BRAHMS, JOHANNES. - Musician, b. in Hamburg on 7 May 1833, d. in Vienna on 3 Apr. 1897. Among his many compositions of a religious character (Ave Maria for chorus and orchestra, Funeral Song, for chorus and wind instruments, Marienlieder, for mixed chorus, Psalm 13 for chorus, various motets, a Mass in canon form, spiritual songs, organ music), famous is the German Requiem for soloists, chorus, and orchestra, op. 45, composed in Zurich after the death of his mother. This work, which has nothing to do with the liturgical Requiem of the Catholic Church, is a funeral cantata on a German text drawn from the Bible, and in its definitive form consists of 7 pieces which, through sorrow, trial, sin and redemption, sadness and hope, express faith’s longing for the joy of the universal resurrection.
BRAHMS, JOHANNES
BIBL.: C. Bellalgue, Un grand musicien conservateur: Le Requiem Allemand de J. B., in Revue des Deux Mondes, 5 (1898), pp. 933-44; E. Evans, Handbook of the Vocal Works of B., London 1912; P. Landormy, B., 2nd ed., Paris 1921; A. V. COHEN, HERMANN, J. B., Leipzig 1933; H. Kretzschmar Das deutsche Requiem, Leipzig [n. d.]. Luisa Cervelli
Cite this article
“BRAHMS, JOHANNES.” Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. III (1949), p. 30. Azione Romana digital edition, https://azioneromana.com/article/brahms-johannes.