By Scot Hanna-Weir
What sets Brahms’ Requiem apart from his contemporaries is most notably his choice of texts. The Requiem as a genre had existed for centuries and primarily used the Latin requiem mass text. Brahms instead compiled his own texts from the Luther translation of the bible. This approach is not completely original (though Brahms’ holistic approach to the text compilation is certainly exceptional), but the sources of inspiration harken back to the late Renaissance and Baroque eras.
J.S. Bach and Heinrich Schütz preceded Brahms with settings of some of the well-known verses present in the Requiem. Schütz, for instance, he twice set “Die mit Thränen säen”, composed one setting of “Wie Lieblich sind deine Wohnungen” and “Selig sind die Toten”. In his landmark Musicalishe Exequien, the third and final section of the work combines the German Nunc Dimittis, “Herr, nun lässest du deinen Diener” and “Selig sind die Toten” to create a small, early model of a “German Requiem”. J.S. Bach’s Cantata 106, “Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit” has often been seen as an obvious precursor with its six movement structure and whose third movement uses an alternative version of the text of Brahms’ third movement, “Herr, lehre uns bedenken, daß wir sterben müssen, daß wir klug werden”.
In eschewing the use of the Latin mass text, the tone of Brahms’ Requiem takes a dramatic turn. Unlike the bombast and glorification of visions of the final judgment called into vivid detail by the likes of Berlioz and Verdi, the tone of the Brahms is much more gentle and reassuring. In many ways, the choices of text seem to be more of an effort to provide comfort for the living than to be the words by which the departed find eternal rest. Brahms said to Carl Martin Reinthaler, the organist of Bremen Cathedral before the first rehearsals of his Ein Deutsches Requiem, “I will admit that I could happily omit the ‘German’ and simply say ‘Human’”. This is further reinforced by a remarkably non-christological approach to the text choices. Reinthaler actually wrote to Brahms in an effort to persuade him to be more overtly Christian in his choices in a letter in October of 1867:
Brahms essentially replied to Reinthaler that he knew what he was doing and had made intentional choices. In fact, there is no mention of Christ anywhere in the text of the Requiem, though the words of Jesus are quoted at the start of the fifth movement.
The consolation of those left behind begins right from the outset of the work. Brahms begins, “Selig sind, die da Leid tragen, denn sie sollen getröstet werden” (Blessed are they that have sorrow, for they shall be comforted). This opening parallels the eventual conclusion of the work in movement seven: “Selig sind die Toten, die in dem Herrn sterben, von nun an…” (Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, from now on…). This textual parallel is also treated musically with a return to the opening ideas of the piece at the conclusion of the seventh movement, including a reprise of the ending of movement one on this new text. In this way, the symmetry of the form of the work (both thematically and musically) emerges.
Similarly, movement two and six have some connections as well. Movement two is the slow and solemn march to the burial site, accompanied by the text “Denn alles Fleish es ist wie Gras…” (For all flesh is as grass). The movement begins with this admonition of our own impermanence and then shifts to a momentary glimpse of the rebirth of the land and its bounty with the coming of the harvest rain before returning once again to the funeral march. Finally, the movement turns on the text “Aber, des Herrn wort bleibet in Ewigkeit” (But, the word of the Lord stands for evermore). This launches the movement into an extended fugue (the first of three major fugues in the work) where we envision the promise of everlasting joy and the death of sorrow itself.
In movement six, the thematic tie seems to be in the expectation of death, but the promise of victory over this death through the Lord. This movement is the closest to the last judgment that we see in Brahms’ work, and while the musical intensity of the second major section of the movement certainly seems to spell a day of terrible judgment, the text instead focuses on the victory over this torment. “Tod, wo ist dein Stachel? Hölle, wo ist dein Sieg?” (Death, where is your sting? Hell, where is your victory?) As in the second movement, the sixth movement ends with the longest fugue of the work, “Herr, du bist würdig zu nehmen Preis und Ehre und Kraft” (Lord, you are worthy to receive praise and glory and power).
The third movement also has a tie to the sixth movement, as these are the two movements where the baritone soloist is deployed. The baritone begins “Herr, lehre doch mich, daß ein Ende mit mir haben muß, und mein Leben ein Ziel hat, und ich davon muß.” (Lord, let me know that I must have an end, that my life has a term, and that I must pass on). Again, this movement follows the pattern of this less hopeful beginning, but transitioning to an ending fugue that affirms the promise for those who die “Der Gerechten Deelen sind in Gottes Hand, und kein Qual rühet sie an.” (The righteous souls are in the hand of God, and no torment touches them). This fugue is particularly remarkable because the entirety of the fugue is set over an unrelenting D pedal in the bass of the instrumental accompaniment. Perhaps that pedal represents the ever present hand of God who holds the faithful?
The fourth movement is perhaps the most well-known as it is often excerpted for individual performance. “Wie lieblich sind deine wohnungen” (How lovely are your dwelling places) is a lilting waltz that ends in an exultant fugatto before returning to the long lyric lines of the opening material. The chorale has performed this piece many times, and particularly at the memorial services for some of our past singers. Singing this entire work is a reminder to us of all those we hold dear in our hearts and memories.
The fifth movement was not originally part of the work when it premiered on April 10, 1868. However, it seems that the additional movement was completed by May 24 of the same year. The use of soprano solo extensively in this movement and the text themed around the love of a mother clearly suggests a connection to the loss of Brahms’ own mother three years prior. However, it is just as easy to surmise that the entire work was in part motivated by his mother’s loss and that only the specific nature of implementing this text in the work was still under consideration.
One final note is on the particular version performed this evening, with particular reference to the four-hand piano arrangement. The work is of course best known in its full orchestral form, but following the first performance, a version of the Requiem in piano duet arrangement was published in 1869. Wolfgang Hochstein goes on to add:
In tonight’s performance, minimal edits have been made to the piano transcription to remove some of the duplication of vocal parts during sections that are traditionally a cappella, but otherwise, the transcription remains unchanged. The brilliance with which Brahms wrote for piano duet texture is immediately apparent, and while not the complete effect of the full orchestral version, the piano duet accompaniment adds a beautiful level of intimacy to the work, allowing the vocal textures to easily shine through.
What sets Brahms’ Requiem apart from his contemporaries is most notably his choice of texts. The Requiem as a genre had existed for centuries and primarily used the Latin requiem mass text. Brahms instead compiled his own texts from the Luther translation of the bible. This approach is not completely original (though Brahms’ holistic approach to the text compilation is certainly exceptional), but the sources of inspiration harken back to the late Renaissance and Baroque eras.
J.S. Bach and Heinrich Schütz preceded Brahms with settings of some of the well-known verses present in the Requiem. Schütz, for instance, he twice set “Die mit Thränen säen”, composed one setting of “Wie Lieblich sind deine Wohnungen” and “Selig sind die Toten”. In his landmark Musicalishe Exequien, the third and final section of the work combines the German Nunc Dimittis, “Herr, nun lässest du deinen Diener” and “Selig sind die Toten” to create a small, early model of a “German Requiem”. J.S. Bach’s Cantata 106, “Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit” has often been seen as an obvious precursor with its six movement structure and whose third movement uses an alternative version of the text of Brahms’ third movement, “Herr, lehre uns bedenken, daß wir sterben müssen, daß wir klug werden”.
In eschewing the use of the Latin mass text, the tone of Brahms’ Requiem takes a dramatic turn. Unlike the bombast and glorification of visions of the final judgment called into vivid detail by the likes of Berlioz and Verdi, the tone of the Brahms is much more gentle and reassuring. In many ways, the choices of text seem to be more of an effort to provide comfort for the living than to be the words by which the departed find eternal rest. Brahms said to Carl Martin Reinthaler, the organist of Bremen Cathedral before the first rehearsals of his Ein Deutsches Requiem, “I will admit that I could happily omit the ‘German’ and simply say ‘Human’”. This is further reinforced by a remarkably non-christological approach to the text choices. Reinthaler actually wrote to Brahms in an effort to persuade him to be more overtly Christian in his choices in a letter in October of 1867:
- You stand not only on religious but on purely Christian ground. Already the second number indicates the prediction of the return of the Lord, and in the last number but one there is express reference to the mystery of the resurrection of the dead, ‘we shall not all sleep’. For the Christian mind, however, there is lacking the point on which everything turns, namely the redeeming death of Jesus. Perhaps the passage ‘death, where is thy sting’ would be the best place to introduce this idea, either briefly in the music itself before the fugue, or in a new movement. Moreover, you say in the last movement, ‘blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth’, that is, after Christ has finished the work of redemption.
Brahms essentially replied to Reinthaler that he knew what he was doing and had made intentional choices. In fact, there is no mention of Christ anywhere in the text of the Requiem, though the words of Jesus are quoted at the start of the fifth movement.
The consolation of those left behind begins right from the outset of the work. Brahms begins, “Selig sind, die da Leid tragen, denn sie sollen getröstet werden” (Blessed are they that have sorrow, for they shall be comforted). This opening parallels the eventual conclusion of the work in movement seven: “Selig sind die Toten, die in dem Herrn sterben, von nun an…” (Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, from now on…). This textual parallel is also treated musically with a return to the opening ideas of the piece at the conclusion of the seventh movement, including a reprise of the ending of movement one on this new text. In this way, the symmetry of the form of the work (both thematically and musically) emerges.
Similarly, movement two and six have some connections as well. Movement two is the slow and solemn march to the burial site, accompanied by the text “Denn alles Fleish es ist wie Gras…” (For all flesh is as grass). The movement begins with this admonition of our own impermanence and then shifts to a momentary glimpse of the rebirth of the land and its bounty with the coming of the harvest rain before returning once again to the funeral march. Finally, the movement turns on the text “Aber, des Herrn wort bleibet in Ewigkeit” (But, the word of the Lord stands for evermore). This launches the movement into an extended fugue (the first of three major fugues in the work) where we envision the promise of everlasting joy and the death of sorrow itself.
In movement six, the thematic tie seems to be in the expectation of death, but the promise of victory over this death through the Lord. This movement is the closest to the last judgment that we see in Brahms’ work, and while the musical intensity of the second major section of the movement certainly seems to spell a day of terrible judgment, the text instead focuses on the victory over this torment. “Tod, wo ist dein Stachel? Hölle, wo ist dein Sieg?” (Death, where is your sting? Hell, where is your victory?) As in the second movement, the sixth movement ends with the longest fugue of the work, “Herr, du bist würdig zu nehmen Preis und Ehre und Kraft” (Lord, you are worthy to receive praise and glory and power).
The third movement also has a tie to the sixth movement, as these are the two movements where the baritone soloist is deployed. The baritone begins “Herr, lehre doch mich, daß ein Ende mit mir haben muß, und mein Leben ein Ziel hat, und ich davon muß.” (Lord, let me know that I must have an end, that my life has a term, and that I must pass on). Again, this movement follows the pattern of this less hopeful beginning, but transitioning to an ending fugue that affirms the promise for those who die “Der Gerechten Deelen sind in Gottes Hand, und kein Qual rühet sie an.” (The righteous souls are in the hand of God, and no torment touches them). This fugue is particularly remarkable because the entirety of the fugue is set over an unrelenting D pedal in the bass of the instrumental accompaniment. Perhaps that pedal represents the ever present hand of God who holds the faithful?
The fourth movement is perhaps the most well-known as it is often excerpted for individual performance. “Wie lieblich sind deine wohnungen” (How lovely are your dwelling places) is a lilting waltz that ends in an exultant fugatto before returning to the long lyric lines of the opening material. The chorale has performed this piece many times, and particularly at the memorial services for some of our past singers. Singing this entire work is a reminder to us of all those we hold dear in our hearts and memories.
The fifth movement was not originally part of the work when it premiered on April 10, 1868. However, it seems that the additional movement was completed by May 24 of the same year. The use of soprano solo extensively in this movement and the text themed around the love of a mother clearly suggests a connection to the loss of Brahms’ own mother three years prior. However, it is just as easy to surmise that the entire work was in part motivated by his mother’s loss and that only the specific nature of implementing this text in the work was still under consideration.
One final note is on the particular version performed this evening, with particular reference to the four-hand piano arrangement. The work is of course best known in its full orchestral form, but following the first performance, a version of the Requiem in piano duet arrangement was published in 1869. Wolfgang Hochstein goes on to add:
- This version of the German Requiem represents more than a mere arrangement of the orchestral parts for piano duet. It is a reworking of the entire score, including the vocal parts, to form an autonomous keyboard composition, and this fact sets the present transcription clearly apart from a normal piano reduction intended for rehearsal purposes. In his quest for a piano duet texture which sounds well and is wholly pianistic in character the composer proceeded in a manner which approaches creative reworking and fresh shaping of the existing musical material.
- [...] By making this arrangement of the German Requiem for piano duet Brahms was following a practice which was widely current during the 19th and early 20th century, of publishing symphonic works in transcriptions of this kind. Before the existence of recordings, arrangements such as this offered the best opportunity to become familiar with a composition in its entirety.
In tonight’s performance, minimal edits have been made to the piano transcription to remove some of the duplication of vocal parts during sections that are traditionally a cappella, but otherwise, the transcription remains unchanged. The brilliance with which Brahms wrote for piano duet texture is immediately apparent, and while not the complete effect of the full orchestral version, the piano duet accompaniment adds a beautiful level of intimacy to the work, allowing the vocal textures to easily shine through.