The short answer is: most of the time. Today I have parts of "The German Requiem" vying for space in my head, and I have always liked the title phrase (though I've never read the Françoise Sagan novel of the same name.)Yesterday our choir sang the requiem twice, accompanied by a good-size chamber orchestra. Brahms wrote intricate, densely chromatic music for this piece, and it requires attention and hard work to sing properly (or even passably.)
Then comes #4 - "Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen" ("How lovely is thy dwelling place") and all the work is worth it.
From time to time our choir sings this lovely anthem on an ordinary Sunday, in English, with piano accompaniment. Very satisfying.
To sing it in German, accompanied by a good orchestra, in a beautiful church where you have a long history, is as spiritual an experience as I need.
Thank you, Herr Brahms.
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