Brahms: Requiem

The death of choral legend Robert Shaw in early 1999 came just before he was to have embarked on a much-anticipated recording: an adaptation into English of Brahms's deathless masterpiece Ein Deutsches Requiem. The present disc is based on Shaw's adaptation of the King James text to Brahms's score, which the conductor was in the process of fine-tuning before he died. Certainly it must have been a daunting task for conductor Craig Jessop to step into the shoes of his mentor (indeed, Shaw's own previous account of the original German-language version stands out as one of the high points in his vast recorded output), but he acquits himself admirably. This is a full-blooded performance, laying out a spacious canvas that is compelling in its grasp of structural sweep--this is after all Brahms's largest-scale work--and also lovingly attentive to local textural details: the rising harp chords in the final bars of "Blest are they that mourn" or the swelling chorus on "Death, O where is thy sting?" to cite just a couple. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir is in glorious form, its special resonance captured with warm, present atmosphere here by Telarc's engineers. Janice Chandler sings seraphically--but not with distance--in the soprano's one movement, while Nathan Gunn's baritone solos emphasize vulnerability over darkness. Hearing the text in English only reinforces the universality and deep humanity of Brahms's message, his dual focus of resigned acceptance and comfort. The result is also a moving tribute to Shaw's legacy--and a testament to its abiding power. --Thomas May