Event info

One of the greatest choral compositions of all time! On February 28th at 8pm, the Philharmonic Choir will perform one of the greatest choral compositions of all time: Brahms’ “German Requiem”.

Soloists are Kristinn Sigmundsson, baritone and Hallveig Rúnarsdóttir, soprano. The work will be performed in an arrangement for two pianos and timpani. Pianists Guðríður St. Sigurðardóttir and Brynhildur Ásgeirsdóttir and timpanist Eggert Pálsson will join the choir for this concert. The German Requiem is a choral work on a grand scale and calls for a large choir. The Philharmonic Choir is 80 strong, and many of its singers took part in an earlier performance of this work in 2014 for which the choir received a nomination for the Icelandic Music Awards. The Philharmonic Choir has also performed this piece with the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra in 2008, and on tour in Wroclaw, Poland, that very same year.

Brahms´ choral writing is particulary impressive and his composition masterful. In this Requiem the texts are taken from the German version of the Lutheran Bible. Brahms himself described the work as the Human Requiem because of its focus on comforting the living. The music is filled with hope and reassurance although tragic undertones are ever present.

This is a great event on the Icelandic music scene and unmissable for all admirers of music from the Romantic period.