This edition of Brahms's greatest, most ambitious vocal work is
reprinted from the definitive edition of the composer's works prepared
by Breitkopf & Härtel of Leipzig. Inexpensive, yet sturdily constructed
to provide years of pleasurable use, this full score combines all the
musical parts in a clear, readable format, with wide margins and large
noteheads.
Brahms conducted the first major performance of the German Requiem in
Bremen Cathedral in April 1888. The occasion, attended by many
distinguished musicians, among them Clara Schumann, provided the
34-year-old composer with his first great public success.
Scored for mixed chorus, solo voices, and full orchestra, the Requiem
reflects Brahms's virtuoso grasp of nineteenth-century vocal technique
as well as the polyphonic vocal traditions of the previous three
centuries. Above all, it radiates Brahms's stalwart individuality,
technical mastery, and stirring emotional appeal, which were soon to
secure his unique position in the musical world.
The German Requiem is in seven sections (the fifth was added shortly
after the Bremen performance), which distinguishes it from the five-part
Roman Catholic requiem. Brahms chose its nondenominational format to
express faith in the resurrection rather than the fear of the day
judgment. Now, over a century later, this masterpiece of choral music is
one of the most performed and recorded works in the repertoire of
religious music.