Reger, Max: Requiem

Arrangement for alto, mixed choir and organ

In 1915 Max Reger said of his final completed choral work, the Requiem, that it was “one of the most beautiful things I have ever written.” One particular feature: the piece is not based on the liturgical text, but on Friedrich Hebbel’s poem of the same name. While the idea of eternal rest still resonates, it is here modified: one’s own soul is addressed – it must not forget the dead, for only in remembrance are they surrounded by the “holy embers” of love. But if memory fades, the deceased are seized by “the storm of night.” In his setting, Reger explores these contrasting spheres with great intensity. The original scoring requires a large Romantic orchestra and a correspondingly large choir. For this reason, the work is rarely performed; and when it is, Reger’s piano reduction is often used as a substitute (Carus 52.943/00). Max Beckschäfer’s organ arrangement provides a solution: based on the orchestral score, it enables for the first time a performance of Reger’s Requiem in a reduced scoring that largely retains the rich colors of the original.