Ein deutsches Requiem

Johannes Brahms compiled biblical texts as he saw fit into A German Requiem, and deviated from the content of the traditional Roman Catholic funeral mass. Brahms’ requiem is also among the works in the genre that ultimately became mainly a concert piece. A German Requiem is not a mass for the dead, but for the living. Here, the music is performed in a version for choir, soloists, two pianos and timpani. 

First, we will hear music by Swedish Ludvig Norman, a contemporary of Brahms. Norman was one of the musical greats of his era. From the late 1870s, when this piece was composed (ten years after Brahms’ Requiem), he dedicated himself entirely to composition. Jordens Oro Viker (“Earth’s Unrest Recedes”) is not a requiem, but it is music about death and just as with Brahms’ piece, it is in the spirit of light and trust. With this theme, Brahms and Norman alike may both inspire us to lift our gazes in times of personal worry.