In August 2022, Johannes Brahms' "Deutsches Requiem" was once again performed and recorded, this time by the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra under Kent Nagano in Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie. Surprisingly, the choral masterpiece is not performed in its usual seven-movement version, but in the version in which it was premiered on April 10, 1868 (Good Friday) under Brahms' direction in Bremen Cathedral, without the fifth movement for soprano and choir, which was only completed later that year. On the other hand, there are numerous interludes, instrumental and vocal, secular and sacred, by Bach, Tartini, Schumann and Handel - including pieces that were considered essential components of a Good Friday concert at the time. Such a program may seem unusual today, but these musical additions shed new light on Brahms' work, which in this version manifests itself as what Umberto Eco had called an "open work". The performance of the work in the form in which it was heard at the Bremen premiere is more than just a reconstruction: it enriches our understanding of this unique music. It is also remarkable that a total of nine choirs and vocal ensembles took part. The mezzo-soprano Kate Lindsey, the baritone Jóhann Kristinsson, the violinist Veronika Eberle and the organist Thomas Cornelius also took part.