Among requiem settings, the work by Brahms occupies a special position. It was one of the first works of this genre not to adhere to the standard Latin text of the Catholic mass. Brahms, instead, set his own selection of texts from the Luther Bible, focusing more on the living than the dead. The result was a work more indebted to humanism, less concerned with sins and punishment. Valery Gergiev chose this composition for his last concerts as chief conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic. This event was filmed at the time (May 25, 2008) and is thus now available on DVD.