Product Description
Brahms composed Ein deutsches Requiem, nach Worten der heiligen Schrift, his longest composition, during the period, 1865-1868. For the libretto, he eschewed the Latin text of the Roman Catholic Requiem Mass, using instead verses he chose from the German-language Luther Bible.
Thus, it was "A German Requiem." The Roman Churchs Requiem Mass begins with prayers for the dead; Brahms, on the other hand, chose to console the living and framed his first movement around the second of the Beatitudes, "Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted."
The first movement is, indeed, comforting, filled with warmth and beauty. This arrangement retains Brahms original choral parts and translates the orchestral accompaniment to the five quietly playing brass instruments. The audio sample was digitally created, so the choral part of the arrangement can be heard but without words.
This arrangement was completed in 2017 and runs about 10 minutes, 32 seconds. The arranger, Les Smith, can be reached at lessmith61@bellsouth.net. For more arrangements by Les, enter "Sweetwater Brass Press" (without the quotation marks) in the search box. (Also, purchase of this piece entitles you to your choice of another of his arrangements at no charge; send a copy of your purchase receipt directly to him at lessmith61@bellsouth.net.)
This product was created by a member of ArrangeMe, Hal Leonard's global self-publishing community of independent composers, arrangers, and songwriters. ArrangeMe allows for the publication of unique arrangements of both popular titles and original compositions from a wide variety of voices and backgrounds.