Brahms wanted to write a requiem mass that spoke directly to humans, not to God. The title refers to the language and not the audience; Brahms himself said that he would have gladly called it ”a human requiem”, and the work’s persisting tender, sympathetic humanism is apparent right from the very first line: ”Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Conducted by Daniele Gatti and broght to life by the Orchestre National de France at the 2015 Festival de Saint-Denis.