# New Soli Deo Gloria release - Brahms 1



## solideogloria (Aug 22, 2008)

Soli Deo Gloria are proud to release the first in a new series celebrating the music of Brahms and of those who influenced him:
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**NEW RELEASE***









Johannes Brahms - Symphony 1

Brahms - Begräbnisgesang, Op.13

Mendelssohn - Mitten wir in Leben sind Op.23

Brahms - Schicksalslied

The Monteverdi Choir | Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique | John Eliot Gardiner

Release Date: 1 September 2008

Cat number: SDG 702

1CD

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PRESS ACCLAIM FOR JOHN ELIOT GARDINER AND HIS BRAHMS PROJECT*

"at last we are hearing Brahms with a difference" - Andrew Clark, The Financial Times

"A daring and thought-provoking rendition of the First Symphony ended a concert which was in every way a thrilling beginning" - Hilary Finch, The Times

'Despite Gardiner's stellar reputation as an early music specialist Brahms might be his real musical soulmate' Ivan Hewett, The Telegraph

*SALES INFO*

· SDG is proud to be releasing the first disc in a new series that sees John Eliot Gardiner and his Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique explore the music of Johannes Brahms.

· Importantly, Gardiner has set Brahms' symphonies in the context of his own superb and often neglected choral music, and that of the old masters he particularly cherished (Schütz and Bach especially) and of recent heroes of his (Mendelssohn, Schubert and Schumann). In doing so, Gardiner gains a new perspective on his symphonic compositions, drawing attention to the intrinsic vocality at the heart of his writing for orchestra.

· The recordings from this series are drawn from Gardiner's two-year Brahms and his Antecedents project which is in two parts. The first segment of the project, featuring the first two symphonies and the German Requiem, began in October 2007 and included two concerts at the newly reopened Royal Festival Hall. The second part of the project featuring the 3rd and 4th symphonies - also in a historical and vocal context - will take place in September/October 2008.

· This project not only celebrates Brahms the composer, but traces the roots from which Brahms drew his creative inspiration. No other composer of the 19th century had such a close and informed relationship to music of the past and for this reason, great choral works by composers as varied as Bach, Schütz and Mendelssohn are performed alongside Brahms' compositions.

· This release is therefore the first in the series coinciding with the second part of Gardiner's project, which will be touring extensively in Europe in the autumn. (Please see tour dates below)

· This exciting new recording combines the large-scale vigour, drama and passion of Brahms with the expert musicianship and authentic approach that has come to be expected of John Eliot Gardiner, The Monteverdi Choir and his superb Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique.

· Unique to this recording is the way in which Brahms' Symphony is set within its historical and vocal context. As Gardiner explains:

"When we approach Brahms nowadays the temptation is to concentrate exclusively on his orchestral output - the overtures, concertos and symphonies - and replicate a safe 'meat-and-two-veg' approach. But the more I thought about it, the more convinced I became that a worthwhile approach would be to juxtapose his symphonies with vocal music - music which Brahms himself cherished (studied, edited and conducted) - and so to set them in a historical Brahms-specific context rather presenting an encyclopaedic survey of all his orchestral output".

· For this project, Gardiner not only explores Brahms' musical origins but he attempts to reveal the very sounds which inspired him. Such authenticity has been sought by using instruments favoured by the composer. Valveless natural horns, for instance, give exactly the right flavour to the haunting, valley-resounding alphorn theme in the finale of the First Symphony.

· This series is an important milestone for SDG heralding the development of the label beyond the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and the Renaissance choral repertoire which have so far dominated its catalogue.

· Inside the same elegant packaging used for the Bach Cantatas CDs, the liner notes feature an in-depth conversation between John Eliot Gardiner and composer Hugh Wood.

For more information please visit http://www.solideogloria.co.uk/


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## solideogloria (Aug 22, 2008)

This release has received some outstanding reviews:

"_This is a mighty Brahms First which, like the programme it inhabits, is a thing sufficient unto itself_."

"_These are intensely dramatic performances, powerful and unmanicured. The gathering drama of the three choral pieces is channeled and unleashed in a towering account of the First Symphony's opening movement_." - GRAMOPHONE - September 2008

"_The singing of the Monteverdians is luminous_." - The Sunday Times

"_While studio accounts of the symphony are numerous, this new addition to the discography is surely a serious competitor thanks to the pedagogical aspect provided by the choral items. Future instalments in the series are greatly anticipated, if this one is anything to go by_." - MusicalCriticism.com

The CD is on sale now from the Soli Deo Gloria website - http://www.solideogloria.co.uk/shop/ind ... N=55530306


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