Since its first complete performance in 1869 in Leipzig, Brahms’s German Requiem is, without question, one of the key works in the history of the oratorio. The reputation of the work is based not only on its unusually concentrated musical structure, but also on the original conception of the text: Brahms assembled important passages from both the Old and New Testaments in Luther’s translation so that thoughts on sorrow and consolation would obviously refer to one another. In contrast to many other oratorios of the 19th century Brahms places the choir, the voice of the community, in the center of this interdenominational celebration of the dead.
The source-critical edition is based on the first published edition of the score, which Brahms authorized.
Thanks to an arrangement by J. Linckelmann (Carus 27.055/50), it is possible to perform the work in smaller settings. Also available is an arrangement of the orchestral movement for two pianos (Carus 23.006/03).
Contents
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Composer
Johannes Brahms
| 1833-1897Johannes Brahms' study of musical tradition was of crucial importance to his output: he combined church modes, canonic technique, Baroque style and diction, Bach's counterpoint and Beethoven's thematic-motivic work with the harmonic and expressive achievements of Romanticism to form his own distinctive style. In this respect his choral songs and vocal quartets (e.g. the “Liebeslieder Waltzes” and “New Liebeslieder Waltzes”), often to folk song texts, in which a musical microcosm unfolds, are examplary. His “Deutsches Requiem”, available from Carus in several different versions, constitutes one of the most fascinating confessions of faith in the history of music. Personal details
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Editor
Günter Graulich
| 1926The publisher, church musician and teacher Günter Graulich is one of the major personalities in German publishing of the post-war period. With his wife Waltraud he founded Carus-Verlag Stuttgart in 1972, which he built up from a 2-person family firm to a medium-sized business with around 60 employees. A trained church musician and Kantor for many years at the Matthäuskirche Stuttgart, he also directed the Motettenchor Stuttgart for 50 years. With his choir he made LP and CD recordings, and undertook numerous concert tours to other European countries and America. Personal details
Reviews
Kirchenmusikalische Mitteilungen 10/2004
... Dieses grandiose Werk gehört sicher zu den Top 10 der musica sacra mit enormem Tiefgang.
Singende Kirche Heft 3, 2008
... Mit der sorgsamen Edition von Günter Graulich liegt nunmehr eine ausgezeichnete Grundlage für Aufführung und Studium des Deutschen Requiems vor.
Barbara Stühlmeyer, Musica Sacra, 2/2010