Earlier this week, thinking about possible themes for the weekly musings, many possibilities came to mind – the delightful concert by the Ryde Hunters Hill Orchestra which Carlos conducted last Sunday, a stunning cross-cultural concert on Tuesday by The Song Company in the spell-binding acoustic of St Mary’s Cathedral Crypt, and further evidence of the health benefits of choral singing, were all candidates.  However, they were all blown away by last night’s run-through of the complete A German Requiem. 

First full run-throughs are always special, but this one the more so for me  I had managed to carve out an hour during the week to read through the entire text in German and in English, and in doing so had gained a real appreciation of the structure of the whole work – textually and musically.  It’s like an arch.  No’s 1 and 7 are the abutments, anchoring the work on both sides; No’s 2 and 3 are the approach on one side; No’s 5 and 6 are the downward run on the other side, and No 4 is the keystone, slap bang in the middle, without which everything else would fall apart.

After last night, the structure stands out even further.  No 4 (How lovely are thy dwellings fair) is the shortest piece in the work, although for many listeners the most beautiful.  Like the keystone of a bridge, it holds the whole piece together.  It is a perfect link between the two halves of the work; moving from reflections on the transient nature of human existence which we mortals all understand, to affirmation of a permanent resting place in a  world which is inevitably something of a mystery to us.

There are so many moments of pure joy in this work.  Every piece has a number of special moments for each voice.  My own favourite is when the basses in No 6 sing “Zu nehmen preis”  (“You are worthy to receive glory“) in unison with the trombones on a series of ascending arpeggios, something guaranteed to make the hair on the backs of our necks stand on end.  And the transitions between pieces are ethereal, for example everyone singing at full blast at the end of No 3 followed by the gentleness of No 4; and the subtle change of key from E flat in No 4, to G in No 5 which softens the mood to introduce the idea of the comfort naturally given by a mother to her children.

I have rambled on for long enough.  This is a wonderful work of art, and we are extraordinarily privileged to be led in singing it by Carlos.  He not only understands the music, but he immerses himself in it, and in doing so, takes us along for the journey.

So, if you have not yet read through the text, try and make time to do so.  It’s worth every minute.