Concert review | Johannes Brahms’s Mass for the Soul rang loudly in Helsinki Cathedral, sung by 180 choristers

Classic

Johannes Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem (op. 45) in Helsinki Cathedral on November 3, 2023 at 7 p.m. Cantores Minores, Dresden Kreuzkuoro (coached by Martin Lehmann), Lohja City Orchestra, Helena Juntunen (soprano), Tuomas Pursio (baritone) and Hannu Norjanen (conductor) .

by Johannes Brahms Ein Deutsches Requiem (“Sakalainen sielunmessu”) is a widely performed and recorded work. However, on the eve of All Saints’ Day, Helsinki Cathedral offered itself a special opportunity to hear this touching composition as a joint performance by the Cantores Minores and the Dresden Kreuz Choir of around 180 members with the Lohja City Orchestra. The solo parts were sung Helena Juntunen and Tuomas Pursio.

The concert was a continuation of the long-term cooperation between the two traditional choirs, which was dramatically interrupted in the corona spring of 2020.

Biblical a seven-part one based on the texts Requiem the main parts are the choir and the orchestra. In Friday’s performance, the dialogue between the two flowed rhythmically seamlessly Hannu Norjainen under expert guidance.

Both the unison of the choirs and the excellent clarity of the pronunciation, as well as the contrast between the orchestra’s soft string sound and the bally woodwinds made an impression – even though the acoustics of the Cathedral are not exactly easy for this ensemble. The shocking forte parts of Vallanki’s second and sixth movements filled the entire church hall with their sound, and the cold colors could not be avoided.

Both Helena Juntunen and Tuomas Pursio interpreted their solo parts in a way where every syllable was both thought out and loaded with emotion. Pursio, an alumnus of Cantores Minores, performed his occasionally recitative baritone parts elegantly and eloquently. Juntunen’s refined instrument rose to a heartbreaking climax at the end of the soprano part.

Helena Juntunen and Tuomas Pursio Picture: Ilkka Harjula / Cantores Minores

As a composition Ein Deutsches Requiem is the result of many years and many generations of work, for the refinement of which Brahms asked for feedback from, among others, his close colleague From Clara Schumann. Sielunmessu had its first performances in an era when Central Europe was marked by political unrest and wars. Prussia and Austria went to war in 1866, Prussia and France in 1870–1871.

The “Germanness” of the work title is also visible Requiem in the musical language of the first movement by Joseph Haydn Imperial anthem from the melodious theme to the choral references, to the extremely tuned counterpoint and Bach– up to nods.

Still, the message of the Soul Mass can be read in other ways than as the apotheosis of the canonized and nationalistic “German” tonal tradition. It has been interpreted that Brahms considered his work also a universal human mass for the soul, and it still offers the listener the opportunity to be quiet at the edge of private or communal mourning.

We must not forget that wars and suffering have not disappeared from the world. I can’t help but think that in the previous performance I heard, the piece was played by the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, consisting of Palestinian and Israeli musicians, among others.