Tracklisting:

Johannes Brahms (1833–1897)
Ein deutsches Requiem op.45 (A German Requiem op.45)
Arrangement for 2 pianos by Brahms
1. Selig sind, die da Leid tragen (Blessed are they that mourn) [Chorus]
2. Denn alles Fleisch es ist wie Gras (For all flesh is as grass) [Chorus]
3. Herr, lehre doch mich (Lord, make me to know mine end) [Baritone & Chorus]
4. Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen (How lovely is thy dwelling place) [Chorus]
5. Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit (And ye now therefore have sorrow) [Soprano & Chorus]
6. Denn wir haben hie keine bleibende Statt (For here have we no lasting home) [Baritone & Chorus]
7. Selig sind die Toten (Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord) [Chorus]

This release sees the ever popular Choir of King’s College, Cambridge record Brahms’ German Requiem, in a rarely heard arrangement for two pianos and voices by the composer himself. The subject of much scholarly debate, the German Requiem is one of Brahms’s most accomplished works. Written following the death of his mother in 1865, A German Requiem is a sacred mass with libretto especially assembled by Brahms from the Protestant Lutheran bible. As a result of the growing popularity of the pianoforte in the nineteenth century, it was not uncommon for popular orchestral, choral – even operatic works to be transcribed or arranged for piano.

‘A German Requiem’ is performed by The Choir of King’s College, Cambridge and includes performances by EMI Debut pianists José Gallardo and Evngenia Rubinova and singers Susan Gritton and Hanno Müller. Stephen Cleobury has had a long association with the work – he sung the soprano solo as a chorister!