Today marks the 140th anniversary of the premiere of Brahms' magisterial work A German Requiem, op. 45 (Ein Deutsches Requiem) at the Bremen Cathedral. This work for chorus and orchestra was primarily composed from 1865 to 1867, with the fifth movement added in 1868. It is not considered a conventional requiem mass since it does not utilize the traditional Latin liturgy; it is based on passages from Martin Luther's translation of the Bible. Additionally, its outlook appears to console the mourners rather than concentrating on the dead.
The Library's various recordings of this work include soprano Maria Stader and baritone Otto Wiener, soprano Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau or soprano Dorothea Röschmann and baritone Thomas Quasthoff. For those interested in the life of Brahms, the Library has Hans Gal Johannes Brahms: His Work and Personality, Richard Specht's Johannes Brahms and Jan Swafford's Johannes Brahms: A Biography.