Ein deutsches Requiem, op. 45
Johannes Brahms
I. Selig sind, die da Leid tragen (1833-1897)
II. Denn alles Fleisch es ist wie Gras
III. Herr, lehre doch mich, daß ein Ende
James Martin Schaefer, baritone
IV. Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen
V. Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit
Joni Prado, soprano
VI. Denn wir haben hie keine bleibende Statt
James Martin Schaefer, baritone
VII. Selig sind die Toten
Johannes Brahms’s (1833-1897)
Ein deutsches Requiem (A German Requiem), op 45, is one of the great choral-orchestral masterpieces, the composer’s longest and most substantial score, and one of his most personal musical statements. It is also the most powerful German sacred musical composition composed after Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis (1819-1823). Brahms’s Requiem established him as a major composer of international significance and reputation. The work was composed between 1857 and 1868 (intensively between 1865-1867), and was motivated in part by the recent death of his mother, and the earlier death of his friend and mentor Robert Schumann, who in 1853 had proclaimed that Brahms was the one destined to “give expression to his age in an ideal fashion” and that he would be seen as the successor to Beethoven. Schumann seemed to foretell the composition of Ein deutsches Requiem, when he exhorted Brahms to “direct his magic wand where the massed forces of chorus and orchestra may lend him their power.”
The work was premiered in stages as it took final shape. The first three movements out of seven were premiered in Vienna in 1868, to mixed success. Six movements (without the fifth movement for solo soprano and chorus) were performed in Bremen in 1868 to great acclaim, with Brahms’s beloved friend and confidant Clara Schumann, and violinist Joseph Joaquim in attendance. The first complete performance was given in Leipzig in 1869, and the Requiem was soon embraced in various parts of Europe. The Oratorio Society of New York gave the United States premiere in 1877.
Ein deutsches Requiem is the culmination of many years of compositional work and study. Brahms prefaced writing his large-scale Requiem by composing smaller-scale choral works, and mastering contrapuntal practice, which he employed extensively in the
Requiem. In this work, he balanced the use of counterpoint with an expert approach to blending vocal and instrumental colors. His study of large-scale choral forms such as the cantata and oratorio, especially those by Johann Sebastian Bach, influenced Ein deutsches Requiem
The work is not a liturgical setting of the traditional Requiem Mass for the Dead, with its emphasis on prayers for the salvation of the dead and anticipation of the dread at the Day of Judgement, but rather a meditation on death and a consolation for the living. Brahms’s Requiem helps us understand human mortality and gives us a sense of renewal. He set selected Old and New Testament verses from Martin Luther’s German translation, thus the title Ein deutsches Requiem/A German Requiem, none of which mention Christ. When questioned about this lack of references to Christ, Brahms responded: “As far as the text is concerned, I will confess that I would very gladly omit the ‘German’ as well, and simply put ‘of Mankind,’ also quite deliberately and consciously do without passages such as John 3:1.” (“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”).
The main message of consolation appears at the beginning of the Requiem: “Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4), which is a principal theme throughout the work. It is reinforced in the seventh and last movement, which ends with “Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord …” (Revelation 14: 13). The idea of consolation that is so important in Brahms’s Requiem is especially emphasized in the fifth movement, with the soprano soloist suggesting the comforting maternal voice: “And ye now therefore have sorrow; but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice” (John 16: 22); “As one whom his mother
IV. Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen, Herr Zebaoth!
Meine Seele verlanget und sehnet sich nach den Vorhöfen des Herrn; mein Leib und Seele freuen sich in dem lebendigen Gott. Wohl denen, die in deinem Hause wohnen, die loben dich immerdar
How lovely are thy dwelling places, O Lord of Hosts!
My soul needs and yearns for the courts of the Lord; My body and soul rejoice in the living God.
Blessed are they that dwell in thy house; they praise you forever.
V. Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit; aber ich will euch wieder sehen und euer Herz soll sich freuen und eure Freude soll niemand von euch nehmen. Sehet mich an: Ich habe eine kleine Zeit Mühe und Arbeit gehabt und habe großen Trost funden. Ich will euch trösten, wie Einen seine Mutter tröstet.
You now have sorrow; but I shall see you again and your heart shall rejoice and your joy no one shall take from you. Behold me: I have had for a little time toil and torment, and now have found great consolation. I will console you, as one is consoled by his mother.
VI. Denn wir haben hie keine bleibende Statt, sondern die zukünftige suchen wir. Siehe, ich sage euch ein Geheimnis: Wir werden nicht alle entschlafen, wir werden aber alle verwandelt werden; und dasselbige plötzlich, in einem Augenblick, zu der Zeit der letzten Posaune.
Denn es wird die Posaune schallen, und die Toten werden auferstehen unverweslich, und wir werden verwandelt werden. Dann wird erfüllet werden das Wort, das geschrieben steht: Der Tod ist verschlungen in den Sieg. Tod, wo ist dein Stachel? Hölle, wo ist dein Sieg?
Herr, du bist würdig zu nehmen Preis und Ehre und Kraft, denn du hast alle Dinge geschaffen, und durch deinen Willen haben sie.
For we have here no continuing city, but we seek the one to come. Behold, I show you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we all shall be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the sound of the last trombone.
For the trombone shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. Then the word that is written shall be fulfilled: Death is swallowed up in victory. O Death, where is thy sting? O Hell, where is thy victory?
Lord, You are worthy to receive all praise, honor, and glory, for You have created all things, and through your will they have been and are created.
VII. Selig sind die Toten, die in dem Herrn sterben, von nun an. Ja der Geist spricht, daß sie ruhen von ihrer Arbeit; denn ihre Werke folgen ihnen nach
Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord from henceforth. Yea, says the spirit, that they rest from their labors, and their works shall follow them.
Joni Prado, soprano and associate professor of vocal studies at California State University, Fullerton, earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in vocal arts at the University of Southern California, where her areas of specialty included vocal performance, choral music, music education, and jazz studies. She holds a Master of Music degree in vocal performance from California State University, Fullerton, and a Bachelor of Arts in music and psychology from California Baptist University. Teaching areas include private vocal studies, foreign language diction, song literature, vocal pedagogy, and leading vocal workshops. Prado performs throughout the Southern California region in concert and recital settings. She has performed with world-renowned ensembles and conductors such as the Pacific Symphony with Maestro Carl St. Clair, the Los Angeles Philharmonic with conductor Esa Pekka Salonen, and the Hollywood Bowl orchestra under the direction of John Mauceri. She has also been privileged to share the stage with operatic singers Alessandra Marc, Richard Margison, Rodney Gilfrey, and Andrea Bocelli. Her most recent operatic role was the lead role of the Duchess in Powder Her Face by Thomas Adés, a role appointed by the composer himself.
In addition to teaching and performing, Prado is also in demand as an adjudicator, choral clinician, and vocal coach for local school programs and festivals. Earlier this year, she presented a session at CASMEC entitled “Showing, Not Telling: The Effectiveness of Non-Verbal Communication in Choral Conducting.” She has also assisted on several recording projects as a vocal coach and vocal producer at Skywalker Ranch and Sony Pictures Studios and continues connecting with singers and educators nationwide through various singing and speaking engagements.
Christopher Peterson is a teacher, conductor, choral clinician, author, editor, and choral arranger of music and books published in the United States and around the world. In his over thirty years as a music educator he has taught in elementary, middle school, high school, church, community, festival, and collegiate settings. He earned the Bachelor of Science in Music Education from the University of Southern Maine in choral and instrumental music education and taught music for nine years in the public schools of Maine. He earned the Master of Music in Choral Conducting degree at the University of Maine, and the Doctor of Philosophy in Music Education and Choral Conducting at Florida State University.
At CSUF Peterson trains and mentors undergraduate and graduate choral music educators and conductors and directs the Concert Choir and the Singing Titans Chorus. In May of 2019 he was honored as the University-wide recipient of the CSUF Carol Barnes Award for Excellence in Teaching. He has served as State Choral Representative and Southern Section President for the California Music Educators Association (CMEA), as well as the Western Division Representative for the National Association for Music Education’s (NAfME) Council for Choral Education. He has also served the California Choral Directors Association in various offices, including CCDA President and is the current Vice President. His collegiate textbook “RESONANCE: The ART of the Choral Music Educator” is published by Pavane and is being used across the United States to train future choral music teachers and conductors.
Peterson has been invited to teach, judge, and conduct choirs in more than thirty US states, five Canadian Provinces, and nine countries including China, England, Sweden, Japan, Germany, New Zealand, and Holland, and has conducted All-State Choirs across the nation including Maine, North Carolina, Oregon, Wisconsin, and California. He also holds the position of Director of Music at Irvine United Congregational Church in Irvine, CA. His “hobby” for many decades has been enjoying singing barbershop harmony, and he is a BHS District Quartet Champion baritone, a top-five medalist chorus director, and a four-time gold medalist with the Masters of Harmony, nine-time International Men’s Chorus Champions of the Barbershop Harmony Society.
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