A German Requiem (Brahms) humanism persists through the work. Brahms purposely omitted Christian dogma. In his correspondence with Carl Reinthaler, when Reinthaler expressed concern over this, Brahms refused to add references to "the redeeming death of the Lord", as Reinthaler described it, such as . In the Bremen performance of the piece, Reinthaler took the liberty of inserting the aria "I know that my Redeemer liveth" from Handel's "Messiah" to satisfy the clergy. In addition to soprano and baritone soloists and mixed chorus, "A German Requiem" is scored for: Since Brahms inserted the fifth movement, the work shows symmetry around the fourth movement, which
Music for a Time of War on their list of the ten "Best Classical Albums of 2011". The publication's Steve Smith called the collection "greater than the sum of its parts". James Manishen of the "Winnipeg Free Press" included "Music for a Time of War" as number three on his list of the ten best classical recordings of the year, calling the performances "superbly prepared". The album received its second pressing in February 2012. Producer Alspaugh received a Grammy award for Producer of the Year, Classical for his contributions to the album and other recordings. Adapted from AllMusic and the album's liner notes. "Sinfonia da Requiem",