Johannes Brahms
Ein Deutsches Requiem Op. 45

Among the numerous Missæ pro defunctis composed throughout the history of music, there is one that stands out from all the others, and it is precisely the one I am about to review, namely Johannes Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem op. 45. However, before getting into the topic, I think it is good to frame everything from a purely historical point of view. The history of composing a Mass to bid farewell to someone who has completed their earthly pilgrimage (a liturgy that precedes burial or cremation) has very ancient origins. It is not known who was the first to compose one, but the fact remains that every century has had one or more composers who have written one or more Requiems. Among many, I can mention, for example, Jean Gilles, a great French composer of the Baroque period. Then, how can we forget the imposing Messa di Requiem by Verdi, dedicated to the memory of Alessandro Manzoni, the Grande Messe des morts by Hector Berlioz, the Deutsche Trauermesse D 621 by Franz Schubert, the delightful Requiem op. 48 by Gabriel Fauré, and many others, up to the War Requiem by Benjamin Britten and the secular cantata Il Requiem di Berlino by Kurt Weill, on texts by Bertolt Brecht, on whose libretto Weill composed The Threepenny Opera, perhaps the supreme masterpiece of the German composer, from which Weill himself later extracted a concert suite (something Benjamin Britten also did with his Sea Interludes, really delightful orchestral pieces that, in his debut opera Peter Grimes, function as interludes, intermezzi, and introductions to the different scenes).

Having said this, we delve into the heart of the review. Given that, as far as I am concerned, the Ein deutsches Requiem is Brahms' supreme masterpiece, it's worth mentioning that it is not a Requiem like all the others. It is indeed a Requiem in pure Lutheran style; here, Brahms does not set prayers to music, nor the classic sequence of the Dies iræ. As a good Lutheran that he was, Brahms sets passages from the Holy Scripture to music. Obviously, these are seven rather long pieces, but I can assure you that the listening does not disappoint. The other difference is that, in addition to the choir, Brahms requires two soloists: a soprano and a baritone. The pieces are:

1. Selig sind die da Leid tragen ('Blessed are those who suffer'), entrusted to the choir.

2. Denn alles Fleisch es ist wie Gras ('For all flesh is as grass'), also entrusted to the choir;

3. Herr, lehre doch mich ('Lord, teach me'), one of the most moving pieces. It is entrusted to the baritone and choir;

4. Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen ('How lovely are your dwellings'), piece entrusted to the choir. A little gem....

5. Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit ('Now you have sorrow'), entrusted to the soprano. A vast masterpiece......

6. Denn wir haben hier keine bleibende Statt ('for here we have no lasting city'), entrusted to the baritone and choir

7. Selig sind die Toten ('Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord'), entrusted to the choir