Carus-Verlag publications – serie

Since its first complete performance in 1868 in the Cathedral of Bremen, Brahms's Ein deutsches Requiem is, without question, one of the key works in the history of the choral canon. The reputation of the work is based not only on its unusually concentrated musical structure, but also on the original conception of the text: Brahms assembled important passages from both the Old and New Testaments in Luther's translation so that thoughts on sorrow and consolation would clearly refer to one another. In contrast to many other choral works of the 19th century Brahms places the choir, the voice of the community, in the centre of this interdenominational celebration of the dead.

Mendelssohn describes his 1840 work, Hymn of Praise, to his friend Klingemann as "a 'symphony for chorus and orchestra'... First are the three symphonic movements, to which 12 choral and solo movements are added;... from the words of the Psalms, 'Everything which has breath, Praise the Lord'; one understands that first the instruments give praise in their own way, and then the chorus and the individual voices."

Among Verdi's many compositions, as a work of sacred music, the Requiem remains unique. It was composed as a musical memorial for the Italian national poet Allessandro Manzoni, deeply admired by Verdi, and was first performed on the first anniversary of his death on 22 May 1874 in Milan Cathedral. The exploration of many extremes places Verdi's tonal language with musical means, wholly in the service of a dramatized liturgy. The edition is based on the autograph as the primary source and makes accessible one of the most important requiem settings of the 19th century in a modern scholarly edition. In addition to the musical text the score contains a detailed foreword in three languages, a critical report with information on the source situation, the edition and the various readings. The complete performance material will be available for sale.