Johannes Brahms was not a religious man in the usual sense of the term, so it should be of no surprise that when he wrote the "German Requiem," it did not follow the prescribed five movement form of the traditional requiem mass, but instead contained seven movements. The first time Brahms combined orchestra with chorus and soloists, it is considered to be his choral masterwork. While the style is unabashedly romantic with all the depth and beauty associated with the music of Brahms, the form i...