A German Requiem, Op. 45

• Brahms did most of the work on Ein deutsches Requiem, Op. 45, between 1865-1866. He began work in earnest after the death of his mother in February of 1865.¹
  • There is some evidence that Brahms first conceptualized the Requiem soon after the illness and death of his friend and mentor, Robert Schumann.
• For a libretto, Brahms did not turn to the traditional Latin Requiem Mass, but instead assembled his own libretto of quotations from the German Bible. The selection of texts can be seen to create a humanist or ecumenical perspective, because it avoids any specific mention of Christ.²

“I will admit that I could happily omit the ‘German’ and simply say ‘Human.’” 

Brahms, on the title of Ein deutsche Requiem, writing to his Carl Martin Reinthaler, the organist of the Bremen Cathedral (1867)³

• After Reinthaler objected to the Requiem’s omission of specifically Christian theology, Brahms added the movement “Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit.” The soprano solo in this movement quotes words of Christ from the gospel of John, chapter 16. However, it is unclear whether Brahms meant this movement as a reference to Jesus, or as a reference to his loss of his mother. “Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit” is the only movement to feature a female solo voice, and the chorus part in this movement uses the text from Isaiah 66:13, “I will comfort you, as one whom his mother comforts.”⁴
• The first semi-complete performance of the work took place on Good Friday of 1868. After this, Brahms added the soprano solo with chorus “Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit.” The full version premiered at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig on February 18, 1869, and it soon found success throughout Europe, England, and Russia.⁵
  • The success of Ein deutsches Requiem helped establish Brahms as a major international composer.

1.  George S. Bozarth and Walter Frisch, “Brahms, Johannes,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed February 17, 2021, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000051879.
2. Ibid.
3. Quoted in James M. Keller, “Notes on the Program: Ein deutsches Requiem (A German Requiem), Op. 45,” New York Philharmonic, accessed February 17, 2021, https://nyphil.org/~/media/pdfs/program-notes/1819/Brahms-Ein-deutsches-Requiem.pdf.
4. Ibid.
5.  George S. Bozarth and Walter Frisch, “Brahms, Johannes,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed February 17, 2021, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000051879.