How does one cope with the passing on of a loved one? When his mother passed, Brahms penned A German Requiem* to both mourn his loss and express his optimistic remembrance of her life. Hauntingly powerful, this piece is considered one of Brahms’s best. And this evening’s programming not only proved that but showcased it in a unique manner. 

The evening started with violinist Gil Shaham as the soloist for the world premiere of Mason Bates’ Nomad Concerto, a piece specifically commissioned for Shaham. The first movement was beautifully pensive and lyrical, played with skillful technique, especially Shaham’s left-handed pizzicato juxtaposed over his own legato notes. This was followed nicely with the long, ethereal style of the second and third movements, meant to evoke Middle Eastern vignettes of first a bazaar, then a desert oasis. The shift to an upbeat fourth movement infused with brass-heavy jazz was impressive but felt disjointed from the rest of the concerto. However, its singularity did not diminish the quality of the other movements. 

Throughout his solo, Shaham showed an impressive dedication to the piece through his physical engagement using his full-body and facial expressions to supplement the musical story—as much as visual as audial performance. 

After the intermission, the orchestra accompanied the Cuban-Canadian composer Luis Ernesto Peña Laguna’s choral work Oraison. This was created to pair with Brahms’s Requiem to modernize the audience experience as part of a reaction to the COVID pandemic. The Playbill notes that it is “sung in four languages—French, Spanish, Latin, and English” —it moves from mourning to remembering and it ends on a note of joyful hope as the chorus sings in French, ‘We emerge/Barefoot on the rosy meadows/At the first morning sun.’” I found the language changes a thoughtfully unifying format. 

On to A German Requiem, this piece is meant to bring hope to an otherwise somber topic of death by focusing on comfort rather than judgment, as Mozart did with Dies Irae.

The Baritone parts were sung by Christopher Maltman, who carried his part with clarity and precision. Jeanine De Bique handled the Soprano portions of this evening’s program incredibly well. The expression from someone nearby at the conclusion of her parts described it simply, “wow”, an elegant summary of what most of the audience seemed to be feeling after her soaring performance. 

My favorite movement in A German Requiem was the sixth, which contains “a triumphant fugue” that highlights Brahms’ message of hope after loss, using a verse from 1 Corinthians: “Tod, wo ist dein Stachel? Hölle, wo ist dein Sieg?” or, in English, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” I also felt that the sixth movement was this evening’s greatest demonstration of Nézet-Séguin’s ability to bring the best out of those he conducts, which tonight also included the Philadelphia Symphonic Choir (with director Joe Miller), with powerful dynamics and balance between the orchestra and chorus.

To learn more about the Philadelphia Orchestra or to book your tickets to one of their performances, visit them online. As always, if you’d like to listen to this incredible performance, it will eventually be broadcasted on Sunday afternooon at 1:00 pm EST at WRTI.org.

^{*we were invited to facilitate a feature, all opinions are our own*}