Johannes Brahms:
- Ein Deutsches Requiem, Op. 45
Brahms composed this masterpiece in memory of his mother. He decided on what text portions were meaningful to him, as a vehicle for mourning her. At the time, the music critics in Vienna were quick to issue their criticism of the work, but it has remained a huge musical offering that led to our remembering Brahms, himself. This recording is performed by Genia Kühmeier (soprano) and Gerald Finley (bass), with the Netherlands Radio Choir & Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Mariss Jansons conducting. Following the requiem masses of Dvorák and Mozart in previous seasons, this performance of Brahms’ German Requiem would have been the third in a long series of Requiems conducted by Mariss Jansons. But Jansons left as the RCO’s chief conductor during the 2014/2015 season. The major sections of this work are: I. Selig sind, die da Leid tragen II. Denn alles Fleisch es ist wie Gras III. Herr, lehre doch mich IV. Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen V. Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit VI. Denn wir haben hie keine bleibende Statt VII. Selig sind die Toten The translation of the German title for the first section is: “Blessed are those who bear their mourning” I was unable to locate a recording with Mariss Jansons conducting, so here is Claudio Abbado with Brahms’ German Requiem, second movement: https://youtu.be/rMlam4sfquM And here is the Johannes Brahms ‘Ein Deutsches Requiem’ with Barbara Bonney, soprano, and Claudio Abbado conducting the Berliner Philharmoniker, as recorded at the Musikverein, Vienna: https://youtu.be/W62HUZEbDAM Tags: Johannes Brahms, German Requiem, Mariss Jansons