Voices of Connection: 10/26 Brahms Requiem Week
When Brahms chose to compose a requiem – always a major undertaking for any composer – it was not to be connected with the liturgical rites of any organized religion. So, he chose not to utilize the tradi- tional Latin text prescribed for use in the Roman Catholic service for the departed. But, instead, Brahms himself compiled a text made up of verses from the Bible which he found meaningful to people at the time of the death of a dear one. This is a requiem for the mourners, for those left behind, to comfort, to help them make sense of life and death. And to make it more human, more personal, he chose the text in his native language, and called it specifically “A German Requiem.”
The first movement begins with one of the great openings in Classical Music. We immediately feel the compassion, the comfort, the understanding of the deep sadness that mourners feel at the death of a loved one. At the end of the instrumental introduction the music becomes murky, dark. As it tapers away, the chorus enters with poignant simplicity. Three chords: “Blessed are they.” Every phrase of “Blessed are they who mourn” is musically completed with “for they shall be comforted.” And when Brahms set “Those who sow with tears shall reap with joy,” the second part of that sentence is set with animated, hopeful music.
– Dennis Keene
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JOHANNES BRAHMS Ein Deutsches Requiem - Movement 1
Voices of Ascension
Dennis Keene, Artistic Director
Arlene Shrut & Anna Shelest, pianists
Recorded live in performance on January 30, 2014 at Church of the Ascension
The singers in this performance are represented by the American Guild of Musical Artists, AFL-CIO.