Brahms’s moving masterpiece *Ein deutsches Requiem*

Brahms' *Ein deutsches Requiem*
In the nineteenth century, composers of requiems typically used the traditional Latin requiem text and focused on the deceased. Brahms took a different approach. For*Ein deutsches Requiem*, he selected passages from Luther’s translation of the Bible that address themes such as grief, transience, and consolation. Instead of a prayer for the dead, Brahms emphasizes the emotions of the bereaved, the living. That explains why he would have preferred to call his composition ‘Ein menschliches Requiem’.

The Groot Omroepkoor and the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra
Ein deutsches Requiemis one of the Groot Omroepkoor’s favorite choral works; it is the only choir in the Netherlands that performs the major choral-symphonic repertoire at a professional level. This time, the comforting requiem will be performed together with the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by the Lithuanian conductor Giedre Šlekyte. The soloists are French soprano Elsa Benoit, who studied at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, and baritone Raoul Steffani, winner of the 2023 Dutch Music Prize.