This Saturday, October 21 at 8:30 PM at the Church of the Port.
Ein deutsches Requiem, nach Worten der heiligen Schrift für Soli, Chor und Orchester (Orgel ad lib.), op. 45 – “A German Requiem, on texts from the holy scriptures, for soloists, choir, and orchestra (with organ ad libitum)” – is a sacred (but not liturgical) work in seven parts (or movements) composed by Johannes Brahms and completed in 1868.
It lasts from 70 to 80 minutes, making it Brahms’ longest composition.
The two soloists only intervene exceptionally, the baritone to express the anguished call of man facing his destiny, the soprano to announce the maternal nature of future consolations. The orchestra remains always of exemplary clarity, even when it takes a back seat. The soprano solo is moving.
The conclusion summarizes the promise of the Sermon on the Mount. The central episodes of the sixth piece could be considered a Protestant version of the Dies iræ. The work, of humanistic conception, which the author wished to make ecumenical, assured him fame.
