Friedrich Kiel: |Requiem in F minor op. 20

Friedrich Kiel (1821-1885) was regarded by his contemporaries as a respected teacher of composition and as an outstanding composer whose name was uttered together with Johannes Brahms. The Requiem in F minor, op. 20, forms a link between the requiem settings of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Giuseppe Verdi and constitutes a milestone of Protestant requiem settings. Although the requiem settings of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Luigi Cherubini may have served as a source of inspiration, Kiel’s musical ideas are new and typically romantic. The enthusiasm for demanding vocal projects and the desire to follow unconventional musical paths bring the members of the Berlin-based chamber choir Ensemberlino Vocale, conducted by Matthias Stoffels, together. The award-winning choir deliberately foregoes an orchestra in its debut CD with the work’s world premiere recording, presenting the Requiem in the style of the premiere performance with a chamber music piano accompaniment.