Johannes Brahms A German Requiem op. 45 The idea

Johannes Brahms
A German Requiem op. 45
The idea of death, a constant companion to Protestants throughout their lives, is
also a characteristic feature of Johannes Brahms’ works. Brahms often chose the
»collective« tone of German Protestant music for his most personal confessions. For
instance, the death of Robert Schumann (1856) and his own mother (1865) gave
birth to his plan to write a requiem. This was not intended to be a Latin funeral
service »as usual«, however, and the non-liturgical texts selected by Brahms from
Luther’s Bible translation convey a different message. While the focal point of the
traditional requiem is the terrifying vision of the Last Judgment (»Dies Irae«), the
emphasis in Brahms’ »German Requiem« shifts to consolation for those still living.
Death is presented as a means of obtaining redemption at the end of life’s
pilgrimage – this conciliatory tone determines both the intellectual and the musical
structure of the work.
The first sketches for this composition date from 1861; the larger part of the music
was written in 1866. At that time, the work had only six movements and had its
premiere in this form in Bremen on April 10, 1868. Not until later did Brahms
compose the movement for soprano solo; the first complete performance was held
in Leipzig on February 18, 1869.
Brahms once mentioned that his composition was based on the chorale »Wer nur
den lieben Gott lässt walten« (»Who but permits God to prevail«), and this assertion
applies to both the stylistic roots as well as to the symmetrical structure of the
work. The first and last movements are related by similarities in words and music
(the conclusion of both movements uses the same motivic structure). The funeral
march in the second movement finds its counterpart in the sixth movement; and
the scoring of this latter for baritone solo with chorus in turn refers back to the third
movement. The ideas expressed in the gentle, idyllic tone of the fourth movement
are associated with the »So seid nun geduldig« (»Be patient therefore«) section of
the second movement, as they also are to the soprano solo in the fifth movement.
The »internal program« of the work, that is, the closely related ideas of suffering
and solace, is presented in the opening movement. The calm, acquiescent
introduction (»Selig sind, die da Leid tragen« – »Blessed are they that mourn«) is
contrasted with a section of a confident atmosphere (»werden mit Freuden ernten«
– »shall reap in joy«). The three-quarter meter and melodic line of the funeral
march in the second movement is related to the Romantic »march of the pilgrims «
style that appears in Richard Wagner’s »Tannhaeuser« and other works. The archaic
style of the motifs is based on the chorale »Wer nur den lieben Gott« (see above) as
well as the theme of a saraband by Brahms written in 1854; the first section –
where the funeral march takes on a milder coloration thanks to the lyric trio »So
seid nun geduldig« – is followed by a jubilant section (»Die Erlöseten des Herrn« –
»the ransomed of the Lord«).
In the third movement, the solo baritone formulates his brooding thoughts on
impermanence – rather as if he were a representative of a community. The high
point of the movement is the question »Nun Herr, wes soll ich mich trösten?« (»And
now, Lord, what wait I for?«), which is followed by a confident answer in the form of
a large-scale fugue (»Der Gerechten Seelen sind in Gottes Hand« – »But the souls
of the righteous are in the hand of God«) above a pedal point on »d«, rather like
some kind of illustration of steadfastness and security. The idyllic, »waltz-like«,
floating music of the fourth movement that follows forms a moment of rest; this
mood is continued in the fifth movement, in which the »celestial«, transparent
soprano solo promises a »reunion« with the deceased, rather as an answer to the
forlorn question of the baritone solo in the third movement.
The sixth movement is the dramatic climax of the work. After the beginning, which
resembles a funeral march, the baritone solo depicts the mysterious enigma of the
Resurrection. Here Brahms presents the threatening images of the »Day of
Judgment« as a determined struggle against death, and not as a terrifying vision.
Victory over impermanence unfolds in an exultant fugue (»Herr, du bist würdig« –
»Thou art worthy, O Lord«). The idea expressed in the final movement (»Selig sind
die Toten« – »Blessed are the dead«) leads back to that of the opening movement,
having found the way through doubting, brooding and mourning to sing once again
of salvation and solace.
Éva Pintér