RIAS Kammerchor Berlin II / Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin II

The result is a paradisiacal vision of heaven, presented by the RIAS Chamber Choir Berlin, the German Symphony Orchestra Berlin, and Justin Doyle at the Musikfest Berlin.

After the intermission, Alfred Schnittke’s Requiem follows—a polystylistic sonic fresco straddling humanism and spiritual faith that, unlike many well-known requiems, largely forgoes dramatic contrasts: Here, the choir does not jubilantly extol God’s greatness in the highest registers, but rather quietly reflects on the sung words through lines that seem improvisational.

Maurice Duruflé explicitly composed his Requiem “on the basis of Gregorian themes from the Mass for the Dead […]. Sometimes the musical text is taken over in its entirety, with the orchestral part serving only to support and comment on it; at other times, I merely drew inspiration from it.” At the same time, the French composer dispensed with the drama of the Dies irae, while illustrating the angels with “heavenly” harp sounds and paradise with celesta and organ sounds in an impressionistic, iridescent orchestral setting.

Alfred Schnittke, too, set the timeless text of the dirge to music with introspective music, although one would search in vain for impressionistic sound effects in the score. Curiously, the composer—who was still living in the Soviet Union at the time—developed the piece from stage music for Friedrich Schiller’s *Don Carlos*. The latter was composed “in the form of a requiem” (Schnittke) in 1975 for a production at the Moscow Mossovet Theater, which was to take place against the backdrop of Catholic church music. Given the thoroughly tragic content of Schiller’s drama, the result is a requiem setting that is unparalleled—not only because of its unusual instrumentation, featuring organ, piano, celesta, vibraphone, bells, gong, flexaton, timpani, trumpet, trombone, and two electric guitars. In the 14 movements, tentative piano passages and litany-like choral whispers alternate with stair-step-like ascending solo coloratura and organ clusters, while Schnittke’s polystylistic approach is ever-present in the music, which repeatedly takes on ghostly qualities.

Program

Alfred Schnittke (1934–1998)

Requiem (1974/75)

for solo voices, choir, and instrumental ensemble

from the incidental music to *Don Carlos* by Friedrich Schiller

Maurice Duruflé (1902–1986)

Requiem, Op. 9 (1941–47)

for soloists, choir, organ, and orchestra

Performers

• Jennifer Johnston – mezzo-soprano
• Soloists of the RIAS Chamber Choir Berlin
• RIAS Chamber Choir Berlin
• German Symphony Orchestra Berlin
• Justin Doyle – Conductor