ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
PHILIPPE HERREWEGHE
*Johannes BRAHMS* (1833-1897):
Symphony No.3 op.90
Schiksalslied op.54
Alto Rhapsody op.53
Begräbnisgesang op.13
Gesang der Parzen op.89
Ann Hallenberg _alto_
*Collegium Vocale Gent*
HR-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt
Philippe Herreweghe
Large-scale works for choir and orchestra constitute a significant share of the works of Johannes Brahms (1833-1897). His _Ein deutsches Requiem_ is undisputedly at the top of the list; its internal variety and the awareness of history in the writing set the standard for his later symphonic choir works. In tonality and harmony, Brahms continued to seek as rich a tonal language as possible, both in the sombre _Schicksalslied_, to a poem by Friedrich Hölderlin, and the six-voice _Gesang der Parzen_ (Song of the Fates) from 1882. Three years later he crowned his symphonic oeuvre with his _Fourth Symphony_ op. 98, in which we can sense Beethoven and Bach watching over his shoulder.