On March 8th and 10th the Western Reserve Chorale will present Brahms’ A German Requiem. The Requiem is about giving comfort to those who are grieving rather than placing focus on the departed. Brahms combined his own selections from the Lutheran German Bible as well as the Apocrypha rather than set the traditional setting of the Latin mass for the dead. These passages deliver a message of spiritual healing rather than one that is particularly religious. The score includes prominent roles for guest soprano and baritone soloists, Marian Vogel and Brian Keith Johnson respectively; and the chamber ensemble arrangement by Joachim Linckelmann maintains much of the integral orchestral timbres while not requiring the forces of a full orchestra.

The WRC looks forward to presenting this masterwork in its original German to audiences on both east and west sides of Cleveland. Please join us at Lakewood United Methodist Church, Friday, March 8, 7:30pm or Church of the Saviour in Cleveland Heights on Sunday March 10, 3:30pm. These concerts are free, with a free-will donation encouraged to support the WRC’s mission of bringing music to the community.