A detailed study examining The German Requiem, Brahms's controversial, and his largest, masterpiece.

Post-World War 2, Bernie Gunther investigates the murder of an American Nazi-hunter amongst the ruins of the Third Reich in this riveting thriller in Philip Kerr's bestselling historical mystery series. Vienna, 1947. Bernie Gunther had his first brush with evil as a policeman in 1930s Berlin and came to know it intimately as a private eye under the Nazis, when each case drew him deeper into the enormities of the regime. Now the war is over and Bernie is in Vienna, trying to clear an old friend and ex-Kripo colleague of the murder of an American officer. Amid decaying imperial splendor Bernie traces concentric circles of evil that lead him to a former head of the Gestapo and to a legacy that makes the atrocities of the war seem lily-white in comparison...

Brahms' greatest, most ambitious vocal work is a masterpiece of choral music that is now one of the most performed and recorded works in the repertoire of religious music.

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.

The composer's greatest vocal composition, the Requiem is reproduced here from the definitive Breitkopf & Hartel edition. Scored for mixed chorus, solo voices and full orchestra. Instrumentation. Text and Translation.

English Edition. This choral score is taken from a previous Belwin Mills publication. It provides the choir and soloist parts along with a piano reduction of the orchestral parts, with notations, instrument cues, and vocal text in English language. This was to be Brahms' longest work, in 7 movements, and was based on sacred biblical text, originally written in the German language, and therefore did not follow the traditional Latin requiem text. Titles: * Blessed are they that mourn * Behold, all flesh is as the grass * Lord, make me to know the measure of my days on earth * How lovely is thy dwelling place * Ye are now sorrowful * Here on earth we have no continuing place * Blessed are the dead

'One of the greatest anti-heroes ever written' LEE CHILD The war may be over, but the remnants of the Nazis are still causing trouble for Bernie Gunther. In post-war Vienna, the term 'peace' is relative - the Americans, British and Russians govern the city in an uneasy truce, and the main difference is that now it's the Soviet secret police making people disappear rather than the Nazis. When Bernie is asked by a high-ranking Soviet official to clear an old Kripo colleague's name of the murder of an American officer, he quickly realises he's in over his head. Bernie's ex-colleague Becker was working for a secret society of Nazi hunters, tracking down and executing war criminals who faked their own deaths to escape the noose at Nuremberg. Infiltrating the group, Bernie finds himself face to face with men he thought he'd never see again. They've cheated justice once - now Bernie must see that they don't get away a second time. Perfect for fans of Raymond Chandler and John le Carré. ************************************ PRAISE FOR PHILIP KERR 'Kerr leads us through the facts of history and the vagaries of human nature' TOM HANKS 'One of the greatest master story-tellers in English' ALAN FURST 'One of the most memorable and original characters' THE SUNDAY TIMES 'Bitterly, darkly funny' SUNDAY HERALD

This book is intended to help those who are contemplating performing or studying the Brahms Requiem. It provides historical information, performance considerations, musical analysis, and resource material for all who enjoy the musicology behind this magnificent work. It is especially directed toward conductors, but it is also useful for choristers and soloists as well. A wonderful instructional tool!

Under the dictatorships of the twentieth century, music never ceased to sound. Even when they did not impose aesthetic standards, these regimes tended to favour certain kinds of art music such as occasional works for commemorations or celebrations, symphonic poems, cantatas and choral settings. In the same way, composers who were more or less ideologically close to the regime wrote pieces of music on their own initiative, which amounted to a support of the political order. This book presents ten studies focusing on music inspired and promoted by regimes such as Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, France under Vichy, the USSR and its satellites, Franco's Spain, Salazar's Portugal, Maoist China, and Latin-American dictatorships. By discussing the musical works themselves, whether they were conceived as ways to provide "music for the people", to personally honour the dictator, or to participate in State commemorations of glorious historical events, the book examines the relationship between the composers and the State. This important volume, therefore, addresses theoretical issues long neglected by both musicologists and historians: What is the relationship between art music and propaganda? How did composers participate in musical life under the control of an authoritarian State? What was specifically political in the works produced in these contexts? How did audiences react to them? Can we speak confidently about "State music"? In this way, Composing for the State: Music in Twentieth Century Dictatorships is an essential contribution to our understanding of musical cultures of the twentieth century, as well as the symbolic policies of dictatorial regimes.