Johannes Brahms Worked on a German

Notes on the Program By James M. Keller, Program Annotator, The Leni and Peter May Chair Ein deutsches Requiem (A German Requiem), Op. 45 Johannes Brahms ohannes Brahms worked on A German But if the 33-year-old Brahms was drawn JRequiem over many years, unveiling it preternaturally to the topic of death, there sequentially as a three-movement piece (in 1867), a six-movement piece (in 1868), IN SHORT and ultimately a seven-movement piece (in Born: May 7, 1833, in Hamburg, Germany 1869). He wrote it without the impetus of a commission. He had nothing to gain from Died: April 3, 1897, in Vienna, Austria it apart from articulating what he want- Work composed: principally in 1866, ed and needed to express. To do that, he although Brahms had begun it as early as had to invent a format that was practically 1861, and he brought it to its final form in 1868 without precedent in the history of requi- World premiere: first three movements ems. His would not be a liturgical requiem premiered December 1, 1867, in Vienna, with using the preordained Latin text of the Ro- Johann Herbeck conducting the Gesellschaft man Catholic Mass for the Dead. As the title für Musikfreunde, baritone Rudolf Panzer, page made clear, his was a German requiem, soloist. First performance of six movements, not a Latin one; in naming it thus, he referred on April 10, 1868, in the Cathedral of Bremen, to the language of its text and nothing more. with the composer conducting, baritone In 1867 Brahms remarked in a letter to Carl Julius Stockhausen, soloist. “Ihr habt nur Traurigkeit” premiered independently, on Martin Reinthaler, the organist of the Bremen September 17, 1868, at Zurich’s Tonhalle, with Cathedral, “I will admit that I could happily Friedrich Hegar conducting, soprano Ida omit the ‘German’ and simply say ‘Human.’ ” It Suter-Weber, soloist. The final, seven- is significant, however, that he did not movement version, premiered February 18, name his piece simply Deutsches Requiem, 1869, in Leipzig, by the Gewandhaus as he could have. The word “ein,” little ar- Orchestra, Carl Reinecke, conductor, soprano ticle that it is, packs a wallop of meaning Emilie Bellingrath-Wagner and baritone Franz here. By naming his work Ein deutsches Re- Krückl, soloists quiem (A German Requiem) Brahms makes New York Philharmonic premiere: March clear that this is one of many possible ways 30, 1912, with Walter Damrosch conducting to remember the dead: where a Latin requiem the New York Symphony (which merged with could be expected to follow the rules of the New York Philharmonic in 1928), soprano its tradition, a German requiem involves Florence Hindle and baritone Hamilton Earle, personal choice. soloists, with the Oratorio Society of New York It might graciously be said that Brahms Most recent New York Philharmonic was mature for his age. Certainly the com- performance: March 8, 2016, Christoph von poser who would write the Liebeslieder Dohnányi, conductor, with Camilla Tilling, Waltzer was capable of charm and airiness, soprano, Matthias Goerne, baritone, and New but in general his musical demeanor tend- York Choral Artists ed toward the serious and even the morose. Estimated duration: ca. 65 minutes FEBRUARY 2019 | 25 were more direct impetuses as well. Robert ect with greater focus. The requiem, which had Schumann, who had served as his mentor, been sitting on the back burner for four years, had inscribed in his own “project book” suddenly commanded his attention. Gradual- the idea of writing a German requiem, and ly the pieces fell into place, yielding what has he may well have mentioned the idea to been recognized as one of the most extraordi- Brahms at some point. Schumann’s linger- nary spiritual compositions ever written. ing descent into madness and his eventual After the piece was unveiled in its death, in 1856, had a profound impact on his six-movement form, Reinthaler urged acolyte, and the roots of A German Requiem Brahms to include a further movement may have been nourished by this loss. to rectify what he considered a fault: In 1865 Brahms was hit by a second death, that it never mentioned that redemp- that of his mother, a simple, honorable soul tion could be achieved only through Je- whom he adored. Although Brahms had al- sus, or, as he said, “the work lacks the ready worked on A German Requiem, his whole point on which the Christian re- mother’s death spurred him toward the proj- ligion turns, the sacrificial death of Sources and Inspirations Brahms assembled his text for A German Requiem from the Bible, drawing passages from the Old Testament, the Apocrypha, and the New Testament. These form a new literary creation, and con- vey new meanings. One interesting point is that Brahms’s text seems crafted to avoid any direct mention of Christ. This omission seems to have disturbed the Bremen Cathedral organist, Carl Martin Reinthaler, who wrote to the composer: You cover not merely religious, but essentially Christian ground in the work. The second num- ber already alludes to the prophecy of the Lord’s return, and in the last but one the mystery of the resurrection of the dead is treated in detail. The central point around which everything turns in the consciousness of the Christian is, however, absent. “If Christ be not risen then is our faith vain,” says St. Paul. All the same you say: “Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth” which can only mean: since the accomplishment of Christ’s work of redemption. To this, Brahms replied: I avoided with full knowledge and intention such passages as St. John’s Gospel, Chapter 3, verse 16 [“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”]. On the other hand, I have no doubt included much because I am a musician, because I required it, because I can neither argue away nor strike out a “from henceforth” from my venerable poets. Detail of Brahms’s handwritten text for A German Requiem 26 | NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC Christ.” Brahms was not interested in A Friend’s Assessment Reinthaler’s theological objection, but he did end up inserting a movement, the lyri- After she was presented with the score of A cal “Ihr habt nur Traurigkeit,” in which the German Requiem, in December of 1866, Clara solo soprano makes her only appearance. Schumann — Robert’s widow and Brahms’s Brahms’s first English biographer, Flor- close companion — wrote to the composer: ence May, related that he said that “when I am completely filled with your Requiem. writing [this movement] he had thought It is an immense piece that takes hold of of his mother,” an entirely credible one’s whole being like very little else. The assertion given the text Brahms extracted profound seriousness, combined with all the from Isaiah: “I will comfort you, as one magic and poetry, has a wonderful, deeply whom his mother comforts.” moving and soothing effect. The work begins with one of the Beati- tudes: “Selig sind, die da Leid tragen, denn complete. Perhaps more than any other musi- sie sollen getröstet werdet” (“Blessed are they cal work, this requiem for the departed offers that mourn: for they shall be comforted”). consolation for those who remain behind. The word “Tod” (“Death”) is not invoked until the penultimate movement, and Instrumentation: two flutes and piccolo, the departed are really the subject only two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons and in the work’s conclusion. “Selig sind die contrabassoon, four horns, two trumpets, Toten” (“Blessed are the dead”) sing the three trombones, tuba, timpani, two harps, sopranos at the opening of that final move- organ, and strings, plus a four-part mixed ment, their benediction making the circle chorus, and soprano and baritone soloists. Precious Melancholy Johannes Brahms was 33 years old in 1866, when he focused his efforts on what would become Ein deutsches Requiem (A German Requiem). The idea of composing such a piece had already been on his mind for some time, and he drafted sections of the opening movements as early as 1861, when he was 28. What, one might wonder, would inspire a 28-year-old (or a 33-year-old, for that matter) to invest years of effort writing a requiem whose somber subject would seem out of place in a mind so young? Pondering this question, the German musicolo- gist Ulrich Dibelius drew up a list of composers of famous requiems and found that most were not at- tracted to the idea until “after the midlife crisis.” Only Berlioz and Mozart, 34 and 35, respectively, when they penned their Requiems, come close to Brahms’s age, and in both cases they were goad- ed into their projects by lucrative commissions. Brahms, ca. 1866 More normal are the ages of such requiem composers as Saint-Saëns (42), Ligeti (42), Fauré (43), Duruflé (45), Dvorˇ ák (49), and Verdi (61). FEBRUARY 2019 | 27 Text and Translation Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem (A German Requiem) Chorus Selig sind, die da Leid tragen, Blessed are they that mourn: denn sie sollen getröstet werden. for they shall be comforted. — Matthew 5:4 Die mit Tränen säen, They that sow in tears werden mit Freuden ernten. shall reap in joy. Sie gehen hin und weinen, He that goes forth and weeps, und tragen edlen Samen, bearing precious seed, und kommen mit Freuden shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, und bringen ihre Garben. bringing his sheaves with him. — Psalm 126:5–6 Chorus Denn alles Fleisch es ist wie Gras For all flesh is as grass, und alle Herrlichkeit des Menschen and all the glory of man wie des Grases Blumen.

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