Attention! Risk of heartbreak. The Balthasar-Neumann-Ensemble conducted by Thomas Hengelbrock will immerse you for a good hour in a world of restrained but intense emotion. Brahms was barely 35 when he wrote his Deutsches Requiem. It was customary to write in Latin, but he preferred the German language. He did not create a requiem as such, but a consoling piece for those left behind. The opening movement, with the words “Selig sind, die da Leid tragen” (Blessed are they that mourn), clearly specifies this intention. In this movement, the violins are silent, affording the orchestral colour a dark, sombre palette.