Johannes Brahms
A German Requiem

Make Plans to Attend the Concert with Family and Friends!

All are welcome and no reservations are necessary. Please join us in the NPC Sanctuary at 5:00 pm on Sunday, April 13. Can’t attend in person? Please join us on our Watch page to view online.

Our presentation will be striking for its performance of the legendary Robert Shaw’s English translation of the original German. In this we'll be in good company, as Brahms himself chose, not Latin, but his own vernacular tongue to convey the passages he chose and set from Holy Scripture. His deliberate choice of German and our choice of English offer immediacy of expression and comprehension to singers and audience alike. Brahms would applaud our commitment to intelligibility in choosing Shaw’s sage and meticulous rendering.
We’ll also use James Vail’s transcription of the woodwinds and brass parts into the organ.
This will help by reducing the sheer size of the orchestra without onerously sacrificing symphonic breadth. Coupling Brahms’ gripping string and timpani parts as they are to the powerful voice of NPC’s Hopkins Organ promises to do justice to Brahms’ grand conception and design.