ConcertPulse
Sir Simon Rattle
No hell, no Last Judgement, no wrath, no fear, no dread. Not even Jesus’ name is mentioned in this Requiem, which Brahms simply called “German.” Brahms dispenses with religious exaltation and, in a letter to Clara Schumann, refers to one of the pinnacles of his musical output as “the work of a human being.” And Brahms underlines its deeply human message through the use of words from the Sermon on the Mount in the opening measures: “Blessed are those who mourn / for they shall be comforted.” The work is intended for those seeking hope and light. While it may be a Mass for the dead, Brahms does not dedicate it to the deceased but rather to those who are left behind. Providing a fitting complement is Turnage’s Remembering, which was written after the untimely death of a musician friend’s son from cancer.