In the first few days of February 1865, Johannes Brahms received a telegram from his brother, stating “If you want to see our Mother again, come at once.” He immediately left Vienna and arrived in Hamburg February 4th, but Christine Brahms had died of a stroke two days earlier. The loss of his mother was significant for Brahms, who relayed to Clara Schumann “God took my mother away as mercifully as possible. She had not changed at all and looked as sweet and kind as when she was alive.” After returning to Vienna, a friend visiting Brahms reported that he found Brahms at the piano playing Bach’s Goldberg Variations. Brahms cried while talking about his mother, although he never stopped playing. This death may very well have been the catalyst for Brahms to take on the colossal task of composing a requiem. Traditionally, a requiem is a religious, Catholic ceremony for the dead. Most musical settings of the requiem adhere to the strict liturgical framework and Latin text therein. In fact, the name requiem is taken from the introit of the Catholic mass: “Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine” (Give them eternal rest, O Lord). Brahms’ German Requiem takes a different approach, something that’s been described as reflecting his humanist and agnostic viewpoint. The work’s central message seems to be the very first and last phrases sung by the choir: “Selig sind, die da Leid tragen, denn sie sollen getröstet werden.” (Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted, from Matthew 5:4). Brahms’ work is aimed at giving comfort to the living as opposed to the dead. As a result, he set about creating a text that better reflected this perspective and chose passages from the German Luther Bible that fit his goals. Brahms explained, “As far as the text is concerned, I confess that I would gladly omit even the word German and instead use Human; also with my best knowledge and will I would dispense with places like John 3:16. On the other hand, I have chosen one thing or another because I am a musician, because I needed it, and because with my venerable authors I can’t delete or dispute anything.” The work might best be described as gloriously, profoundly gentle. At times violent and earth-shaking, at others sorrowful and contemplative, the ultimate takeaway is comfort. Perhaps this was originally for Brahms himself at the loss of a beloved parent, but it remains as a gift to us all. © Mathew Fuerst

2023's participating school choirs:
Abraham Lincoln High School
Bellevue West High School
Bennington High School
Creighton Prep High School
Millard South High School
Omaha North High School