Oxford Harmonic Choir: Brahms

 Ein Deutsches Requiem; Schumann – Violin Concerto in D minor

• Saturday 20th June 2026
• Talk starts at 6:30pm
• Concert starts at 7:30pm
• Tickets available via https://www.ticketsoxford.com/events/brahms-requiem-and-schumann-violin-concerto or call 01865 305305

Johannes Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem (A German Requiem, 1868) technically isn’t a requiem at all, as none of its 7 movements are settings of the Latin Mass for the Dead. Brahms himself wasn’t a particularly devout person, aiming instead to create a more general meditation on the human condition. The paradox, then, is that this is undeniably music of almost overwhelming spiritual power.

Robert Schumann’s Violin Concerto (1853), one of several works he wrote for the violinist Joseph Joachim, was nearly unknown for many decades after its composition, but is notable for its turbulent drama and its unusual polonaise-like finale.

The pre-concert talk, included in the ticket price, will be by Jessica Duchen, whose 2016 novel Ghost Variations is based on the Violin Concerto’s fascinating history.