Joachim Raff - Welt-Ende, Gericht, Neue Welt

[Justin]

Decided to create a new thread for this in light of the new live recording of the work from May 26 in Lachen.

I wonder if the CPO recording will be different?

[Justin]

After having listened to the recording and recalling from memory the concert in person, I believe there can be some explanations for some shortcomings on this:

At times the strings sound rather thin in my opinion, and I know they did have some issues tuning the instruments after the first section.

At one time about halfway through the performance, a single violinist stopped playing for several minutes while attempting to fix the issue. If the CPO release is going to be done in the studio, hopefully they can clear up this problem. Fortunately I only hear it at certain times and in parts like the Apocalyptic Riders, the sheer robustness creates enough excitement to shadow it.

The highlight is Andreas Wolf as John. He brings a certain level of stateliness that was missing in the Empfingen recording as exemplified in No. 31, and also some vitality as in No. 6.

While the oboist messes up on No. 30 when the New World begins, I find this entire third act the most satisfying when Miss Rheinhold comes in to sing No. 32.

The choir was also quite good, in particular on No. 3 with such tenderness, also I fell they feel short a little bit on No. 13 on the higher notes.

Regarding that these are minor issues out of a nearly 2 hour performance, I am impressed with this and am glad that Raff is at least honored with this for his bicentenary.

[Mark Thomas]

Overall the performance is terrific, if not flawless (as always, more strings would have been a bonus). It's a live performance of course so, as Justin writes, there's the odd fluff, but the two soloists are very good - the baritone in particular is excellent, singing with great authority. There's a rawness and urgency to it at times which is really exciting - the "Death and Hell" orchestral interlude at the end of the Apocalyptic Riders section is full of vigour, and the drama of the chorus in the very end of the first part - Welt-Ende - is hugely effective.  This is in such effective contrast to some of the more serenely lyrical choral passages which are beautifully phrased and sensitively sung. It's all refreshingly different to the "safety" of the old LP set, so I was surprised that the overall timing is virtually the same, which just shows that it's never just a question of tempi. As for the broadcast recording, it's not as perfect as a commercial CD of course, but it'll do well enough until cpo get their act together. All in all, this performance shows what a glorious piece Raff's last major work is and it thoroughly deserved the long ovation which I understand it got on the night.

[Wheesht]

News has just come in that the Leipzig performance at the Gewandhaus was also recorded, by Deutschlandfunk, and will be broadcast soon.

[Mark Thomas]

Yes, I've just read that too. Looks like his bicentenary might just have moved the Raff renaissance up a gear.

[Alan Howe]

It'd be great if a major conductor/orchestra tackled some of the symphonies.

[CelesteCadenza]

News has just come in that the Leipzig performance at the Gewandhaus was also recorded, by Deutschlandfunk, and will be broadcast soon.

Has this been broadcast? A recording, allegedly from Leipzig, is available here:
https://classicalmusicinconcert.blogspot.com/2023/05/raff-welt-ende-gericht-neue-welt-gregor.html
The source is attributed to a podcast from Catalunya Musica.

[Mark Thomas]

Thanks. I'm not sure if this is a recording of the Leipzig performance, which I haven't heard, or the recording of the Lachen performance we already have. Of course, as they're the same forces one would expect them to very similar, but the recording ambiance also seems close, although my copy of the Lachen recording (which I've edited a little) seems more immediate. I need to do some more detailed comparisons than I've so far been able to do, but if anyone else has a view I'd be delighted to read it.

[CelesteCadenza]

I need to do some more detailed comparisons than I've so far been able to do, but if anyone else has a view I'd be delighted to read it.

Thus the reason for my adding "allegedly" in my attribution. I, too, haven't done a side-by-side, but the recordings are just a bit too similar for performances in different venues. Can a church in Lachen have the same ambience as the oversized Gewandhaus? The pause between the conclusion and audience reaction is also just a bit too similar for comfort. But then again, I'm far from expert at audio forensics.

[Justin]

When I attended the concert in Lachen, I remember the oboist messing up his solo in the beginning of the third section for "New World." I hear that in this recording so pretty sure it is the Lachen performance.

[Mark Thomas]

Ah, thanks Justin. I was fairly sure that it was the Lachen recording, but as I'd fiddled a bit with the audio wasn't able to make a direct comparison with the original.

[Tapiola]

A rather promising release. I don't know any choral work by Raff yet, so I have high expectations for this upcoming recording:

https://www.clicmusique.com/joseph-joachim-raff-welt-ende-gericht-neue-welt-reinhold-wolf-meyer-p-110786.html?osCsid=9tk8s617e4000i8u58q51t1rt5

[Justin]

This is awesome! I had a feeling after its performances in 2022 at Lachen and Leipzig that this work would soon be commercially released.

I am unsure from the cover if this is the May 2022 Lachen performance (the one I attended and currently posted on this forum) or the June Leipzig one or a studio recording. The Lachen one has a flub by the oboe in the beginning of the third section and a mishap by a violin being unable to play for a couple minutes at some point in the first section. The vocal performances by Wolf and Rheinhold are outstanding.

[Mark Thomas]

Excellent! I'm fairly sure that it was recorded in Leipzig. With the upcoming release of Samson and the prospect of Die Eifersüchtigen in the autumn, it's going to quite a year for major vocal works by the master.

[Alan Howe]

The cpo recording is due out in Germany next week:
https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/cpo/detail/-/art/joachim-raff-oratorium-weltende-gericht-neue-welt/hnum/11165022