What Makes Up the Duruflé Requiem?
Our February 27th concert will feature the beautiful Duruflé Requiem, a work known to so many of us that love classical music. However, did you know that Duruflé’s boyhood in the Rouen Cathedral Choir is embodied in this work. Download this PDF to learn seven of the Gregorian chants that serve as the basis for this work. Need a guided tour? Artistic Director Alan Harler leads us through these chants and helps us to understand the history and influences of this work. Sing it with us at our 2/26 rehearsal. Email info@mcchorus.org for more info.
Helpful Hints for Brahms
Our October 24th concert provides a unique opportunity for you to sing the Brahms Requiem with us. While we are hard at work in rehearsal, we thought that we could give you a few tips if you would like to sing with us.
Practice CD Links
The site Cyberbass.com has an excellent set with parts and tutti versions for the Brahms Requiem for purchase. Direct link: Brahms Requiem
Also, highly recommended by a few of our own singers, Rehearsal Arts, LLC, produces practice CD for the Brahms Requiem, with a CD for each voice part. A professional soloist sings the voice part, at a slightly higher volume, over a full performance. The soloist’s voice is very clear and easy to hear. After all choral sections have been covered, two tracks are devoted to each of the four most difficult passages, with the first track for each passage digitally ” stretched” to play at a slower speed, followed by the same chorus at standard speed (so you don’t have to go back to hunt for it). As you can see, outside of practice, we are still practicing!
Favorite Recordings
Another way to learn is to listen to some of the beautiful recordings that exist of this work. Popular favorites include:
- Brahms – Ein Deutsches Requiem (A German Requiem) / Auger, Stilwell, Atlanta SO, Robert Shaw
- Brahms: A German Requiem by Bernd Weikl, Johannes Brahms, Georg Solti, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Kiri Te Kanawa
- Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem by Thomas Quasthoff, Johannes Brahms, Simon Rattle, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, and Dorothea Röschmann
- Brahms: A German Requiem (New English Adaptation) by Nathan Gunn, Johannes Brahms, Craig D. Jessop, Utah Symphony Orchestra, and Janice Chandler
Share with us your favorite recordings and we will add them to our list!
Borrow or Purchase a Score or BYO Score
At the concert, Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia will have a limited supply of scores available for purchase or loan for the performance. Of course, you are welcome to bring your own.
Beyond Singing…
Just when you thought that the Requiem was enough, there’s even more! Other works to be featured include the Brahms Nänie and Neue Liebeslieder and many more. Be prepared to transcend through the voices surrounding you on this all-Brahms concert.
