SFSO & C do Brahms (and blow my mind)

Back in February after my first experience at the San Francisco Symphony, I wrote that if them doing the German Requiem (with SFSO Chorus) didn’t blow my mind, nothing would.

Well, it did. What a beautiful concert. For the first half they did Gestliches Lied and Four Songs for Women’s Chorus, which I thought were amazing. At intermission I described the sound to Ryan as like glass globes floating in the air. I don’t know how they (or Brahms) do it, but that’s what it sounds like. Brahms is odd because the songs are often sad but they don’t always sound it.

The Requiem was just wonderful. That piece lives in my soul, so I think it’s impossible for me to do an adequate description of it. It’s got so many tender and lovely moments, so many powerful moments, and so many sad moments, and the ensembles expressed it all perfectly, both emotionally and artistically. I savored my favorite moments, occasionally unable to resist silently forming the words in my own mouth and remembering how it felt to sing them. And I rediscovered other beautiful bits that I often pass over as I listen preferentially to my favorite movements.

Actually, the only weak spot for me (and this is perhaps more my taste than my artistic judgment) was the soloists. I felt the soprano was fine but too ‘soprano’-ish and not very expressive, and the baritone was too quiet and his voice quality was blurry. But the choir and orchestra were absolutely on.

My mind is officially blown.

Tod, wo ist dein Stachel? Hölle, wo ist dein Sieg?

Leave a Reply

Your email will not be published. Name and Email fields are required.