A Rich and Gripping ‘German Requiem’

Brahms’ “Ein deutsches Requiem” doesn’t have a lot of fire and brimstone. Unlike the requiems of Mozart, Berlioz and Verdi, there’s little theatrical flare behind it, no graphic depictions of heaven opening up or hell gaping. By comparison, Brahms’ is the most pious requiem. It is also the most comforting.

Yet by concentrating their entire efforts on the 76-minute work, conductor Carl St.Clair, the Pacific Symphony and the Pacific Chorale made it a gripping and richly communicative evening of music Wednesday at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa. One left stimulated, not tranquilized.

Brahms compiled the nonliturgical texts for “A German Requiem” from both the Old and New Testaments. And though the words acknowledge the sadness of death, their emphasis is hopeful and soothing: death as a kind of fruition of life, reunification with God the reward. In this light, it is significant that the work contains not a single mention of Christ’s suffering, a fact for which the composer was criticized.

St.Clair kept a tight rein on far more than 150 musicians. He made the words important; the chorale’s diction produced crisp phrasing. The music’s messages spoke genuinely. With this as a base, he dealt with the particulars of expression, sculpting lines continuously and pacing carefully, never settling for a generalized grandeur or calm. The massive instrumental and vocal forces coalesced to pointed ends.

The intensity of this performance scarcely lagged, especially impressive in the lengthy perorations of the second and sixth movements, which struck with heat, not heaviness.

The Pacific Symphony’s contribution was clean and balanced (below the choir), though less distinctive in blend and nuance. A few of Brahms’ coloristic touches went by the wayside. The vocal soloists proved agreeable. Christopher Schaldenbrand belted sinewy lines in a bright, tremulous baritone. Bridgett Hooks offered a sonorous soprano with easy top notes in her brief excursion.