Baptists in the Age of Brahms’ German Requiem

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article argues that both the German Requiem of Brahms, and the life and convictions of Baptists expressed a mood of the times in the 1860s and 1870s, and that they contributed to it in complementary ways. In 1869 the Baptist church in Vienna was formally founded, and Brahms' German Requiem was performed in full for the first time. The backgrounds in Hamburg of the two key persons involved, the Baptist missionary pioneer Johann Gerhard Oncken and the composer Johannes Brahms respectively, show some interesting affinities. More echoes can be detected between the approach of both Baptists and Brahms in this period with regard to the use of scripture, and to the future hope of life beyond death. While the differences between them are notable, it is urged that in our own time we might do well to learn from the wide scope of hope Brahms expresses in his Requiem.