Something extraordinary is taking place in the Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House, and readers are strongly encouraged to immediately snap up any tickets remaining for Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s performances of Brahms’ German Requiem today and tomorrow.

Simone Young conducts A German Requiem. Photo © Jansson J. Antmann

Conducted by Simone Young and featuring soprano Emma Matthews, baritone Bo Skovhus and the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, last night’s concert delivered music so glorious that it was difficult to imagine anything as fine being played anywhere else in the world.

Ordinarily a Catholic Mass for the dead, Brahms’ Lutheran take on the Requiem is intended to offer comfort to the living. It is therefore a much more uplifting experience than, for example, the versions of Mozart or Verdi with their fire and brimstone. In fact, there were moments in last night’s performance that recalled the contemporary Requiem by Holcombe Waller, which received its Australian premiere with the Sydney Chamber Choir under Sam Allchurch during the 2019 Sydney Mardi Gras. Waller’s also kept in mind the loved ones who remain, especially those denied the right to grieve as a result of prejudice and exclusion.

Simone...