This disc convincingly shows Johann Mattheson's qualities as a composer of sacred music.

This is the third oratorio by Johann Mattheson which I have heard and reviewed in a fairly short space of time. For many years hardly any of his music was available on disc, but these three releases show a remarkable interest in Mattheson, who is best known for his writings on musical subjects.

He was educated as a singer, and also learnt to play the keyboard, the viola da gamba, violin, oboe, flute and lute. His first public appearances as a singer and organist were at the age of nine. The first stage of his career was as a singer in opera: he participated in performances at the Oper am Gänsemarkt. He also composed some operas. This phase lasted until 1705 when he accepted the post of secretary to the English ambassador in Hamburg. In the following years he became known as a translator and as a writer on music. He published several books which are still often referred to as they give much information about performance practice and the aesthetic ideals in Germany in his time.

In 1715 he became cantor at Hamburg Cathedral, a position he held until 1728 when he had to leave his job due to progressive deafness. In this capacity he composed oratorios for festivities like Christmas and Easter. They were mostly split into two parts, performed before and after the sermon. Only recently I reviewed a recording of the Christmas oratorio Das größte Kind. It dates from 1720 and is very different from this Christmas oratorio which is from 1715 and is one of the first pieces he composed for Hamburg Cathedral. Whereas in Das größte Kind not a single line from the Bible is used, the core of this oratorio is the text of Luke 2, 1-18, which is sung in the form of recitatives by the Evangelist. And in this oratorio the allegorical characters that feature in Das größte Kind are absent.

Musically these two works are also very different. The arias, written on a poetic text of a reflective nature, are less virtuosic and less operatic than in the oratorio of 1720. It is also remarkable that it contains several references to the past. The oratorio begins and ends with stanzas from the 16th-century hymn 'Vom Himmel hoch'. Mattheson doesn't use the well-known melody which Martin Luther wrote in 1539, but an older melody from 1535, after a then popular song. It is also quoted in the chorus 'Aus Zion bricht an der schöne Glanz Gottes'. The chorus of the angels, 'Ehre sei Gott', is composed in the stile antico, and the chorus of the shepherds, 'Lasset uns hingehen', is a fugue.

Only a couple of arias have a dacapo; sometimes a whole aria is repeated from beginning to end. One aria uses a biblical text: the angel singing 'Fürchtet euch nicht!' (Fear not!). But in fact it is more a kind of arioso than a real aria. It is followed by a 'real' aria for soprano, here given to the second soprano. In most arias the singer is accompanied by strings and basso continuo. In the bass aria 'Der Väter Wunsch' two horns are added, and the duet 'Sterbliche, besingt mit Freuden' contains a solo part for the violin. In the intimate aria 'Man darf dir einen kleinen Raum versagen' the soprano is supported by flute, viola and bc. This suits the content well, and the second half says: "Come into my heart for your comfort." In the chorales and the chorus 'Aus Zion bricht' Mattheson adds parts for two trumpets, two horns and timpani.

The other work on this disc is a setting of the Magnificat. That is to say: Mattheson keeps only two lines from the original biblical text (in German translation). The other verses are replaced by a poetic paraphrase, divided over recitatives and arias. The Magnificat is written for two choirs, each consisting of soprano, alto, tenor and bass. It begins with a Sinfonia for the whole orchestra which consists of flute, two trumpets, timpani, strings and basso continuo. A duet by the two sopranos follows, who are then joined by the tutti. In the first aria soprano I is supported by solo violin and bc. Next the bass has a recitative in which some elements in the text are singled out through extended coloraturas. He then sings an aria which begins with the text: "His arm scatters and exercises might". Mattheson defies expectation and refrains from using the trumpets here - only strings. The second soprano has a beautiful aria with flute and bc: "I suffer thirst, my soul hungers". After another recitative the piece ends with the other line from the biblical text Mattheson has kept: "As he has spoken to our fathers, to Abraham and his seed forever", written in the stile antico. The piece closes with a repeat of the opening section.

The Mattheson we meet in the Christmas oratorio on this disc is more 'conventional', as it were, than the Mattheson of Das größte Kind. The Magnificat a due cori, on the other hand, is anything but conventional. At least I can't remember having ever heard a Magnificat, in which the biblical text was largely replaced by a free poetic text. Because of the combination of these two compositions this disc deserves the attention of lovers of baroque vocal music. Like the other two recordings I have referred to it shows that Mattheson is more than a theorist and has to be taken seriously as a composer. New Grove lists quite a number of oratorios from his pen, and it is a shame that a considerable part of his oeuvre in this department is lost.

I was not completely happy with the previous two recordings, also directed by Michael Alexander Willens. In both cases there were some weak links in the cast. This disc is the best of the three, with all soloists giving fine accounts of themselves. The part of the Evangelist is given an immaculate performance by Andreas Post. The soprano parts are divided over the two sopranos. I don't know whether this was indicated by the composer, but it was certainly a good idea as the voices of Nicki Kennedy and Anna Crookes are sufficiently different to tell them apart. The other 'second voices' (alto, tenor and bass) are used as ripienists, who only sing in the tutti sections. These are generally well sung, although sometimes a slight vibrato creeps in, especially in the chorale settings which open and end the oratorio. The playing of the orchestra is also good, and the solo and obbligato parts are beautifully executed. I would like to mention especially Catherine Manson who plays the violin solos in both works. The only criticism is that some of the recitatives are slowish and should have been sung with more rhythmic freedom.

The booklet contains programme notes in German, English and French. In the part about the Magnificat we read: "the metre too changes from 4/4 to ? time". According to the French translation the question mark should be replaced by "3/4". The lyrics are also given with an English translation.

-- Johan van Veen, MusicWeb International

There is hardly a better way to get to know Graupner's individual vocal style than with this disc.

One of the most remarkable things about German composers of the 17th and 18th centuries is the size of their oeuvre. One wonders where they found the time to compose so many works, considering the general slowness of life. It took days to travel from one part of Germany to another, and weeks to go from Germany abroad. Writing a composition by hand, copying parts for all performers, teaching, rehearsing - it is just amazing how much work they had to do. And in addition, there was an insatiable demand for music which they had to satisfy. This is also the main reason they composed so much.

Take Christoph Graupner: the number of his cantatas is estimated at about 1400! He had to deliver a cantata for every Sunday, plus all feastdays, plus special events like the birthday of his employer. And then there was the instrumental music, both chamber and orchestral music, which was played as entertainment. Reusing old material was no option: music which was more than 10 years old was considered old-fashioned. As Graupner worked in Darmstadt from 1709 until his death there was no material his employer hadn't heard before.

But by good fortune he had some assistance. From 1713 to 1738 the cantatas for the first and third Christmas days - one of the busiest periods of the year - were written by his assistant chapel master, Gottfried Grünewald. The second Christmas day was also the birthday of his employer, so the music for that day, which had to be particularly festive, was written by Graupner himself. He also composed the music for New Year, and the following Sundays, including Epiphany and Candlemas.

Four of the five cantatas on this disc date from the 1740s. Graupner used texts which were provided by his brother-in-law, the theologian Johann Conrad Lichtenberg, who for a number of years wrote a cycle of cantata texts every year. The cantatas consist of a sequence of recitatives, arias and chorales, but the texture varies.

Frohlocke, werte Christenheit, begins with a chorus on a free poetic text. This is followed by two pairs of recitative and aria, for bass and soprano respectively, and closes with a harmonisation of two stanzas from the old hymn 'Ein Kind geborn zu Bethlehem'. The vocal parts are embedded in lively orchestral figurations which is typical of Graupner's treatment of chorales. This practice has its roots in the 17th century, and was often used by composers like Johann Kuhnau and Johann Ludwig Bach.

Der Herr hat mich gehabt im Anfang and Das Licht scheinet in der Finsternis both begin with a dictum, a quotation from the Bible. The former has a recitative for bass and a duet for alto and tenor, who mostly sing in parallel motion, which is only broken at the end. The duet is followed by a recitative and an aria for tenor, and closes with a stanza from Luther's hymn 'Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ'.

The latter also contains a duet, this time for tenor and bass. There is a strong contrast in the vocal and instrumental parts between section A and section B, reflecting the juxtaposition of light and darkness in the text. The preceding recitative for bass is a perfect example of Graupner's effective treatment of the text.

Das Licht des Lebens scheinet hell opens with an accompanied recitative for bass, who then sings an aria. This is followed by a chorale - a stanza from 'Ermuntre dich, mein schwacher Geist'. Then the soprano sings a recitative and an aria, and the alto has a recitative which ends in an accompagnato at the last line. The cantata ends with another stanza from 'Ermuntre dich'.

The last cantata of this disc, Von Gott will ich nicht lassen, is the only one which dates from the period that Grünewald was active. It was written for the second Sunday after Epiphany, 18 January 1728. But during the winter season 1727/28 Grünewald was ill. Because of that he wasn't able to compose, and Graupner had to write all cantatas himself. As Grünewald also participated in the performances as a bass, Graupner omitted bass parts in his cantatas. This shows that at that time cantatas were performed with one voice per part, which is also practised in this recording. This particular cantata is the only one from this period that has a bass part. One may conclude that Graupner temporarily had a bass at his disposal, but probably a not very experienced one as he only participates in the three chorale settings.

These are three stanzas from the hymn 'Von Gott will ich nicht lassen' (1563). The cantata opens with the first stanza, which is followed by a recitative for the tenor, who then sings a duet with the alto which is an eloquent expression of the text: "Jesus provides. Now away, you cares!" This is followed by another stanza from the hymn. Next are a recitative and an aria for soprano. In the latter she is accompanied by a trio of two oboes and bassoon which are joined by the strings in the ritornelli. The cantata closes with another stanza from the hymn 'Von Gott will ich nicht lassen'.

During his career Graupner has developed a musical language of his own, which is not comparable with anything written in his time. His compositions are certainly not easy-listening stuff as recent recordings of his instrumental oeuvre show. Of his vocal music very little has been performed and recorded as yet. There is hardly a better way to get to know his vocal oeuvre than with this disc.

These five cantatas are varied in scoring and offer a number of beautiful arias and duets. It is particularly advisable to pay attention to the way Graupner uses the instruments to express the Affekte of the texts. Things could hardly be better. The four soloists are completely congenial and their voices blend perfectly, as the chorale settings show. The individual performances of the singers are also excellent; the delivery is immaculate thanks to good diction and pronunciation. The instrumental parts are engagingly given by the members of Das Kleine Konzert.

The booklet contains extensive programme notes and all the lyrics have an English translation. In tracks the lines are printed in the wrong order.

-- Johan van Veen, MusicWeb International

Classical Music

C. P. E. Bach’s Quartalsmusiken (Quarterly Compositions) occupied an important place among the compositions performed in Hamburg’s five principle churches during his tenure there between 1768 and 1788.

All four of the Quartalsmusiken on this disc, for Easter, Pentecost, Michaelmas, and Christmas are instrumented with three trumpets and timpani in keeping with these festive occasions.

Composer Günter Raphael survived many dangers from antisemitism, tuberculosis, Nazi persecution and the war. All the while he composed many works and was responsible for restoring Dvorak's other Cello Concerto in A major. Violinist Christine Raphael performs Günter Raphael's Violin Concerto and chamber works.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Der Zarewitsch does its part to make this new release in CPO’s Lehar edition yet another milestone.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Nothing but praise for the performance and the recording.

Funeral arrangements are likely to weigh heavily on your mind if you’re gone through your life with the name ‘Posthumus’. Heinrich Posthumus von Reuß came by his name on account of being born after the death of his father, and his arrangements for his own funeral were precise to the letter, with every text and reading prescribed.

We are not certain that Reuß selected Schütz to be the composer for his funerary observances, but the texts that are set are very much of his own choosing. They are also inscribed into his copper coffin, which according to the liner-notes for this disc has recently been restored and put on public display in the Thüringen city of Gura.

The posthumous challenges set by von Reuß for Schütz were formidable. The texts are a selection of scriptural readings and hymns with little obvious sense of musical or semantic coherence. Schütz’s solution is essentially episodic, with homophonic chorales interspersing recitative-like solo and small ensemble passages. We are in early baroque territory here, so polyphony is at a premium and double choir textures predominate.

Weser-Renaissance, a professional choir specialising in 16 ^th and 17 ^th century music, do a fine job of expressing the plaintive simplicity of this music. Clarity and precise balance are everywhere in evidence, and solo voices have character and warmth. The choir is supported by discreet accompaniment from chitarrone, organ and harp, all of which lend elegant and subtle period colour.

The second movement of the ‘Exequien’ is a simple yet poignant double-choir motet. The style and clarity of the antiphony here owe much to Schütz’s formative experiences in Venice and his study there with Giovanni Gabrieli.

The closing canticum of the funeral service uses an extraordinary choral effect, in which the spirit of the deceased is represented by bass voices, while angels accompanying it heaven are represented by the sopranos. Again, the clarity of the choral singing contributes to the success of this effect, as does the intimacy of the recorded sound.

The remainder of the disc is given over to a selection of Schütz’s penitential psalm settings. These again are plaintive and straightforward works. The strophic settings can feel a little repetitive, especially in the final ‘Hör mein Gebet’, which in purely musical terms struggles to justify its 12 minute span.

On the other hand, the minimal music content and the multiple repetitions accord with much recent choral repertoire, and this certainly fits squarely into the ‘spiritual’ category under which much liturgical music is recorded and sold these days. I’ll confess to being surprised by who little counterpoint there is on this disc, but it is clearly identifiable as music of the German baroque. Having said that, its affinity with the antiphonal music of Gabrieli and Monteverdi is striking.

I’ve nothing but praise for the performance and the recording. There seems to be a strong tradition in Germany at the moment of professional choirs releasing excellent recordings of early music via record labels in conjunction with public broadcasters, and the collaborators here are CPO and Radio Bremen. For as long as the results are to this standard, long may it continue!

-- Gavin Dixon, MusicWeb International

LOEWE Lieder and Balladen (complete) • Cord Garben (pn); soloists • CPO 777 355-2 (21 CDs + CD-ROM: 1428:21 Text and Translation)


If you love Schubert, you should also love Carl Loewe, his immediate heir. And, just as Hyperion has graced the world with its 40-CD complete Schubert Lieder anthology, cpo has now likewise completed and assembled in one box its complete recordings of Loewe’s solo Lieder and ballads. (Unlike the Hyperion Schubert set, this does not include duets, trios, etc.) Several of the individual releases have previously been reviewed in Fanfare . (Vols. 7–9 and 11–14 are listed in the Fanfare Archive; see print issues 21:3, 22:1, 22:3, 23:4, 24:2, and 25:1. All but the last were reviewed by John Bauman; Henry Fogel reviewed Vol. 14.) Therefore, in the interests of brevity (and at the sensible request of the chief editor), I will not discuss individual works or singers in detail, but rather provide a summary of the project as a whole, with further brief comments as needed.


The CDs in this set were recorded between 1993 and 2007. Unlike the Hyperion boxed set reissue of the Schubert Lieder, this reissue retains the original order and format, instead of re- (or dis-) organizing the songs chronologically by date of composition. The roster of singers is as follows:


CD 1: Andreas Schmidt (bar)


CD 2: Iris Vermillion (mez)


CD 3: Roman Trekel (bar)


CD 4: Gabriele Rossmanith (sop)


CD 5: Edith Mathis (sop)


CD 6: Kurt Moll (bs)


CD 7: Andreas Schmidt (bar)


CD 8: Iris Vermillion (mez)


CD 9: Christoph Prégardien (ten)


CD 10: Ruth Ziesak (sop)


CD 11: Monica Groop (mez)


CD 12: Yvi Jänicke (mez)


CD 13: Christian Elsner (ten)


CD 14: Kurt Moll (bs)


CD 15: Urszula Kryger (sop) [tracks 1-7] and Thomas Mohr (bar) [tracks 8-16]


CD 16: Roman Trekel (bar)


CD 17: Julie Kaufmann (sop)


CD 18: Jan Kobow (ten)


CD 19: Ingeborg Danz (sop)


CD 20: Robert Wörle (ten)


CD 21: Morten Ernst Lassen (bar)


Thus four singers (Moll, Schmidt, Trekel, and Vermillion) are represented by two CDs each, while one CD is shared by two singers (Kryger and Mohr). With few exceptions, the quality of the singing ranges from satisfactory to outstanding, with most of it being at least very good. All of the singers have good to excellent diction, and are attentive to bringing out the moods of the texts as a whole and the meanings of particular words. While Cord Garben deserves warm accolades for conceiving this project and seeing it through, he is a good, solid accompanist but not an inspired one; Gerald Moore or Helmut Deutsch he is not. Interestingly, his best work occurs with his finest singers; one suspects that they inspired him, and may even have suggested to him points of interpretation.


As for the contributions of the individual singers, here are my thumbnail sketches:


If you could only afford to have one CD from this set, it would be Vol, 6 with Kurt Moll. (Note: Vols. 1–11, 14, and 16 unfortunately now appear to be out of print as single CDs.) Basses generally don’t get the recognition that sopranos and tenors do, but Moll has to be on the extremely short list of greatest singers of the last quarter of the 20th century. Here his voice is present in all its magnificent, refulgent glory, with its distinctive rich fruitiness, exemplary diction, and nuanced but utterly natural interpretations. Henry Fogel complained in his review of Vol. 14 that Moll’s voice had become somewhat dry at that point; I can only say that most other singers would gladly sacrifice one of their vocal cords to have such “dryness” at age 58. These two CDs embody Lieder singing at its very greatest.


Other outstanding contributions (in order of descending voice range) come from Ruth Ziesak, Yvi Jänicke, Urszula Kryger (who sings Loewe’s Polish songs), Iris Vermillion, Jan Kobow, Christoph Prégardien, Morten Ernst Lassen, Andreas Schmidt, and Roman Trekel. All have voices with beautiful timbres and completely secure production, from bottom to top in range and piano to forte in dynamics, and are superior Lieder interpreters. In the case of Prégardien, Schmidt, and Trekel, the beneficent influence of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau is quite evident (Schmidt being a direct pupil), in both the enunciation and pointing of text and the shaping of consonants and vowels. I wish to single out Morten Ernst Lassen for particular commendation. Not to be confused with his fellow Danish baritone Morten Frank Larsen, he was a previously unfamiliar figure to me; I can only find two other recordings featuring him—songs by Carl Nielsen and psalms by Felix Mendelssohn. This is most unfortunate, for he is an artist of the very first rank. His dark, rich, plangent baritone is a shade heavier in weight and color than that of Matthias Goerne, and his diction as good or better. He is a major find that no one who loves great singing should miss.


In the category of good but not great I would place Ingeborg Danz, Monica Groop, and Thomas Mohr. Otherwise fine singers, both Danz and Groop tend to lose focus and become slightly unsteady in softly sung passages. Mohr has a solid but slightly grainy baritone that employs a certain degree of facial mask resonance, producing a sound ideal for villainous operatic roles (e.g., Don Pizarro or Alberich) but less than ideal for Lieder.


In the category of satisfactory to mixed I would put Julie Kaufmann, Edith Mathis, and Christian Elsner. Kaufmann’s voice is very light and pure, tending to the wan and fragile side due to inadequate breath support, and her top notes are a bit wiry and sometimes slightly off-pitch. She is nonetheless an affecting interpreter at her best. With Edith Mathis we have one of the great singers of the late 20th century, unfortunately caught several years past her prime. The sovereign mastery of her interpretive art is still abundantly present, but the voice itself has acquired a certain harshness, with production forced to override an incipient irregularity in the vibrato. Even so, I would take her over many other sopranos active today. John Bauman waxed enthusiastic about Elsner in 23:2, but I must firmly dissent; Elsner is not bad, but his voice has the same kind of throaty, constricted, unresonant sound as Peter Schreier and Robert Tear, albeit to a lesser degree. If you are partial to those two singers—obviously, I am not—then you will like Elsner too; but no one should expect anything sounding like Fritz Wunderlich.


Finally, in the mediocre to poor category fall Gabriele Rossmanith and Robert Wörle. Rossmanith has the same defects as Kaufmann, but to a more pronounced degree. Wörle is simply unacceptable. He has an extremely nasal, whiny voice, with no support at the bottom and severe strain at the top, where his pitch frequently turns flat. Why he was chosen for this project is a complete mystery.


In sum, then, I would rate 13 and one-half of the 21 CDs as outstanding, two and one-half as good, three as satisfactory to mixed, and only two as mediocre to poor—a very good result overall, and far better than that of many other comparable projects.


Production of the set is up to cpo’s usual stellar standards. Sound quality is excellent throughout the series. Again unlike the budget Hyperion boxed set of the Schubert Lieder, the booklet here reproduces all of the original tables of contents, essays in German and English, and photos of the artists from each individual release, and adds an alphabetical list of each song by title, indexed to its singer and CD. A bonus CD-ROM includes all of the original German texts with English translations, in two separate .pdf files. (Warning: each file prints out at more than 350 pages.) The set typically runs for about $200, or less than $10 per CD—not cheap, but a terrific value for the money. If you can’t afford the entire set, at least consider acquiring some of the individual volumes by the best participants. Strongly recommended.


FANFARE: James A. Altena

Gian Francesco Malipiero’s rediscovery of pre-19th Century music of Italy continues here with a selection of works inspired by Italian Baroque and Renaissance composers.

This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.


It's great to have this music available in spectacular SACD surround-sound. Though these two symphonies have been recorded previously (notably on Motette), this release roundly eclipses previous issues both sonically and interpretively. The organ in the Bamberg Symphony's concert hall is a magnificent instrument, and very well suited to both the grand and intimate aspects of Widor's writing. The Op. 42 symphony was arranged from one of the composer's earlier symphonies for organ solo, and the orchestra here is basically just along for the ride. Still, Widor's use of the contrast between massive, fortissimo chords for organ as opposed to the orchestra is very effective, and it's spectacularly captured by the Bavarian Radio engineers. Organist Christian Schmitt exploits the varied tone colors of his instrument extremely effectively at lower dynamic levels in the central slow movement--the whole piece is just great fun.

The Sinfonia Sacra is another matter: it's one of the great masterpieces in the literature for organ and orchestra. Cast as a single continuous movement some 30 minutes long, it's a probing, mostly meditative, harmonically interesting piece that brilliantly exploits the organ both alone and in every conceivable combination with the orchestra before rising to a grandly solemn final climax. It deserves to be as popular as, say, Poulenc's Organ Concerto, and it certainly should be heard more often in concert halls that have decent instruments. Its comparative neglect is astonishing. Conductor Stefan Solyom accompanies alertly here, keeping the music flowing and creating some lovely interplay between the orchestra and the soloist, and the orchestra follows him with total conviction. If you love good Romantic orchestral music, don't let this release pass you by.

--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

HERZOGENBERG String Quartet, op. 18. String Quintet, op. 77 1 • Minguet Qrt; 1 Peter Langgartner (va) • CPO 777 083-2 (58:40)


If Brahms’s name had been attached to Heinrich von Herzogenberg’s String Quintet, that work might be in the basic repertoire by now. Perhaps that is an exaggeration, but not by very much. In fact, Herzogenberg’s String Quintet (1892) is the next best thing to a newly discovered work by Brahms. If one were to present it as such, no doubt many listeners wouldn’t question the attribution. For music to be more Brahmsian, it would have to be by Brahms himself.


None of this is terribly surprising, as Herzogenberg and his wife, Elisabeth, were more than simply passing acquaintances with Brahms. Elisabeth had been Brahms’s piano pupil, and some have argued that the elder composer had a crush on his young student, and when Elisabeth married Heinrich in 1866, Brahms became jealous, in spite of himself. The couple kept up correspondence with Brahms, and Heinrich, an accomplished composer himself, shared his work with Brahms, whose approval was at best grudging. Herzogenberg’s music isn’t exclusively an imitation of Brahms’s, but many of his works—the op. 77 String Quintet in particular—are in a decidedly Brahmsian style. I was tempted to add “for better or worse” to the last sentence, but the stylistic similarities are very much for the better. It is amusing to hear the last movement trace a similar path as the analogous movement in Brahms’s First Symphony. The “big tune,” which appears after considerable preparation, could even be a variant of Brahms’s melody (which in turn, as “any ass can see,” was a variant of Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy”). Alas, this work was written in the wake of Elisabeth’s death early in 1892, but of mourning there is little trace. I don’t know what Elizabeth Kübler-Ross would have thought about this quintet, but Herzogenberg hardly wallows in grief here, apparently preferring to work through his feelings in a more positive fashion.


If anything, the D-Minor String Quartet, which dates from 1876, is more tragic. Up until this point in his life, Herzogenberg had been a devotee of Wagner, but it was around this time that he turned from Wagner to Brahms. This quartet doesn’t sound like Wagner, and it sounds much less like Brahms than the Piano Quintet. With Herzogenberg lacking a strong musical personality, it also fails to sound like Herzogenberg (whatever that might be), but in every other way it is an assured and respectable work. Hearing it is not a waste of one’s time, although I expect that most listeners will focus their attention on the later work. (As if to foil those same listeners, cpo has placed op. 77 before op. 18. I suspect I am not the only listener too lazy or too passive to switch the CD halfway through.)


These recordings date from 2008 (op. 77) and 2005 (op. 18), and are the Minguet Quartet’s second Herzogenberg disc for this label. (Cpo 777 082-2 contains the op. 17 Piano Quintet and the op. 63 String Quartet.) This is a German ensemble, formed in 1988, and named after a Spanish philosopher who believed that the fine arts should be made accessible to the general populace. The Minguet Quartet does just that, performing these works with the sort of fervor that makes even casual listeners pay attention. They don’t overdo it, however, and those who deplore emotionally sloppy performances of Brahms (as well they should) will not be turned off by the playing here, which is eloquent, masculine, and always in control. In the String Quintet, violist Peter Langgartner’s addition is seamless—so much so that one can’t tell where he begins and where the Minguets leave off. The booklet notes are brief, but only by cpo’s standards, and the engineering is all one could wish for. Strongly recommended to those who love Brahms, mostly for the yummy String Quintet.


FANFARE: Raymond Tuttle