Timeless Comfort, Modern Witness

Brahms composed A German Requiem for the living — wrapping grief in comfort, hope, and the enduring human spirit. Conspirare pairs this timeless masterwork with Joel Thompson’s Seven Last Words of the Unarmed.  Thompson asks us to hold the names and final words of Black men killed by authorities in a spirit of remembrance and renewed compassion. These two extraordinary works reach across 150 years to meet us exactly where we are, inviting us to feel  the weight of this moment and find in music the courage to carry one another through it.

Together, these intensely personal pieces create a sacred space for reflection, healing, and the transformative power of music to speak what words alone cannot express. Performed by the Conspirare Symphonic Choir.

Program:

Seven Last Words of the Unarmed (2015)
Joel Thompson (b. 1988

Ein Deutsches Requiem, Op. 45 (A German Requiem) (1868)
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
with soloists Chelsea Helm, soprano, and Tim O’Brien, bass

About the Music

Seven Last Words of the Unarmed  A meditation on the lives of seven Black men and an effort to focus on their humanity, experience Joel Thompson’s powerful music in this version for voices, string quartet, and piano.  Learn more.

Ein Deutsches Requiem, Op. 45 (A German Requiem)

“As for the title, I must admit I should like to leave out the word ‘German’ and refer instead to ‘Humanity.'”
– Johannes Brahms

Classical Requiems: Brahms’s “Human” Requiem via the Houston Symphony

Recommended Listening

Artistic Personnel

Craig Hella Johnson, conductor

Conspirare Symphonic Choir

Concert Sponsors

This project is supported in part by an Elevate Grant of Austin Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment

Steve and Nicole VanderVoort
Ronald Jernigan