If one were to make a list of the 10 great choral works that classical listeners should experience before they die, Johannes Brahms' "A German Requiem" would surely be on the list.
Unlike nearly all the hundreds of requiems that have been composed, this non-liturgical work does not follow the Catholic Mass of the dead. Instead, Brahms created his own text drawn from Martin Luther's translation of the Bible.
The seven-movement work, which was the centerpiece of the Colorado Symphony's program Friday evening, conjures the mystery and breadth of the human experience, mourning death but also celebrating life and what comes afterward.
Conductor Jeffrey Kahane has a flair for such large-scale works, and he was totally in command and at ease here. He delivered an adroitly shaped interpretation of depth and subtlety, with spot-on tempos that assured an ideal pacing.
The two first-rate soloists — baritone Brett Polegato and soprano Karina Gauvin — handled their parts with aplomb, but the real star was the Colorado Symphony Chorus.
This fine group of singers, superbly prepared by chorus director Duain Wolfe, supplied many standout moments, including the spine-tingling celebratory bursts in the sixth movement and the dazzlingly multilayered final stanzas of the third movement.
But it was perhaps the long second movement when the chorus was at its best, communicating the section's full complexity and emotion, with deft, sometimes word-by-word shadings of tone, dynamics and phrasing.
Two things that will most be missed when Kahane steps down as music director at the end of this season are his willingess to do the unconventional and his eloquent piano playing.
Both were richly in evidence Friday evening as Kahane daringly opened the program with a chamber rather than symphonic work — Brahms' Trio in E flat for Violin, Horn and Piano, Op. 40.
The performance was partially hurt by dynamic imbalances, with principal French horn player Michael Thornton frequently overshadowing the other players. Concertmaster YuMi-Hwang Williams was at her best in the slow movement, with a lovely, plaintive sound.
