The Carlow Choral Society in rehearsals in the Carlow Cathedral for their upcoming concert of Brahms German Requiem Photos: michaelorourkephotography.ie

The Carlow Choral Society in rehearsals in the Carlow Cathedral for their upcoming concert on Friday 9 June 

By Suzanne Pender

ONE of the great choral masterpieces will be performed by Carlow Choral Society in June.

Carlow Choral Society presents Brahms Requiem with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra in the Cathedral of the Assumption, Carlow on Friday 9 June at 8pm.

It promises to be a magnificent performance of Brahms German Requiem, one of the greatest choral masterpieces, which brought fame to the German composer after its first staging in 1869.

Conducted by Carlow Choral Society’s musical director Blanaid Murphy with the RTÉ concert orchestra, the performance will also include internationally acclaimed soloists soprano Ailish Tynan and baritone Benjamin Russell. It is set to be an unforgettable performance of an emotional masterpiece.

Composed between 1865 and 1868, Brahms chose to compose a requiem unburdened by past traditions, using texts from the German translation of the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. Brahms was truly distinctive and his soaring German requiem sounds like nothing else ever composed. The composer himself called it a ‘human requiem’.

Tickets are €25 and the concert is free for accompanied under-16s. Tickets are available on www.eventbrite.ie (plus booking fee) and from choir members at www.carlowchoralsociety.net.