Johannes Brahms’ famous piece, “A German Requiem,” may have been inspired by the deaths of his mother and close friend Robert Schumann, but the lyrics are the composer’s way of comforting all those who grieve the loss of someone special.

Thus, the music school is lucky to have a magnitude of talented voices as this seven-movement composition features the University Concert Choir and University Chorus alongside the University Symphony Orchestra.

“[The voice is] a wonderful instrument,” said graduate student and violinist Tracy Woodard. “The [chorus and choir] offer a range of timbres that can either blend in with the orchestra or cut straight through.”

Despite tonight’s collaboration between the The University Concert Choir and University Chorus, there are important differences between the two.

“University Chorus is open to anyone, while the Concert Choir is very well trained,” said senior violinist Laura Patterson.

Both vocal sections, however, offer invaluable contributions to the overall performance.

“The biggest thing they add is words, which makes music all the more powerful by assigning a definite meaning to the aural effect,” Patterson said. “In masses [such as A German Requiem], the orchestra is the focal point.”

Woodard is also quick to testify to the power of the voice in large symphonic works.

“The human brain recognizes the human voice more immediately, and thus galvanizes the listener,” she said.

While tonight’s program is set in conjunction with Holy Week, “A German Requiem” has nothing to do with the theme of Easter Sunday. Brahms’ 70-80 minute piece is less of a religious piece than a celebration of life, reflecting a trend of music combining divine and humanist ideals that became common in German composition of the late 19th century.

“We put on Mahler’s Resurrection last spring, so Brahms will be something different this time around,” Woodard said. “[German Requiem] leans far more to the humanist side of expression, using German text instead of Latin, and avoiding traditional Christian references.”

The symphony orchestra and choruses have been doing their rehearsals separately until last Tuesday, when dress rehearsals began.

“For most concerts, [dress rehearsals] are just the night before,” Patterson said. “I think there are more dress rehearsals this time because we’ve had very little time.”

For the violins, practices have been a mild picnic. The Requiem isn’t as harsh on the strings than it is on some of the other sections.

“The orchestra parts for the Brahms is sight-readable,” Woodard said. “Now, when we did ‘Resurrection’ last year, which is not so easy, we had so much

fun practicing [and] rehearsing that a DVD of Claudio Abbado conducting Mahler #2 got passed around like a venereal disease.”