allegretto
IV Allegro
Nänie Op.82 (1881)
(recorded: the Salle Pleyel, Paris and the Royal Festival Hall, London)
The Monteverdi Choir | Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique | John
Eliot Gardiner
Click
here for a French Translation of the sleeve notes.
Click
here for a German Translation of the sleeve notes.
Click
here for the English sleeve notes.
Soli Deo Gloria is proud to release the last instalment of its successful Brahms Symphony series which sees John Eliot Gardiner and his Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique explore the music of Johannes Brahms.
This album is a celebration of the Fourth Symphony and the various pieces that contributed to its making.
From baroque to romantic, and from great orchestral pieces to intimate choral works, the listener gains a wonderful insight into Brahms’ mind and music making, through pieces that he loved and inspired him.
The Fourth Symphony was described by Richard Strauss as “a giant work, great in concept an invention, masterful in its form, and yet from A to Z genuine Brahms, in a word, an enrichment to our art”. Drawing from many sources of the musical past, it is nevertheless absolutely unique.
It is impregnated with baroque influence - the Finale was directly inspired by Bach’s cantata Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich. Brahms enjoyed conducting less known old repertoire such as Gabrieli’s Sanctus Benedictus and Schütz’s Saul, Saul. They influenced his choral writing as we can hear in the Geistliches Lied. Brahms was also famously inspired by Beethoven, and the Finale to the Fourth clearly owes to his Coriolan overture.
The recordings from this series are drawn from Gardiner’s two-year Brahms and his Antecedents project which not only celebrated Brahms the composer, but traced the roots from which Brahms drew his creative inspiration. No other composer of the 19th century had such a close and informed relationship to music of the past and for this reason, great choral works by composers as varied as Beethoven, Bach, Schütz and Gabrielli are performed alongside Brahms’ compositions.
The booklet includes a conversation between John Eliot Gardiner and composer Hugh Wood, explaining how the pieces relate to each other and giving a moving account of Brahms as a composer and as a man.
Click CD to play soundbites.
SDG 705 - Brahms Symphony 4 (1 cd) contains:
Ludwig van Beethoven 1770-1827
Overture, Coriolan Op.62 (1807)
Giovanni Gabrieli c.1554/7-1612
Sanctus & Benedictus a 12
Heinrich Schütz 1585-1672
Saul, Saul, was verfolgst du mich? SWV 415 (1650)
Johann Sebastian Bach 1685-1750
from Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich BWV 150 (c.1708-9)
No.6 Meine Augen sehen stets zu dem Herrn
No.7 Ciacona: Meine Tage in den Leiden
Johannes Brahms 1833-1897
Geistliches Lied Op.30 (1865)
arr. Gardiner for mixed chorus and strings
Fest- und Gedenksprüche Op.109 (1889)
1. Unsere Väter hofften auf dich
2. Wenn ein starker Gewappneter
3. Wo ist ein so herrlich Volk
Symphony No.4 in E minor Op 98 (1885)
I Allegro non troppo
II Andante moderato
III Allegro giocoso
IV Allegro energico e passionato
(Recorded live at the Royal Festival Hall, London)
The Monteverdi Choir | Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique | John
Eliot Gardiner
Click
here for a French Translation of the sleeve notes.
Click
here for a German Translation of the sleeve notes.
Click
here for the English sleeve notes.
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