Sydney Philharmonia Choirs Will Perform Brahms' A GERMAN REQUIEM at Sydney Opera House Concert Hall

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs will present a powerfully tender performance of one of the world's most loved compositions, Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem (A German Requiem), at 2pm Saturday October 25 in the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall.  

An enduring audience favourite, and – as such – a regular feature of the Choirs' repertoire since 1938, this is music rich with emotion and compassion; a ‘human requiem' to comfort and console.

In this one-off afternoon concert Brahms's masterwork is brought to life by two brilliant soloists – award-winning Australian soprano Cathy-Di Zhang, an Associate of London's Royal Academy of Music and, back in Sydney, a regular performer with Opera Australia and Pinchgut Opera, and baritone Sam Dundas, in the lead up to his next Opera Australia season, starring in The Barber of Seville – alongside a massed choir of over 400 singers from Sydney Philharmonia Choirs' renowned Festival Chorus.

It's a massive departure from the Choirs' last presentation of the work in 2019, as part of an intimate program conducted by internationally acclaimed chorus master, Simon Halsey, which paid tribute to Brahms's legacy with a rare performance of his two-piano arrangement of A German Requiem, and several of the master's solo songs and duets, at City Recital Hall.

In contrast, 2025 sees Artistic and Music Director, Brett Weymark OAM, take to the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall podium, bringing the extraordinary purity of Brahms's masterwork to the fore in a sublime performance with full choir and orchestra; partnering once again with The Sydney Youth Orchestra, whom the Choirs have frequently invited to share their stage since 1978, providing a world-class performance platform for the next generation of exceptional young Australian musicians.

Written by Brahms following the death of his mother in 1865, Ein deutsches Requiem (A German Requiem) is renowned for its heartfelt lyrics, that broke from the traditional liturgical structure and lyrics of a requiem. A non-believer, he was still compelled to express his grief through a requiem, but on his own terms.  

In his selection of words from Luther's German bible, Brahms created a text that, as the soprano sings at the end, ‘will comfort you as one whom his own mother comforts' – a magnificent, heartful work for soloists, chorus and orchestra, and as Weymark comments, “quite simply Brahms's best and most loved work”.

“A German Requiem is a very special kind of concert experience. Firstly, it is not about the fire and brimstone of the Dies Irae as so ferociously set by composers such as Mozart, Verdi and Britten. It is rather about consolation, and instead of being strictly dogmatic and instructional, Brahms wanted the work to appeal to all people regardless of creed or belief.” 

“It is why it is often referred to as a ‘human' requiem – a work for all of us. As someone who has recently suffered loss, a work like this is a chance to heal and celebrate the remembrance of those who are no longer physically with us. 

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