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A German Requiem by Johannes Brahms was first performed (minus the 7th movement) on Good Friday 1868 in Bremen Cathedral. It was and remains a truly revolutionary choral work. It was the first major choral requiem not to be set to the traditional Catholic Latin texts. Instead of offering prayers for the souls of the dead, Brahms chose texts from the Lutheran Bible that emphasise offering comfort to the living. For instance, this is a translation of the text of the first movement.
“Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted. They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” (Matthew 5:4 and Psalm 126:5–6).
It was also a work somewhat maligned and misunderstood. Consider this invective by George Bernard Shaw, written in 1890
“It is so execrably and ponderously dull that the very flattest of funerals would seem like a ballet, or at least a danse macabre, after it.”
Needless to say, I completely disagree with this pompous statement. This workshop will focus on, as ever, enabling all participants to feel they can sing the music better and get more out of the experience, as well as how best to draw the inherent humanity and joy out of this wonderful music. To aid us in this, we will be singing in English.
At around 11.30am we’ll stop for coffee/tea and home-made cakes, have a rest and chat with our fellow participants, and then sing on to around 1.00pm.
Please note we are singing in English, which requires that we use the same edition to sing the same translation. I AM USING THE NEW NOVELLO EDITION.
Timings -
9.30am - Registration
10.00am - Start
1.00pm - Finish
COST - £17.50 or £20.00 (if requiring music hire)
Edition - New Novello Edition (English)
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Event venue
St Martin's Church, Ross Rd, Hereford., Hereford, United Kingdom
Tickets
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