Mass and Motets

Swedish Radio Choir

16,9928,49
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Original Recording Format: DSD 64
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For a long time now I have hoped to have the opportunity one day to record the sacred choral works of Johannes Brahms. In recent years these pieces have occupied me intensively and I have performed them frequently with a number of ensembles. The richness of their content has surprised me time and time again. In these works Brahms’s great examples were Schultz, Gabrieli and Bach, and it is wonderful to discover how he employs the compositional techniques of these masters to his own ends. In the patriotic Fest-und Gedenkspru?che op. 109, for example, inspired by the accession of Emperor Wilhelm II in 1888, the composer uses predominantly block-like, homophonic techniques (probably with an eye to open-air performance by large choirs). The choral groups alternate in broad movements, but occasionally the structure suddenly changes when prompted by the text: a reference to the disintegration of the kingdom in the second movement, for example, is illustrated by apparently random entries of the parts without taking the beat into account, as though the entire structure falls apart. In his harmonic language, Brahms goes much further than his Renaissance and Baroque examples, often adding notes beyond the key, for example in sequences of falling fifths, taking the music to keys hardly within reach of composers of the seventeenth century. Doing justice to this work requires a choir capable of developing a large, grandiose sound.

Peter Dijkstra

Tracklist

Please note that the below previews are loaded as 44.1 kHz / 16 bit.
1.
Zwei Motetten opus 74 - Warum ist das Licht gegeben
11:58
2.
Zwei Motetten opus 74 - O Heiland, reiss die Himmel au
05:24
3.
Fest- und Gedenkspruche opus 109 - Unsere Vater hofften auf dich
02:20
4.
Fest- und Gedenkspruche opus 109 - Wenn ein starker Gewappneter
03:15
5.
Fest- und Gedenkspruche opus 109 - Wo ist ein so herrlich Volk
04:48
6.
Missa Canonica opus posth - Sanctus
02:48
7.
Missa Canonica opus posth - Benedictus
02:03
8.
Missa Canonica opus posth - Agnus Dei
04:43
9.
Zwei Motetten opus 29 - Es ist das Heil uns kommen her
05:18
10.
Zwei Motetten opus 29 - Schaffe in mir, Gott, ein rein Herz
07:05
11.
Drei Motetten opus 110 - Ich aber bin elend
02:57
12.
Drei Motetten opus 110 - Ach, arme Welt, du trugest mich
02:05
13.
Drei Motetten opus 110 - Wenn wir in hochsten Noten sein
03:24

Total time: 00:58:08

Additional information

Label

SKU

35814

Qualities

, ,

Channels

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Artists

Composers

Genres

,

Cables

van den Hul

Digital Converters

Grimm AD DSD64

Mastering Engineer

Jared Sacks

Mastering Equipment

B&W 803 Diamond series

Microphones

Bruel & Kjaer, Schoeps

Mixing Board

Rens Heijnis custom made

Awards

Conductors

Instruments

Original Recording Format

Producer

Jared Sacks

Recording Engineer

Jared Sacks

Recording location

Stockholm Sweden

Recording Software

Pyramix

Recording Type & Bit Rate

DSD64

Release DateNovember 14, 2014

Press reviews

Classic Voice (IT)

(…) si snoda con perfetta sensibiltà stilistica e denuncia il mirabile “luteranesimo” di questo Brahms ignota ai più.

American Record Guide

“The Swedish Radio Choir, sings with wonderful intonation and blend. Under Dijkstra their ensemble is fine, and their soft singing is impressive.”

Opus Klassiek

(…) een schitterende opname (…)

Audiophile Audition

(…) simply marvelous in conception and execution (…) the Dijkstra recording gives us a radiant performance of the early Missa Cononica (…) The singing of the famous Swedish Radio Choir is radiant (…) caught in magnificent multichannel SACD.

HVT

Brahms’ werken zijn zeer delicaat en worden door dit top-koor en dito dirigent ook als zodanig uitgevoerd. (…) Brahms ‘zingt‘!

Choir & Organ

Peter Dijkstra is a perfect match for the Swedish Radio Choir (…) a vivid recording (…) the Sanctus is a model for choirs everywhere.

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