This edition of Brahms' greatest, most ambitious vocal work is reprinted from the definitive edition of the composer's works, prepared by Breitkopf & Härtel of Leipzig. Inexpensive but sturdily constructed to provide years of pleasurable use, this full score combines all the musical parts in a clear, readable format, with wide margins, large noteheads, and many other helpful features. Brahms conducted the first major performance of the German Requiem in Bremen Cathedral in April 1868. The occasion — attended by many distinguished musicians, among them Clara Schumann — provided the 34-year-old composer with his first great public success. Scored for mixed chorus, solo voices, and full orchestra, the Requiem reflects Brahms' virtuosic grasp of nineteenth-century vocal technique as well as the polyphonic vocal traditions of the previous three centuries. Above all, it radiates Brahms' stalwart individuality, technical mastery, and stirring emotional appeal, which were soon to secure his unique position in the musical world. More than a century after its debut, this masterpiece of choral music is one of the most performed and recorded works in the repertoire of religious music. Many composers--Mozart, Verdi, Durufle, Faure--have written settings of the requiem, the Roman Catholic mass for the dead, and the listener can find a score for every taste, from the bombastic to the reflective. In this 1865 composition, Johannes Brahms took a different tack. Instead of using the familiar texts of the Latin Mass, Brahms chose to write a German requiem with a decidedly evangelical tack. Using texts from the German translation of the Bible--beginning with a phrase from the Beatitudes and ending with the Revelation of St. John the Divine ("Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord …") Brahms created one of the most comforting works of its kind ever written. (There are few greater evocations of heavenly bliss than No. 4, the chorus sung in English as "How lovely is thy dwelling place.") You can see how he did it with this full orchestral score from Dover. Dover scores are short on bells and whistles--not to mention English translations--but if your primary interest is in the music and how it was put together, you will find this a valuable tool at a bargain price. This edition of Brahms' greatest, most ambitious vocal work is reprinted from the definitive edition of the composer's works, prepared by Breitkopf & Härtel of Leipzig. Inexpensive but sturdily constructed to provide years of pleasurable use, this full score combines all the musical parts in a clear, readable format, with wide margins, large noteheads, and many other helpful features. Brahms conducted the first major performance of the German Requiem in Bremen Cathedral in April 1868. The occasion—attended by many distinguished musicians, among them Clara Schumann—provided the 34-year-old composer with his first great public success. Scored for mixed chorus, solo voices, and full orchestra, the Requiem reflects Brahms' virtuosic grasp of nineteenth-century vocal technique as well as the polyphonic vocal traditions of the previous three centuries. Above all, it radiates Brahms' stalwart individuality, technical mastery, and stirring emotional appeal, which were soon to secure his unique position in the musical world. More than a century after its debut, this masterpiece of choral music is one of the most performed and recorded works in the repertoire of religious music. German-born composer Johannes Brahms (1833–97), an important figure of the Romantic era, spent most of his career at the forefront of the Viennese musical scene. A master of counterpoint, he wrote for piano, chamber ensembles, symphony orchestras, and voice.