Johannes Brahms – A German Requiem

June 5, 2025

Johannes Brahms – A German Requiem Program

The Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company presented Johannes Brahms: “A German Requiem,” with chorus, soloists, and orchestra under the direction of Dr. Randal Buikema.

The piece was performed at Normandale Lutheran Church in Edina, and was described in the program as follows:

Johannes Brahms (1833-97) never said definitively why he composed his German Requiem, but he sketched out one theme in 1854, during the final illness of his mentor and great friend Robert Schumann, and completed six movements after Brahms’ own beloved mother died in 1865. A rapturously received 1868 performance of this version for mixed chorus, baritone soloist, and full orchestra assured Brahms’ fame. Afterward, he added a soprano solo (now the fifth movement) as a memorial to his mother. The final shape of the piece mirrors the arch-like structure of much of J.S. Bach’s music, which Brahms admired: quiet, consoling Movements 1 and 7; drama in Movements 2 and 6; soloists joining the chorus in Movements 3, 5, and 6; and a gentle central choral Movement 4 evoking a home in Heaven.

The musical tradition that Brahms inherited from Mozart and Berlioz was to memorialize the dead by setting the Latin-language text of the Roman Catholic requiem mass. While he was knowledgeable about Martin Luther’s German-language translation of the Bible, Brahms was religiously agnostic, considering himself a humanist. In fact, he wanted to name the piece “A Human Requiem.” For his text, he started from scratch, choosing passages from both the Old and New Testaments that address universal concerns for those left behind: the fragility of life, the inevitability of death, the pain of grief, and, with patience, eventual acceptance and even joy. The first words the listener hears are “Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted.” The closing words are “Blessed are they who die in the Lord, blessed, blessed.”

Brahms set the words in German to make them accessible to his listeners. This evening’s performance in English accords with Brahms’ use of the vernacular.

Edie Stern

Participants

Conductor

Dr. Randal Buikema

Chorus and Soloists

Sopranos

Maggie Benham, Katelyn Breen, Kelly Danger, Kat Felicis Ioco, Amanda Jensen, Mary Kettlewell, Therese Kulas, Laura LeVoir, Anna Maher, Mallory Rabehl, Molly Schindler, Karen Toebe, Angela Walberg

Altos

Janice Barbee, Mary Benbenek, Claire Bias, Willow Gerhard, Alice Golter, Mary Gregory, Liza Hartshorn, Shawn Holt, Holly MacDonald, Lisa Sinclair, Rhea Sullivan, Lara Trujillo, Natalie Wishcop, Sarah Zuber

Tenors

Joe Andrews, Scott Azbill-Salisbury, Robert Banks, Don Barbee, Tom Berg, Jonathan Flory, Ron Jay, Trenton Johnson, Matt Polum, Bryan Reed, Graham Remple, Lowell Rice, Anthony Rohr, Seth Tychon Steidl

Basses

Adam Arnold, John Azbill-Salisbury, Waldyn Benbenek, Scott Benson, Scott Gorman, Ryan Johnson, Nick Menzhuber, John Orbison, Richard Rames, Niko Simmons, Mike Tober, Rick Treece, Sam Vinitsky, Trevor Woggon

Orchestra

Violin 1

Victoria Athmann – Concert Master

Sue Bennefeld, Maya Gitch, Beth Henningsen, Amy Letson, Suki Sun

Violin 2

Karen Kozak, Lorine Menzhuber – Orchestra Manager, Betsy Lofgren, Karen Neinstadt, Mackenzie Powell

Violia

Louis Berg-Arnold, Ann Bur, Laura Bidgood, Teresa Mager, Aija Ronis

Cello

Aaron Barrett , David Downing, Sara Hertz, Holmberg Kimble, Hayley Zacheis

Bass

Jason Anderson, Ann Marie McIntire

Flute

Suzanne Benson, Joseph Wypych

Piccolo

Nancy Hagfors

Oboe

Debbie Clapp, Donna Votino

Clarinet

Louise Buckley, Brian Krysinski

Bassoon

Elizabeth Brandt, Gene Scholtens

Contra Bassoon

Alice Anderson

French Horn

Mike Engh, Ken Lovely, Bob Olsen, Cristina Werling

Trumpet

Pete Berg, Bob Zobal

Trombone

Jason Adriano, John Herman, Charles Watt

Tuba

Aaron Rolloff

Timpani

Emily Curran

Keyboard / Harp

Jean Orbison Van Heel