Brahms Requiem: The Text

​Selig sind, die da Leid tragen, denn sie sollen getröstet werden.
Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.
 
From its very conception, this masterwork was meant to be fundamentally different from the traditional Requiem mass. [...]

Johannes Brahms set out to compose a work for the living who yet remain, rather than the dead who have passed. Rather than “Grant them eternal rest, O lord,” or in Latin “Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine,” the work opens with the above line from the Beatitudes. The message is clear right in the first line: to comfort. And the entire work is an emotional journey of catharsis rooted in this text. Brahms assembled the complete libretto himself, taking text from Luther’s Bible—although what’s referenced in the back of the Peters Edition choral scores, is a bit inaccurate and should be as follows:
 
I. Matthew 5:4, Psalm 126:5,6
II. 1 Peter 1:24, James 5:7, Isaiah 35:10
III. Psalm 39:4-7, Solomon 3:1
IV. Psalm 84:2-4
V. John 16:22, Ecclesiastes 51:27, Isaiah 66:13
VI. 1 Corinthians 15:51-55, Revelation 4:11
VII. Revelation 14:13
 
As you can see, the mass of sentences is very thoughtfully constructed, such that reading each movement as a single passage flows with the same narrative as many of the familiar psalms—even the largest intact psalm passage is that from Psalm 84 and it comes as the pivotal middle movement of the work.
 
A major consequence of this free selection of text is the variety of interpretations it stimulated. It was not immune to the 19th century temptation to find specific fanciful references in place of musical allusion. Brahms was, of course, in opposition to Wagner in the debate of music for music’s sake in contrast with music for narrative. Impressions of the opening with tranquil procession toward a solemn chapel, or figuratively, taking the pedal point of the fugue in the third movement as symbolizing the firmness of faith, etc. To bring up the title itself, and I know many of us already know this, but with the vernacular of German Brahms intended for the work to be more accessible, a German requiem. But perhaps more significant is the ‘a’ or ‘Ein’. Brahms here points out that this is not ‘the’ definitive German requiem, and seeks to offer just one among many possible approaches to understanding and grappling with the ultimate mystery of life and accepting the inescapable tragedy of our mortality. Brahms was not the first to compose a requiem in German, but those that came before were translations of the original mass text. In fact, some of these verses had been set in German (Schütz is probably the most notable here; his treatment of ‘Wie lieblich’ is just terrific), but Brahms was the first to place them together in a long form work. At every turn he places grief, faith, and joy beside each other, and while the work is notably lacking in theology, the profound literary care for the Christian scripture cannot go unnoticed—the spirit lies in the selection of the text, not just the treatment.
 
Without getting into compositional structure too much, the work in its completed form is seven movements, with the famous “How Lovely is Thy Dwelling Place” anthem as its center (Brahms added in the fifth movement after the premiere), and within this compositional symmetry also lies symmetry in the subject of the text and tone: Where movement 1 says, “they shall be comforted,” 5 says, “as …a mother comforts.” Where 2/3 and 6/7 deal with the inevitability of change (life and death), 1 begins with “blessed are the living” and 7 says “blessed are the dead.” I bring this up briefly, because while the message is clear to us in its English translation, linguistically the German is ever clearer:
 
I. Selig sind die da Leid tragen…
VII. Selig sind die Toten…
 
And this brings me to my central point of this our first discussion of the Brahms: the German language itself, and as it concerns English speaking singers. As those who sang our terrific Messiah run this fall, I do not take diction lightly. Singing in English is very different from how we speak in English. Singing in a foreign language actually works in our favor as a large community choir: where we are not spending time unlearning bad habits we are spending more time learning the fundamental rules of the language, and when it comes to English versus basically all other Germanic languages, English is the far more complicated tongue. In vowels alone, there are far fewer vowel shapes in German, especially when it comes to diphthongs. And while the rules of consonants are a bit different, like when p, b, d, and g sounds are actually as printed, they are rules that are never broken. For example, take the famous “How Lovely” text, and for sopranos and tenors, take the vowels by themselves in English then in German (once we’ve learned it if you aren’t already familiar at all), and you will find the German vowels much more frequently tall and open and therefore easier to sing in the upper register and easier to sing in tune. Likewise, take the opening of the work, and in comparison, the ‘t’ sound ending of sind is more percussive then the ‘d’ of blessed, and although you would think that makes it less lyric, it actually makes the line much clearer, and by giving more duration to the vowel, beautifully lyric.
 
Many may not realize, but Brahms composed this before any of his symphonies, actively putting off symphonic compositions due to the mythical ‘shadow of Beethoven,’ and yet this requiem is deeply, romantically, symphonic. While Brahms is very much not an opera composer, the text of this work drives a profoundly moving dramatic narrative. I ask that you take your time with this work, whether you know the German or not. The diction will come, as it did with Messiah, but I hope that you will come to this music with as much enthusiasm as you can. This really is some of the most beautiful choral music ever written, and performing it provides a chance to continue to grow as dramatic artists.