Sacred Works by Brahms, Liszt, and Rachmaninoff

The 19th century as an era of sacred music? Liszt and Rachmaninoff, the famous piano virtuosos, as creators of religious compositions? Alongside Bach’s St. John Passion and the Eastertide oratorio by Handel that have been programmed, this year’s festival brings you church music as remade by the great Romantics, from Brahms’s “A German Requiem” and Liszt’s “Gran Mass” to Rachmaninoff’s “All-Night Vigil.”

What do they have in common: Brahms, a Protestant from the north of Germany, the Catholic Liszt (who personally took minor orders from Pope Pius IX), and Rachmaninoff, who created a masterwork of Russian Orthodox vocal music shortly before the outbreak of the Russian Revolution? Despite all their differences, each of them strove to combine the legacy of church music with the musical innovations of their time.

For instance, Johannes Brahms diverged from the conventions of the traditional funeral Mass in his “German Requiem,” which Christian Gerhaher, Sally Matthews, and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe will perform on 11 April under the direction of Bernard Haitink. Instead, he chose his own selection of texts to set from the Bible, deliberately transcending the usual liturgical and denominational context to embrace a universally human religiosity.

Franz Liszt set the familiar Latin text in his “Gran Mass,” drawing on traditional elements of word painting and vocal polyphony. But he combined this with a harmonically advanced musical language full of motivic cross-references and clearly echoing the technique of his symphonic poems. It’s hardly a surprise that reactionary forces in Hungary attempted to prevent the performance of this “music of the future” – though without success. Not only did the premiere proceed as planned, marking the opening of the new cathedral in Gran in 1856, but the ensuing concert performance given in Pest made such a powerful impression that the local Franciscans named Liszt a member of their confraternity. On 15 April you will have a chance to hear the rarely performed “Gran Mass” at LUCERNE FESTIVAL.

And Rachmaninoff’s “All-Night Vigil,” which will be performed by the Bavarian Radio Choir on 17 April, invests the traditional a cappella setting of the Orthodox service with a late-romantic sonic garb. Because Orthodox liturgy does not allow the use of instruments, Rachmaninoff had to confine himself to the human voice. But through this means alone he achieved an extraordinary intensity of expression. This work dates from 1915, two years before Rachmaninoff went into life-long exile from Russia. But the composer continued to feel a deep connection to his homeland until his death: his “Symphonic Dances,” the last work he completed, still contain allusions to the “All-Night Vigil.”