Brahms - Symphony no. 4 & other works
Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique; Monteverdi Choir / Gardiner
Soli Deo Gloria SDG705

Release date August 2010

Having listened to a recording of Sir Charles Mackerras talking about the unique aspects of his chamber-sized Brahms cycle with the SCO, I found several elements common to his and Gardiner's approach to Brahms' symphonies: the concept of an orchestral 'inner flexible tempo', i.e. varying the speed of the music within one general tempo marking (Brahms' debt to Wagner, and the very antithesis of Mendelssohn's view); the importance of using instruments appropriate to the time - for example the use of nineteenth-century-style trombones, which with their narrower bores do not blend as well as today's instruments; and Brahms' interest in music of earlier times. Gardiner certainly allows the symphony's music to ebb and flow without compromising its momentum, while the use of period instruments brings out more clearly voices that otherwise might be submerged in the velvety textures of a typical modern orchestra. But the main thrust of Gardiner's cycle has been the influence of earlier composers, and their choral music in particular, on Brahms' symphonic works. So the disc includes performances of choral works by Gabrieli, Schutz and Bach that Brahms is known to have conducted in his trail-blazing Singakademie concerts in Vienna in 1864. (Brahms had a large library of editions of early composers' music. He was also on the committee reponsible for the first edition of Mozart's complete works.) Gardiner draws parallels between the energy and ebullience of Beethoven's Coriolan Overture (given a spirited performance here) and the equally vital, robust Scherzo of Brahms' Fourth Symphony, while Brahms' development as a composer is illustrated with reference to several of his own earlier choral works. The singing is, as ever, impeccable; the angular Fest- und Gedenkspruche for double choir are projected in forthright fashion, while the choir's handling of the 'Amen' in the Geistliches Lied (one of choral music's emotional peaks) is sublime. It is striking how the dynamic nuances of the choral pieces are also present in the symphony. The booklet notes consist of a most interesting conversation between Gardiner and Hugh Wood, all the more enlightening for the inclusion of performances of the works discussed. This has been a fascinating cycle, for lovers of orchestral music and choral music alike.

Reviewed by Anne McAlister