Brahms’ Deutsches Requiem is indisputably one of the key works in the history of oratorio. The choir, as the voice of the people, carries the musical action almost continuously. In his Requiem Brahms masterfully combines compositional techniques drawn from earlier centuries with what were then new harmonies, a combination which still presents challenges for choral singers today. So that the work achieves the monumental impression of sound and the desired depth of expression the composer intended, the parts need to be secure – no easy matter with many changes of key, excursions into distant harmonies, and all sorts of pitfalls regarding intonation.
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Performers: Julia Borchert (soprano), Michael Volle (basso) – Kammerchor Stuttgart, Klassische Philharmonie Stuttgart – Frieder Bernius
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Composer
Johannes Brahms
| 1833-1897Johannes Brahms' study of musical tradition was of crucial importance to his output: he combined church modes, canonic technique, Baroque style and diction, Bach's counterpoint and Beethoven's thematic-motivic work with the harmonic and expressive achievements of Romanticism to form his own distinctive style. In this respect his choral songs and vocal quartets (e.g. the “Liebeslieder Waltzes” and “New Liebeslieder Waltzes”), often to folk song texts, in which a musical microcosm unfolds, are examplary. His “Deutsches Requiem”, available from Carus in several different versions, constitutes one of the most fascinating confessions of faith in the history of music. Personal details
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Choir
Kammerchor Stuttgart
The Kammerchor Stuttgart is regarded as one of the best ensembles of its kind. Over its fifty-year existence, Frieder Bernius has developed the choir into an exceptional ensemble acclaimed by audiences and press alike. This has led to invitations for the choir to perform at all the important European festivals. In Germany the chamber choir performs at festivals and in concert halls in repertoire ranging from the 17th to the 21st century. Frieder Bernius and his ensemble have received numerous accolades for their contribution to new music. The Kammerchor Stuttgart has made over 80 CDs and LPs, numerous of which have been awarded international recording prizes (including the Edison award, Diapason d’or, Gramophone Choice, Classical Internet Award, International Classical Music Award, and German Record Critics’ Award prizes). The International Federation for Choral Music has invited the ensemble to sing at the 1st, 4th and 10th World Symposia on Choral Music in Vienna, Sydney and Seoul. Regular tours of North America and Asia since 1988 and a South America tour reflect the Kammerchor Stuttgart’s international reputation. Since 1984 the top ensemble has also been invited to Israel biennially. Personal details
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Ensemble
Klassische Philharmonie Stuttgart
The Klassische Philharmonie Stuttgart is comprised of musicians from leading German symphony orchestras and chamber ensembles who have been performing with Frieder Bernius over a long period. Although the orchestra uses modern instruments, the conductor and his players are particularly interested in stylistic distinctions. For performances of large-scale choral works, the Klassische Philharmonie Stuttgart is the orchestral pendant to the Kammerchor Stuttgart. The orchestra has participated in a variety of events, including the Rheingau Music Festival, Stuttgart European Musikfest, Baden-Württemberg International Festival, Wratislavia Cantans Festival in Wroc³aw (Poland), the Kassel Music Festival, the Philharmonic Society of Brussels and the Herbstliche Musiktage Bad Urach. The idea of creating an orchestral partner of equal quality to the Kammerchor Stuttgart has been vindicated not least by their joint recording of Johannes Brahms’ A German Requiem. The French periodical Répertoire has confirmed Frieder Bernius’s vision of the work as a “discographic knockout.” Personal details
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Conductor
Frieder Bernius
| 1947Frieder Bernius’s work has earned great worldwide recognition. He is in demand internationally as a conductor and as a teacher. His principal artistic collaborators are the ensembles he founded himself, the Kammerchor Stuttgart, the Barockorchester Stuttgart, the Hofkapelle Stuttgart and the Klassische Philharmonie Stuttgart. As a guest conductor, he has collaborated repeatedly with, for example, the SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the Stuttgarter Kammerorchester and the Streicherakademie Bozen. Great stylistic versatility is Frieder Bernius’s hallmark. Whether he conducts vocal works by Monteverdi, Bach, Händel, Mozart, Beethoven, Fauré and Ligeti, stage music by Mendelssohn or symphonies by Haydn, Burgmüller and Schubert, his work always aims for a sound that is at once unmistakably personal and at the same time oriented towards the original period sound ideal. He devotes himself equally to the rediscovery of 18th century operas and to first performances of contemporary compositions. He is particularly interested in the musical history of southwestern Germany. Carus-Verlag has awarded Frieder Bernius a Golden CD for his complete recording of the sacred music of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. The award was presented to him during the German Choir Festival in Stuttgart 2016. The sale of over 250,000 recordings, which has been acclaimed with a number of awards, has made a not insignificant contribution to what today is the obvious presence of Mendelssohn's complete œuvre in the concert repertoire. Personal details
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Soloist - soprano
Julia Borchert
Julia Borchert ist seit 1997 als lyrischer Sopran am Niedersächsischen Staatstheater Hannover verpflichtet. Die in Bad Pyrmont geborene Sängerin begann an der Essener Folkwangschule ein Musiktheaterstudium, das sie bei Professor Ingeborg Most in Freiburg fortsetzte und 1991 im Rahmen der Künstlerischen Reifeprüfung mit Auszeichnung abschloß. Im selben Jahr trat sie ihr erstes Engagement am Nationaltheater Mannheim an und blieb dem Hause sechs Jahre lang verbunden. Als ständiger Gast singt die Künstlerin im Württembergischen Staatstheater Stuttgart seit 1995 die Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel). Weitere Gastspiele führten sie nach Karlsruhe, Bern, Düsseldorf, Köln und an die Bayerische Staatsoper München. Neben dem Opernfach gilt Julia Borcherts besondere Liebe dem Lied- und Konzertgesang. Personal details
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Soloist - baritone
Michael Volle