Johannes Brahms: A German Requiem

Johannes Brahms: A German Requiem (Op. 45) Brahms opens his requiem with the words from the Sermon on the Mount: "Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted". With this the tone is set: Brahms wants to comfort the bereaved with his great work. And he wants to do it in his mother tongue - not in Latin, which was and is the usual language of a requiem. The common denominator of Brahms' choice of texts in the work's seven movements is comfort and consolation for the bereaved, as well as a prediction of life's victory over death. A German Requiem, which cemented the 35-year-old Brahms' position as one of the very greatest German composers of the age, is composed for soloists, choir and orchestra, but at this evening's concert the orchestra is formed by the large symphonic organ of Sct. Mortens Kirke, played by Christian Præstholm. The soloists are the soprano Marianne Heuer and the baritone Mikkel Baungaard Thomsen, and the large choral part is taken by a collaboration between Viborg Vokalensemble and Kammerkoret Dorimus. It is all led by the two choirs' regular conductors Maja Simonsen and Doris Kjærgaard. Admission to the concert is free. Programme: Brahms / A German Requiem, Op. 45