The title ‘Requiem’ is in a measure misleading, as it has nothing in common with the setting of the Catholic Mass for the Dead. It is much broader in scope than the customary use of this term as a form of religious music would imply. While it points out the emptiness and vanity of material life, its dominant note is one of consolation, expanding into joy and leading to the ultimate triumph over death and the grave. The composition of the ‘German Requiem’ was suggested by the death of the composer’s mother in 1865 and the work itself is generally regarded as Brahms’ masterpiece, Maitland going so far as to call it ‘the greatest achievement of modern sacred music in Germany.’ The first chorus, ‘Blessed are they that go mourning,’ is a beautiful composition, its charm being greatly enhanced by its rich orchestral accompaniment. No. 2, the Funeral March, is written in triple time, which through Brahms’ magic is made to express vividly the measured tread of the mourners. No. 3, ‘Lord, make me to know the measure of my days on earth,’ consists of a baritone solo followed by two choral fugues which are very effective though of great difficulty. No. 4, a chorus (‘How lovely is Thy dwelling-place, O Lord of Hosts’), is slower than its predecessor and is charmingly melodious. No. 5, ‘Ye now are sorrowful, grieve not,’ for soprano solo and chorus, has rich passages of melody and discloses the composer’s great ability in song-writing. No. 6, for baritone solo and chorus (‘Here on earth we have no continuing place, we seek now a heavenly one’), pictures the resurrection of the dead in intricate fugal passages of wonderful power. No. 7, the finale (‘Blessed are the faithful who in the Lord are sleeping’), in contrast with the tumultuous strains which precede it, offers a calm and sweetly serious close to this remarkable work. Dvořák’s ‘St. Ludmila’ is sometimes classed as a sacred cantata, but its breadth rather suggests its inclusion among oratorios. The poem, by Jaroslav Vrchlicky, is based on a Bohemian legend and sets forth the worship of the heathen goddess Bába, the destruction of her statue by the Christian teacher Ivan, the conversion of Princess Ludmila and her future husband, Prince Bořivoy, and their baptism, which ushered in the Christianization of Bohemia. The work was written for the Leeds Festival, where it had its first presentation in 1886. While there are many suggestions of national folk-song and national idiom in the score, Dvořák, in writing the music, doubtless had in mind English conditions, demands and tastes, in that he gave special prominence to the choral parts and strove to develop charming and original melodies with strongly rhythmic features.