Brahms
'
Ein deutsches Requiem, Op. 45
, is a unique work in several respects, one of which is that it has no religious precedent; Lutheran liturgy does not have a requiem mass as such.
assembled the texts himself, drawing on various biblical sources. Therefore, this
Deutsches Barockrequiem
("German Baroque Requiem") might seem an arbitrary exercise that would have made little sense for audiences from the era in which the music originated.
Vox Luminis
and director
Lionel Meunier
searched for German Baroque settings of the same texts that
used, finding them or coming close in many cases. The mode of expression is, of course, completely different, with none of the warm, humanistic flavor of the
. However, the great advantage of this experiment is that it results in the unearthing of some attractive and genuinely unknown music. A few of the composers will be familiar to general listeners; the rather somber
Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen
("How lovely is They dwelling place") setting is by
Johann Hermann Schein
. The likes of
Andreas Scharmann
,
Thomas Selle
, and
Tobias Michael
will likely be new to all but scholars, and the music is of remarkably consistent quality. Sample the substantial
Selig sind die Toten
("Blessed are the dead") of
Johann Philipp Foertsch
(also a physician) from the end of the century; it is a three-section work with close stylistic ties to
Buxtehude
. The performances by a choir of 15, an ideal size, are richly expressive, with well-balanced organ accompaniment by
Bart Jacobs
.
Ricercar
's church sound is clear and idiomatic. An essential release for lovers of the German Baroque, this album made classical best-seller charts in the spring of 2023. ~ James Manheim