Following on from the success of the Brahms Symphonies series, this release is the last in the Brahms series recorded live during the tours, in 2007 and 2008, when John Eliot Gardiner and his ensembles explored the music of Johannes Brahms. As for the Symphonies, the Requiem too is presented alongside choral music which Brahms would have known, two works by Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672) which use the same text as two of the German Requiem movements.

Deeply moving, profound, and powerful, the German Requiem is central to our understanding of Brahms’ compositional personality and inner spiritual life. Behind its dramatic gestures and 19th century grandeur, it reveals Brahms’ firm foundation in the music of the past. The libretto, which Brahms compiled himself, is based on the Lutheran Bible, and has been seen as a personal statement of his religious convictions.

The album features soloists Katharine Fuge (soprano) and Matthew Brook (baritone), both former members of the Monteverdi Choir.