A German Requiem to Words of the Holy Scriptures, Opus 45 was composed by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) between the years 1865 and 1868. It is Brahms’ longest and grandest musical statement, comprised of seven movements. The work is said to have been inspired by Brahms’ mother’s death in 1865 and perhaps secondarily by the death of his close friend Robert Schumann.

Although the Requiem Mass in the Roman Catholic liturgy begins with prayers for the dead, A German Requiem focuses on the living with the well-known verse from the Beatitudes, “Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted,” a theme repeated throughout the piece. Almost all the movements connect different Bible verses, and the requiem both begins and ends with the word blessed.
The Jefferson Choral Society presents the Iain Farrington arrangement of Brahms’ A German Requiem in English scored for chorus, one baritone and one soprano soloist, plus an eight-piece chamber orchestra.