About this Event
Johannes Brahms' profoundly moving Ein Deutsches Requiem ('A German Requiem') has been a much-loved fixture in the choral repertoire ever since its first performance in Leipzig in 1869. Rather than setting the standard words of the Requiem Mass Brahms instead set a series of biblical extracts that reflect the human aspects of loss and consolation rather than the religious.
Normally heard in the version for full orchestra, for this concert the Chester Festival Chorus, under the direction of their musical director Ellie Slorach, will be performing the version that Brahms created for piano duet that brings out the more intimate, chamber-like features of the work without sacrificing the majestic choral fugues that punctuate the work, making it perfectly suited to this performance in the Wesley Church Centre.
The choir will also be performing A Glimpse of the Light by contemporary composer Rory Wainwright Johnston, first written to accompany a performance of the Mozart Requiem in 2019 that takes its inspiration from the Robert Frost's poem 'A Passing Glimpse' to form, in the composer's words, 'a musical glimpse of the things beyond our comprehension'.
Rory Wainwright Johnston - A Glimpse of the Light
Johannes Brahms - Ein Deutsches Requiem (piano four hand version)
Chester Festival Chorus
Piano - Graham Eccles and Ben Attfield
Soprano - Elspeth Piggott
Baritone - William Kyle
Conductor - Ellie Slorach
Wesley Church Centre, St John Street, Chester
30th June, 2024 at 5pm
Tickets £18 (unreserved) available via Eventbrite and on the door
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
The Wesley Church Centre, Saint John Street, Chester, United Kingdom
GBP 18.00