October 26: Brahms' Requiem

On October 26, the College of the Ozarks Chorale and Orchestra performed Johannes Brahms’ A German Requiem, op. 45. Luke Carlson conducted, and Rebecca Claborn and John Cornish were soloists. Brahms wrote the Requiem in the wake of his mother’s death. Unlike most requiems, Brahms focuses on the living, not the dead. Each movement is based on a liturgical text. 

Dr. Cornish, the director of Chorale, said that “the Brahms’ Requiem is also an extremely difficult work to perform, and it is truly pushing our Chorale and Orchestra to new levels of musical achievement.” The movements depict a challenge of faith and the peace and triumph of God. As Dr. Carlson wrote in his program note, the “scripture Brahms chose for his Requiem reinforce God’s promise of comfort and the reality of Jesus’ eternal victory over death.”