Examines in detail the contexts of Brahms's masterpiece and demonstrates that, contrary to recent consensus, it was performed and received as an inherently Christian work during the composer's life. Despite its entirely biblical text, Brahms's long-beloved A German Requiem is now widely considered a work in which the composer espoused a theologically universal view. R. Allen Lott's comprehensive reconsideration of the work's various contexts challenges that prevailing interpretation and demonstrates that in its early years the Requiem was regarded as a traditional Christian work. Brahms's "A German Requiem" systematically documents, for the first time, the early performance history and critical reception of this masterful work. A German Requiem was effortlessly incorporated into traditional Christian observances, and reviews of these performances and other appraisals by respected critics and scholars consistently deemed that the work possessed not only a Christian perspective, but a specifically Protestant one. A discussion of the musical traditions used by Brahms demonstrates how the work is imbued with the language of Lutheran church music through references to chorales and through allusions to preceding masterworks by Schutz, Bach, Mendelssohn, and others. Lott also offers an insightful exegesis of the Bible verses that Brahms selected. Altogether, this richly detailed study leads to a thorough reappraisal of Brahms's masterpiece.

About the Author
R. ALLEN LOTT is Professor of Music History in the School of Church Music and Worship at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth.

Reviews
This is an engaging, well researched, and provocative examination of one of the most revered works of the choral-orchestral canon. It is not only beautifully written and meticulously documented, but also compelling in its portrayal of Brahms's German Requiem as a work that did not avoid specifically Christian theological perspectives, as is often suggested, but rather avowedly engaged with a consciously Lutheran approach to death, loss, and redemption through Christ. Lott's investigation also sheds new light on the work's stylistic allusions to other sacred music, including works by J.S. Bach, Cherubini, Handel, Mendelssohn, and Robert Schumann. -- John Michael Cooper, professor of music history, Southwestern University
Without a doubt, R. Allen Lott has proved his case. In this thoroughly researched and extensively documented study, Lott has...shown clearly that the preponderance of evidence proves that the Requiem was intended and understood as a Christian work,...[not] as a universal, multireligious, and secular-humanist piece. A monumental work of research; the world of Brahms scholarship cannot afford to ignore it. * American Organist *
Lott does a wonderful job of explaining the Christian and specifically Protestant meaning in the Requiem while providing valuable overviews of contemporary religious interpretations of the piece and religious considerations in its early performance history. . . . [This] book is an undeniably valuable addition to scholarship on Ein deutsches Requiem. -- Daniel Beller-McKenna * American Brahms Society Newsletter *
Lott's extensive analysis is engaging and even devotional, and though his musical analysis requires some competency in music literacy . . . theologians and even lay Christians would find this work fascinating. Perhaps Lott's treatment will cause skeptics and Christians alike to consider anew that "blessed are the dead who die in the Lord." -- Scott Aniol * Artistic Theologian *
This impressive new book presents and examines current musicological thinking about one of the most beloved compositions in the choral-orchestral repertoire. "[Lott] . . . masterfully uses previous research on the musical style and musical allusions in the Requiem, adding his own findings to support his argument for the Christian Protestant nature of the composition . . . . He presents the discussion and his evidence with stunning virtuosity. . . . [T]his well-researched book . . . will be valuable to any library, institutional or personal. Its densely-structured arguments, persuasive reasoning supported by a significant variety of sources [. . .], intricate narrative, and polished and fluent prose will satisfy scholars and anyone interested in Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem. -- Nelly Matova * Music Reference Services Quarterly *



Book Information
ISBN 9781580469869
Author R. Allen Lott
Format Hardback
Page Count 510
Imprint University of Rochester Press
Publisher Boydell & Brewer Ltd
Weight(grams) 1g