Human Requiem

»As far as the text is concerned, I will admit that I would gladly give up the 'German' and simply put 'human'.« (Johannes Brahms, 1867, in a letter to Carl Reinthaler, premiere conductor of »A German Requiem«) As part of its series »Broadening the Scope of Choral Music«, Rundfunkchor Berlin is presenting Johannes Brahms‘ »A German Requiem« (1867) in a new light: Jochen Sandig and a team of artists from the company Sasha Waltz & Guests adopt the title »human requiem« to develop a choreographic »embodiment« of the piece, engaging text, sound, bodies and space to interact with each other. As the choir is staged across the space, moving the singers as well as the audience and abolishing the division between stage and auditorium, the traditional concert experience dissolves. Brahms‘ requiem is not a Mass for the dead; hence, its text is non-liturgical. The requiem looks to provide solace for the living: It deals with the realization of our evanescence and the meaning of death and grief, but also with their overcoming - its gaze remains firmly set on life. In the community of those who sing and those who listen, this message becomes a space-consuming and personal experience: a »human requiem«. Jochen Sandig’s intention is to create »a very immediate experience, a form of humbleness and modesty. We don’t want anything big. We want the humans, by which I mean everyone, the choir, the director, the visitors, to let themselves be engaged.« Brahms’ »A German Requiem« is a core piece of the repertoire of Rundfunkchor Berlin. Their CD recording with the Berlin Philharmonic under Simon Rattle won the choir and Simon Halsey the 2008 Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance.