Requiem Op.72; Totenfeier Op.80 Hybrid SACD, Doppel-CD

This is from the CPO homepage: Stirring Musical Sorrow

It is a unique case in music history for a composer to have dealt with the theme of dying and death on the basis of three very different texts: the classic subject of the Catholic Mass for the Dead (Requiem), a work best described as a Lutheran cantata drawing on German texts from the Bible and hymn stanzas, and a poem of his own authorship. Heinrich von Herzogenberg, to whom cpo is dedicating an edition containing almost all of his works, took it upon himself to cope with grief in this way. He composed his Requiem in 1890 without a specific occasion in mind, but his other two works represent artistic reactions to two personal and sorrowful strokes of fate. Philipp Spitta, his best friend, unexpectedly died of a heart attack in 1894, when he was only fifty-two years old, and Herzogenberg composed his Begräbnisgesang (Burial Song) for the dedication of the gravestone during the following year. Two years earlier Herzogenberg had experienced a considerably more existential loss when his beloved wife Elisabeth succumbed to a chronic heart ailment at the young age of forty-four. Herzogenberg thereupon plunged into work in order to perpetuate his wife’s legacy in music, writing his grand Kirchenkantate auf das Todtenfest (Church Cantata in Commemoration of the Dead). He himself compiled the texts for the setting from biblical passages and hymn stanzas. In this personal form it became a counterpart to Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem. After the premiere Max Bruch wrote, »Herzogenberg has had the courage to express exactly what he felt in his heart, and the effect did not fail to manifest itself.«

Just relax, close your eyes, and listen to this gorgeous requiem. There isn't a discord in it. It is just choir and orchestration, no solos.

The music of the Austrian composer, Heinrich von Herzogenberg (1843-1900), are slowly coming to light, this has not been helped by many of his manuscripts being destroyed during the Second World War, thankfully some were discovered in the 1990’s. These have been edited and new performing editions produced by the likes of the Carus publishing house, who have also embarked on a CD series of his complete choral music, but it is the CPO label which we need to thank for bringing the vast majority of his music to the listening world! Herzogenberg has been accused as being a mere pastiche of Brahms, but there is much more to him than that, for a start in the case of some musical genres his works pre-empted those of Brahms, so could it be that Brahms is a mere pastiche of Herzogenberg? Over the years I have collected quite a few of the discs released by CPO and Carus and found them most rewarding. Yes, his music is Romantic in style and nature, but no, it doesn’t quite meet the high standards of Brahms, that being said, his music is of great interest and offers a lot of enjoyment, and since I am not a great fan of the German Requiem, I find the music presented on these two SACDs infinitely more pleasing than, what is for many Brahms’ greatest work, the German Requiem.
For me the stand out piece of the three offered here is the Requiem Op. 72, of 1890, unlike that of Brahms, this requiem is based upon the Catholic Mass of the Dead, and while it was not written for any specific occasion, the piece, composed for four-part choir and orchestra, shows a great sense of empathy and loss. In comparison to the Requiem the Totenfeir, or Church Cantata in Commemoration of the Dead, is very personal indeed, as it was composed to mark the loss of his beloved wife, Elisabeth. Composed in 1893 for soloists, chorus, organ and orchestra, this is more akin to the German Requiem of Brahms, as it blends specific biblical texts with hymn stanzas, in a true outpouring of grief. After the premiere of the work Max Bruch wrote that “Herzogenberg has had the courage to express exactly what he felt in his heart, and the effect did not fail to manifest itself.“ The final work presented here, the Begräbnisgesang (Burial Song), was composed for the dedication of the gravestone of his friend Philipp Spitta in 1895, for tenor soloist, mens chorus and winds, it is a short work, lasting only five minutes, but it still packs a lot of emotion.
The performance of all the soloists, chorus and orchestra is excellent, the vocal and orchestral intonation is spot on, it is a performance that deserves to win this neglected composer more converts. Once again we must thank CPO for the exemplary production, not only of the recorded performance, but of the booklet notes, they give real depth and insight into the composer and his music, a composer of whome Brahms said that “Herzogenberg is able to do more than any of the others.”

This review is by Rob Barnett from musicwebinternational.com:
After establishing its Herzogenberg credentials with a disc of the first two symphonies in 2007. CPO now comes up trumps with two major extended choral works. A contemporary and well respected friend of Brahms, this Graz-born aristocrat bears his Brahmsian colours on his sleeve. This aspect is in harness on this occasion with the joint themes of death and reverential hope that arch over all three works.

Totenfeier seems to have been what we might cringingly call a 'coping mehcanism'. It was written shortly after the death of Herzogenberg's wife, Elisabet von Stockhausen, at age 44. She had been a piano pupil of Brahms. The music casts a resilient spell that speaks of both consolation and redemptive confidence. The work sets six passages from the Bible and three other religious-themed texts, Each has its own track.

We start with a funeral march. This music is not fierce. It lacks the roar and growl of Brahms' First Piano Concerto. Instead it is more akin to the soothing intimacies of Brahms' Second Symphony. All the soloists are effective. They range from the ardent tenor, Maximilian Argmann (tr. 2) to the sweetly ascendant soprano of Franziska Bobe (tr. 4). The latter appears in a movement already made special by soaring choral writing despatched with commitment and good taste by Monteverdichor Würzburg who are a strength across all three works. In Ich habe dich eine kleine Zeit (tr. 6: (I have left you little child for a short time) deploys the solo quartet with the choir. They are joined by a tellingly smooth solo trumpet in pages that are both Bachian and calmingly confiding. This is most impressively moving music - quite a discovery. That solo trumpet (the player sadly unnamed) also returns briefly in the final section (tr.9). Tr. 7 (When the Lord redeems the captives of Zion) brims with sanguine rejoicing. Next comes the Dvorak-like woodland delights of the soprano aria: How lovely are Thy dwelling places. In the final segment Herzogenberg resists the conventionally stultifying fugal pull of such moments and the work dies away in peace and smiling contentment.

Begräbnisgesang is for tenor, men's choir and orchestra. It's a short piece that could, in its touchingly solicitous mood, have fitted amid the movements of Totenfeier. It was written on the occasion of the death of Bach scholar and friend of Brahms, Philipp Spitta. It sets words of consolation written by Herzogenberg himself speaking directly to Spitta's widow. My speculation, but it seems to carry the additional conviction of a man who lost his own life-partner just three years earlier. Philipp Spitta and his brother Friedrich played a large part in Herzogenberg's life and musical creativity.

The Requiem is on CD 2 in CPO's single width case. It is in six sections: six tracks. There is a choir and orchestra but no soloists. The movements are: Requiem, Dies Irae, Offertorium, Sanctus, Agnus Dei and Communio.

All these works date from the 1890s so it is little surprise that they share a closely related language. The Requiem episode instantly enters with music of smoothly undulating choral contours. There is nothing profane here. It is all most beautifully done but is by no means somnolent. The Dies irae, intriguingly enough, is the longest section at 16:04. It begins in a low key and prayerful mood just like its predecessor. Deep in the texture there is the grumble of a distant storm from the drums. However there are to be no Verdian furies here even if Herzogenberg does rise to awe at the words Rex Tremendae Majestatis. The Offertorium is like a gentle supplicatory march drizzled over with honeyed sweetness - not in the least sickly. There is underlying fugal activity here but Herzogenberg's good taste fends off fustian academicism. Here and elsewhere the music is superbly sung while instrumental solo tendrils impel gentle forward motion. The Sanctus (tr. 4) is flighted by blooming excitement lead by the horns. This represents something of a public celebration and the music seems to be related to the more dynamic movements in Beethoven's Pastoral. After the quietude of an Agnus Dei the mood continues into the final Communio which speaks of universal themes of perpetual light and eternal rest. Herzogenberg's final benediction is unhurried and sincere.

CPO meticulously prints the words for all three works - original text and fluent translation into English only. The useful and accessible liner notes (German and English) are by Konrad Klek of the Internationale Herzogenberg-Gesellschaft which also appears to have supported, or at least endorsed, this set. There are good long silences between sections and the sound is clear with plenty of detail and impact.

I see that there is more choral Herzogenberg. I hope that CPO will not close the door on the possibility of further discs.

If you like the Ein Deutsches Requiem, Nänie and Song of the Fates here is a composer under the smiling shadow of Brahms who lapped up the Hamburg composer's style and absorbed it without changing it unduly. Fingerprint after fingerprint shows through in these 100 or so minutes of music. Let that not detain or discourage you. The music speaks in genuine paragraphs and its sentiments are patently sincere.

This music is about as far removed from our world of ceaseless Facebook crassness and twittered superficiality as it is possible to get. Here is a German romantic composer who thinks and grieves in long expressive paragraphs.