The Requiem by Max Reger is a late Romantic setting of Friedrich Hebbel's poem "Requiem" for alto or baritone solo, chorus and orchestra. The text begins with a plea not to forget the dead. Composed in 1915, Reger dedicated it "to the memory of the German heroes" who died in the World War. He had composed Requiem settings before: in 1912 a motet for male chorus, set to the same poem, and in 1914 an unfinished setting of the Latin Requiem, in memory of victims of the war. The 1915 Requiem, Reger's last completed work for chorus and orchestra, was published by N. Simrock in 1916, after the composer's death. It was paired with another choral composition, Der Einsiedler (The Hermit), set to a poem by Joseph von Eichendorff, titled Zwei Gesänge für gemischten Chor mit Orchester (Two songs for mixed chorus with orchestra), Op. 144. Both works were first performed in Heidelberg on 16 July 1916 as part of a memorial concert for Reger, conducted by Philipp Wolfrum. Reger thought that The Hermit and the Requiem were "among the most beautiful things" he had ever written.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Requiem_(Reger)

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1782:

Mozart's opera Die Entführung aus dem Serail made its premiere, after which Emperor Joseph II anecdotally made the comment that it had "too many notes". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_Entf%C3%BChrung_aus_dem_Serail

1862:

David Farragut became the first person to be promoted to the rank of rear admiral in the United States Navy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Farragut

1931:

Emperor of Ethiopia Haile Selassie signed the nation's first constitution, the first time in history that an absolute ruler voluntarily sought to share sovereignty with his subjects. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1931_Constitution_of_Ethiopia

1990:

A 7.8 MS earthquake struck the densely populated Philippine island of Luzon, killing an estimated 1,621 people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1990_Luzon_earthquake

2008:

Sixteen infants in Gansu Province, China, were diagnosed with kidney stones due to tainted milk powder; overall 300,000 infants were affected. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Chinese_milk_scandal

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

gentile: 1. A non-Jewish person. 2. (grammar) A noun derived from a proper noun which denotes something belonging to or coming from a particular city, nation, or country. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gentile

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

I am impressed by the great limitations of the human mind. How quick are we to learn, that is, to imitate what others have done or thought before. And how slow to understand, that is, to see the deeper connections. Slowest of all, however, are we in inventing new connections or even in applying old ideas in a new field.   --Frits Zernike https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Frits_Zernike