Johannes Brahms had suffered a fair amount of loss at the time he embarked on his Requiem in 1865. His mother died in February of that year, and the death of his friend, Robert Schumann in 1856 also continued to resonate.

On today’s Noontime Concert on The Classical Network, we’ll hear a performance of Brahms’ “Ein deutsches Requiem” by the New Jersey Master Chorale under the direction of William P. Gorton. Soprano Andrea Lauren Brown and baritone Timothy Renner will join organist Matt Smith and members of The Philadelphia Orchestra. The concert took place at Haddonfield United Methodist Church this past April.

Brahms assembled the texts of the Requiem himself, eschewing the standardized Latin of the Roman Catholic Requiem Mass in favor of the vernacular German of the Luther Bible. He forgoes anything suggestive of terror, wrath, and hellfire, or even redemption through the sacrifice of Christ, to arrive at something more tender and humane. The modifications promote an atmosphere of solace and hope.

Brahms may have titled his work “Ein deutsches Requiem” – “A German Requiem” – but there was nothing nationalistic intended by the designation. Rather he was suggesting something more direct and at the same time universal. In fact, he commented on one occasion that he would just as happily have called it “A Human Requiem.” The work is as much for the living, those who mourn, as it is for those who have passed.

The second movement incorporates material composed as early as 1854, the year of Robert Schumann’s mental collapse and attempted suicide, when Brahms moved to Düsseldorf to be with Clara Schumann and her children. Brahms presented Clara with a four-hand piano version of the Requiem in 1866.

Friday marks the 200th anniversary of Clara’s birth. We’ve been sampling some of her music during the course of my air shifts this month and celebrating the legacy of women composers in general. We’ll certainly continue in that vein this afternoon. Among today’s featured works will be the Piano Quintet No. 1 by Grazyna Bacewicz and the Violin Concerto of Margaret Brouwer.

First, following close on the heels of the Requiem broadcast, we’ll enjoy a symphony dedicated to Brahms by his friend, Schumann student Albert Dietrich.

I hope you’ll join me for “Ein deutsches Requiem” and more. In the end is our beginning, from 12 to 4 p.m. EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

MÉNAGE À TRIPTYCH: Shoehorned between two Schumanns