To start the new year, I'm offering a wonderful performance, on Nonesuch, of one of my favorite works by any composer, namely the German Requiem of Brahms. Here, the proceedings are directed by the fine German conductor Carl Bamberger. I must tell you that hearing Teresa Stitch-Randall's brief contribution is worth the admission alone as her lovely, disciplined voice, that excelled in this repertoire, justs grabs your heart and melts your resolve. Gorgeous!
The orchestra, and especially the chorus, give full bodied, urgent accounts of their parts and overall, the effect of the music making is vital and dramatic This might not be the most polished performance but I don't think that would matter to Brahms; the overall product conveys the very human aspect of the work as the composer himself intended.
As a bonus, and to fill better two cds, I transferred a very early Simon Preston Argo lp where he leads the New English singers in motets and he, himself offers up some first rate organ playing too.
Both records are in stereophonic sound.
