ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
PHILIPPE HERREWEGHE
Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791):
Maurerische Trauermusik KV477
Joseph HAYDN (1732-1809):
Symphony No.44 ‘Trauer’
Johannes BRAHMS (1833-1897):
Ein deutsches Requiem op.45
Dorothea Röschmann _soprano_
Matthias Goerne _bass_
Collegium Vocale Gent
Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra
Yannick Nézet-Séguin
*Ein deutsches Requiem*
Opinions about ‘Ein Deutsches Requiem’, the latest composition of the then 33-year-old Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) were unanimously positive, even at the first performances. The famous Viennese music critic Eduard Hanslick went a step further and wrote ‘Since Bach’s B Minor Mass and Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, nothing has been written of this kind that can come close to Brahms’ “deutsches Requiem” ’. The list of immortal compositions in Hanslick’s comparison is not a coincidence. Besides the evident musical richness, each of these pieces also simultaneously carries an underlying message of overarching humanity. Brahms carefully selected the Bible fragments for ‘his’ requiem. The religious context is a foundation, but not a goal. ‘Ein Deutsches Requiem’ is not a mournful piece, but music for consolation; music for the living!