GoodSoundClub - Romy the Cat's Audio Site

In the Forum: Musical Discussions
In the Thread: The Deutsches Requiem of My Dreams

Post Subject: Mengelberg, Live, 1940Posted by Paul S on: 5/10/2016

Since my last post to this thread I have listened to a few more versions of Ein deutsches Requiem, and I plan to share my thoughts about some of them, starting with the best so far. This is the 1940 live performance by the Concertgebouw Orchestra with the Amsterdam Toonkunst Chior under Willem Mengelberg. Soloists are soprano Jo Vincent and baritone Max Kloos (almost a heroic tenor, IMO). My CD is a Japanese re-dux issued under the Philips label that – apparently – is adequate to get the Music and the performance across, though I hardly recommend it in “audio” terms.

Despite the “technical difficulties”, I urge everyone to immediately buy this CD. The performance is everything I love about Brahms and great classical performances, both. While others seem to play EdR either “fast” or “slow”, Mengelberg and his artists seem here to be “free of time constraints” as they bring this work to life in a totally “organic” way. Everyone in the ensemble plays an important role in this production. The orchestra is mesmerized by Mengelberg, and they never balk or drag as they serve the phenomenal singers. Kloos has to be heard to be believed, and Jo Vincent is simply angelic. The chorale is so expressive and perfectly dynamic that I get wave after wave of goosebumps as I listen. The orchestra is as good as any I’ve ever heard, and the “archaic”, lilting violins actually add rather than detracting here. There is one point where Vincent’s voice fades to a clarinet, which fades to a flute. Sounds gimmicky, right? Well, it is beautiful here, like everything is during this performance. To top it off, the work entire is as coherent as might be imagined, uplifting, exhausting, and fulfilling, the Master Work of a Master Composer.

Paul S

Rerurn to Romy the Cat's Site