Ars Musica Chorale Presents Brahms's A German Requiem

Upwards of 2,500 people gathered to witness the 1868 premiere of Brahms's beautiful A German Requiem, sung by a chorus of 200 voices. On June 7, local residents are invited to experience a new, intimate chamber orchestration of this choral masterwork with the Ars Musica Chorale, joined by the Montclair-based Crosswinds Quintet and the Toomai String Quintet. Wanda Yang Temko of Atlanta lends her rich soprano voice, and Dominic Inferrera, deemed a “standout” by the New York Times, gives voice to the baritone solos.

A setting of biblical texts selected and arranged by Brahms himself, the Requiem, unusually, offers no prayers for the dead. Instead, Brahms weaves a message of comfort and hope for the living. Likely inspired in part by the death of his mother and of his mentor and friend Robert Schumann, the Requiem's universal themes led Brahms to say about the title that he “could happily omit the 'German' and simply say 'Human.'”

June 7, 8 pm. West Side Presbyterian Church, 6 South Monroe, Ridgewood, NJ. Free Preconcert Talk at 7 pm. Tickets: $20 in advance, $25 at the door; 12 years and younger are free. Visit ArsMusica.org or call (551) 226-9305 to order.

Ars Musica Chorale, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Funding for Ars Musica's regular concert season has been made possible in part by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Department of State, through grant funds administered by the Bergen County Department of Parks, Division of Cultural and Historical Affairs.