UW Choirs to Present Brahms A German Requiem May 7

The University of Wyoming choirs will present Johannes Brahms’ “A German Requiem” Saturday, May 7.

The concert is scheduled at 7:30 p.m. in the Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts concert hall. UW Department of Music faculty members Holly Dalrymple, director of choral activities, and Brian Murray, associate director of choral activities, will conduct.

Tickets are $12 for the public; $8 for senior citizens; $6 for students not attending UW; and free to UW students with a “W” number. To purchase tickets, visit the Performing Arts box office, call (307) 766-6666 or go online at www.uwyo.edu/finearts.

The concert will feature two pianos with Nathália Kato, UW staff collaborative pianist, and guest artist Emily Alley. Soloists are soprano Camila Rabelo, a UW graduate student in vocal performance, and baritone Erik Erlandson, UW assistant lecturer of voice.

“Ein Deutsches Requiem” is one of Brahms’ most well-known and beloved works. It is a work of consolation and hope offered in the German vernacular language and a requiem for all people.

A traditional Catholic requiem, a musical response and petition for the soul of the deceased, follows a set liturgy, often with Latin text. In his requiem, Brahms chose to deviate from the texts of a traditional requiem and instead crafted Scriptures from the Luther Bible that would be a solace for those left behind.

Written between 1865 and 1868 and consisting of seven movements, “Ein Deutsches Requiem” was one of the most important works of Brahms’ career and established him as a major composer of his time. It remains one of the most venerated pieces in the classical music repertoire.

For more information, call Kathy Kirkaldie, UW Fine Arts coordinator, at (307) 766-2160 or email kirisk@uwyo.edu.