The Houston Chamber Choir recently invited everyone to another performance at South Main Baptist Church. On Saturday, Nov. 6, the Grammy-award-winning choir group will perform Johannes Brahms' 'A German Requiem.' 

As reported, the chosen arrangement is to give highlights for the medical personnel battling against COVID-19. 

Houston Chamber Choir: 'To Bring Comfort' 

Entitled 'To Bring Comfort,' the concert will be held at South Main Baptist Church for a 7:30 p.m. in-person audience. Then, on Nov. 21, the full performance could be viewed via virtual platforms. 

As first reported via Houston Chronicle Preview, the Houston Chamber Choir founder and artistic director Robert Simpson will conduct the performance. 

He will be joined by soprano Cynthia Clayton and baritone Héctor Vásquez, both faculty members at UH's Moores School of Music. The event's main highlight is the performances of Shepherd School of Music professor Brian Connelly and Juilliard/Shepherd School grad Yvonne Chen. 

According to the report, the accompanists will be using a four-hand piano arrangement. The arrangement was reportedly created by the composer himself, Brahms. 

Another thing to expect in the concert is the sound of the "Connelly's 19th-century Bösendorfer grand, boasting vintage features like leather-covered hammers."

As told by Simpson, the instrument will be used to showcase the "requiem's feeling of intimacy." 

It was also noted that Brahms also had a similar piano accompaniment with the Connelly's. Simpson also explained that the instrument does not have the same sound as a normal piano. 

"There's a transparency and a gentleness to this sound that we wouldn't be able to acquire even with a modern piano," he said. "This is a sound that is very much part of the Brahms sound-world."

What Is 'A German Requiem'? 

According to the official website of Houston Chamber Choir, the Ein deutsches Requiem is translated in English as 'A German Requiem.' 

As explained, Brahms wrote the piece for the living. He even called it a "human requiem" to give tribute to those mourning the loss of someone in their lives. 

Due to its message, the Houston Chamber Choir chose the piece to give tribute to all medical professionals in hospitals. The group said that the 'heroic efforts' of doctors and nurses in the field would be deeply expressed in Brahms' piece. 

When asked by Chronicle on the meaning of the piece, Simpson noted that it is a way to experience the power of both music and medicine. For him, both of those have their way of healing people— whether their physical body or their souls. 

"Those two [ideas] come together as we see these medical professionals and chamber choir singers all singing together, each bringing their own special healing to that moment," Simpson said as quoted by Houston Chronicle. "To me, it's going to be one of the moments I'll always remember, I know."

Aside from the Houston Chamber Choir, they will also share the stage with Houston poet laureate Outspoken Bean and CPAM Director Todd Frazier's new composition. 

The Houston Methodist Center for Performing Arts Medicine will be the opening act led by M.J. Gallop. 

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