Johannes Brahms first mentioned the idea of the German Requiem in correspondence to Clara Schumann in 1865. Between 1857–1868, Brahms worked in part on elements which would appear in the Requiem. Many standard interpretations say that this was a deeply personal response to the death experience: that of Robert Schumann (1856) and his mother (1865).
In 1866, the composer worked with increasing intensity, and by August he had completed parts 1,2,3,4, and 6. Part 5 was written in 1867–68. Originally there were six movements in the first version, premiering in 1868 at the Bremen Cathedral on Good Friday. The fifth movement—a tribute to his mother’s memory—was inserted shortly thereafter, and was heard as part of the German Requiem in Leipzig, February, 1869.
Brahms used selections from both the Old and New Testaments to create this masterpiece.
Here is this amazing music:
