Brahms: A German Requiem (Cambridge Music Handbooks)

Cambridge Music Handbooks

by Michael Musgrave

The German Requiem is Brahms' largest work, written for orchestra, chorus and two soloists. It made Brahms an international name, and the scope and technique of the composition brought him not only a new audience but also comparison with Bach and Beethoven. In the past fifty years it has found new critical support as an original and progressive work. This detailed study examines its history and controversial reception, analyzes its textual and musical structure, and discusses performing traditions from Brahms' time until the present.

Genres: Music

112 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Carol]

This short volume on Ein Deutsches Requiem is packed full of great information, including a surprisingly exhaustive analysis of the piece, given the book's length. The only problem is that, with so much information packed into about 80 pages, this book is dense and not easy reading. I also thought that Musgrave did not make as good a use of musical examples and diagrams as he could have. Perhaps I would have enjoyed this book more if I had had the luxury of reading it with an open score and a recording to hand.

[Andrew Marr]

A very helpful book for deepening my understanding of this masterpiece, parts of which I sang as a chorister when I was a boy. It is amazing to become all the more aware of what a deeply unified and visionary work this is.