#Brahms Requiem

[necarion]

I love the Brahms Requiem, but dear god does it thrash the tenors. It's hard in all the voice parts, but the tenor section is going wildly flat during the last movement. This is movement 3.

Like, yes, it is high in the soprano range as well. But I think As are higher, relatively speaking, to tenors than they are to Sopranos. I've talked to some altos and basses and while the stuff goes mildly high for the altos, they don't seem to find it vocally fatiguing in the same way that it is for the tenors.

I was taking it super easy, not singing the high notes, etc., during rehearsal, and I was exhausted. (I'd tried really hard to convince the tenors to take it easy during rehearsal, and everyone agreed. And then promptly forgot when the conductor asked for MOAR SOUND. Which also irritates me because he acknowledged to me directly that the tenors needed to take it easy during the rehearsal.)

[lilyliveredlittlerichboy]

you know for years i was like the 6th movement of brahms requiem is my favourite. but now i think honestly it's the 2nd. there are parallels between them of course. but there's a poignancy to it -

Denn alles Fleisch, es ist wie Gras; / Und alle Herrlichkeit des Menschen, wie des Grases Blume. Das Gras ist verdorret, / Und die Blume abgefallen.

In nature, if a plant has dried up and its flower fallen off; sometimes it's dead, but more often than not, it's just gone to seed. The flower which fell off is going to become a new plant given some water and patience.

So seid nun geduldig...

Even the most desolate and hopeless place can become the birthplace of new life. Right now it looks dry and barren, but give it time. Let the rain fall. Soon, it will become apparent, just be patient, just like the farmer knows the rain will come, and it will bring with it the delicious fruit of the earth, if only you are patient.

[mygrandmotherspiano]

Warum.

Why is there so much German in the German Requiem? Why, Brahms? It seems unnecessary. I know the history text books tell us that it’s because you wanted to create a work for the common man, not just for Catholics. So you set well known verses from the Bible dealing with mourning in the common language of your country. A noble endeavor and a much appreciated sentiment. But I know the truth. You did it to torment me personally. What’s that? I should be grateful that you didn’t do the entire Nicene Creed in German? ... Well, you’ve got me there, I guess. ------- (in all seriousness, I’m super excited to be performing Brahms’s German Requiem with our local symphony here in just a few weeks. And my German isn’t that rusty, turns out! There’s just... a lot of Requiem and a lot of unfamiliar German. Also don’t @ me about English being a devilish language to pronounce. You’d be well within your rights to give Handel a good tongue lashing too... once you can untie yours.)

[secondaryhalogens]

Johannes Brahms, Ein deutsches Requiem Op. 45 (1866)

Johannes Brahms’ 70 minute requiem mass in 7 movements is a monumental work of the Romantic composer, written for full orchestra, chorus, baritone, and soprano. Probably one of the most interesting aspects of the piece is the text, which departs from the traditional requiem text (both in language and content), shifting the meaning of the requiem. Traditional requiems (think Mozart or Fauré) use a prescribed latin text from the Catholic requiem mass, which has a strong emphasis on praying for the dead and loving God, so to avoid eternal damnation. Brahms took a very different route: He wrote the text from assorted Bible verses that instead focuses on comforting the living who remain to grieve. The other unique device that Brahms chooses is that he wrote the requiem in his native German, making the music much more accessible and comforting. However, when asked about why he titled it “A German Requiem,” he clarified that it was not a piece of German pride and nationalism, “I will admit I could happily omit the ‘German’ and simply say ‘Human.’”

The piece is in 7 movements, with a Bass solo in mvt. 3 & 6 and a Soprano solo in movement 5 (this was added after the initial premier, and is a clear homage to his mother, who died while writing this piece, and with whom Brahms was very close). The whole piece is structured like a traditional Lutheran Chorale, with Movements 1 & 7 and 2 & 6 mirroring each other in an ABA style. Movements 2, 3, and 6 all have large fugues at the end, when singing an uplifting or happy text, started by one of the sections of the choir. 

This piece is still very meaningful to my advisor & choir director Kathy FitzGibbon, who conducted the performance I was in last year. There is one line that she really appreciated and took to heart (writing it as her dedication in her doctoral dissertation to her grandparents): “Denn ihre Werke folgen ihnen nach” which translates to “And their work follows after them,” in reference to those who have died. I too think its a beautiful sentiment and a really powerful piece. 10/10 worth the listen. 

[turtles-go-mrph]

whatsgoingonguys is a national treasure with the voice of an angel!

[necarion]

Brahms' "Ein Deutsches Requiem" ("A German Requiem") was about the language, that is, a mass for the dead in the language of the people. It was not a nationalism thing.

In fact, its first performance was not in Germany, but in Bremen*!

* In 1868, Bremen was recently a part of the North German Confederation, which was not entirely a true federated state at the time.

[greatlakesfilm]

Senior Bailey Blashford To Give Vocal Recital in Ford Chapel

Senior Bailey Blashford To Give Vocal Recital in Ford Chapel

Soprano Bailey Blashford will present a senior recital at 3:15 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 8 in Ford Chapel at Allegheny College. The recital is free and open to the public.

Blashford will perform arias from the Brahms Requiem, Handel’s “Atalanta,” Offenbach’s “La Perichole,” Weber’s “Der Freischütz,” Puccini’s “La Bohéme” and Victor Herbert’s “Mlle Modiste.” Also on the program are art songs by…

[chorusgeeks]

Yannick Nézet-Séguin talking about why he loves Brahms' requiem.

This was my last run-out at Westminster, and boy do I feel honored that I was a part of this.

(He was absolutely AMAZING to work with on this performance. Plus he's really short and funny.)

[necarion]

After our second (of three) dress rehearsals for the Brahms Requiem, I called a huddle of the tenor section and told everyone to, effectively, slack off during the third dress rehearsal.

"Guys, this is one of the most fatiguing pieces we'll ever sing. The only thing that matters here is how you sound on Friday and Saturday, so aim for, like, 80% for Thursday's rehearsal."

I could really hear folks blowing out their voices during the rehearsal and who were super flat by the last movement. I was having trouble too, and I was even taking whole passages off and not even attempting half the high notes. In part because I was blending with folks who were actually shouting.

---

I also gave advice to not try to give 120% of their loudest discomfort-free volume, even on the big ff passages, but that's not going to stick because I'm not their conductor. But that's actually a slightly different problem. Basically, a choir attempting to give 120% will actually sound quieter than one aiming to max out at 95%, because they'll be effectively shouting, and as such won't end up blending vowels properly. Proper vowel blend means that not only does the fundamental pitch match, but so do the higher harmonics. And exact frequency matching results in constructive interference and louder volumes.

This effect is why a really good choir of 16 people can often sound louder than a mediocre choir of 50 or more. The singers really aren't a lot louder (certainly not 4x louder), but they do get better harmonics (which carry) and better harmonics-matching (which allows the sound to be perceived as louder).

A really funny result of all of this is that sometimes, if a (usually orchestral) conductor asks a choir for MORE SOUND, the correct approach is to back off a little bit, because it's likely you actually been shouting a tiny bit. This allows you to get back into better technique, which sounds louder. (It also sounds better; shouty-singing sounds really unpleasant, unless it is used as an effect (in which case it still sounds unpleasant, but deliberately so)). And as a bonus of not shouting, your voice will be in better shape for later in the concert (when you need to not go super flat because you blew out your voice) and later in life (when you want to not sound like you regularly blew out your voice).

---

All this to say, I have the personal authority as an alum of this choir to strongly recommend that the singers take it easy next rehearsal. They all know that they're hurting their voices, so having someone articulate "save it for the big event" is helpful. But I'm not their conductor and can't meaningfully tell them (especially not in a 2 minute huddle) about backing off in the concert as well.

[tenestelapromessa]

Culture.

One of the several things I lament this past semester in that I've not been able to attend as many performances in Los Angeles as I'd have liked to. I mean, I got to see Don Giovanni and The Two Foscari one night after the other and that was amazing, but beyond that I was to busy with classes or work to really take part in the musical offerings around me. I'm incredibly grateful to be employed, but I swear, when it comes to being able to schedule concert attendances on the weekends I have the worst shifts. I work Saturdays from 1:00 pm to 9:00pm, effectively eliminating the possibility of attended evening concerts, and on Sunday I work from 10:50 am to 6:00 pm, meaning that while my evenings are free I still can't see much because Sundays are usually matinee performance days.

I really want to see LAMC perform the Brahms Requiem in January. The good news is that it's actually going to happen on a Sundayevening,which means I could go. The bad news is that I've been asked by my dad to not spend any of my money in case we need to pay bills and the affordable seats are fast selling out. I'm disappointed, I've only been to the Walt Disney Hall once and I know I'm missing out on so much being this busy. I can't even see performances my own friends are in, let alone professionals. I've never even seen the LA Phil. There's just no excuse for that, it's not a way to live.

I'll find a way to inject more culture into my life. I must!

[necarion]

I'm hoping third time's a charm and I get to actually successfully sing the Brahms Requiem with the Berkeley choruses in December. I tried singing with Stanford last fall but got COVID week of the concert, and tried to sing with a different choir last spring until they uninvited all outside singers for unknown reasons. I have an annoying commute, with many trips over 2 weeks. But the Berkeley choirs are by far the better of the Stanford Symphonic Choir (minimal audition, open to the full community) and the other one.

Also, the music remains really good.