10:58 [m.

330]--The basses again begin the main subject as the upper three voices
complete “geschaffen,” but they diverge from 9:59 [m. 304], as Brahms is now
bringing
everything to a close. The overlapping bottom-to-top entries are shorter and
confine
themselves to “Herr, du bist würdig,” although the tenors do sing “zu nehmen” once.
The brass and timpani drop out. The first set of entries is followed by another
in the order bass, alto, tenor, soprano, all overlapping. Everything diminishes
quickly, reaching a point of anticipation on “würdig.”
11:17 [m. 339]--The voices come together powerfully with the full orchestra except
trombones. They sing the last part of the main phrase, following the preceding
“würdig,”
which is “zu nehmen Preis und Ehre und Kraft.” Up until “Ehre,” the statement is
very forceful, with punctuations of strings, trumpets, and timpani off the beat.
It seems as if this statement will bring things to an end, but Brahms surprises
us on “Ehre,” as the voices suddenly become quiet. The trombones enter solemnly.
The remaining brass and all winds except clarinets drop out. The strings join on
the solemn chords. The final word, “Kraft,” is extended on a highly anticipatory
chord over a quiet timpani roll.
11:35 [m. 345]--The powerful statement begins exactly as just previously, but now
“Ehre” retains and builds upon the intensity. The trombones enter at full volume
while the trumpets and timpani play emphatic repeated notes under the word. The
altos, with winds, trombones, and violas, add motion to the tremendous final
cadence
on “Kraft.” Brahms placed a fermata (“hold”) on this last chord, and it is usually
sustained to some length.
12:08--END OF MOVEMENT [349 mm.]

7th Movement: “Selig sind die Toten” (“Blessed are the dead”). Feierlich
(Solemnly).
Ternary form, with a coda that makes reference to the end of the 1st movement.
F MAJOR, 4/4 time.

German Text:
--Selig sind die Toten,
die in dem Herrn sterben, von nun an.
Ja der Geist spricht,
daß sie ruhen von ihrer Arbeit;
denn ihre Werke folgen ihnen nach.
--Offenbarung Johannes 14:13 English Text:
--Blessed are the dead
which die in the Lord from henceforth:
Yea, saith the Spirit,
that they may rest from their labors;
and their works do follow them.
--Revelation 14:13
A Section
0:00 [m. 1]--Over a low F from horns, string basses, and organ pedal, the cellos
begin a halting upward ascent with repeated notes. The choral sopranos immediately
and strongly sing the first sentence of the verse, beginning with a long note, then
a stretched out descent on “Selig.” The line continues, arching back up beyond the
opening point for a flourish at the end of “sterben.” They are doubled by an oboe.
Under this, the other strings join the cellos in the halting upward ascent in
harmony.
They reverse direction and begin a large descent as the sopranos turn and move
upward,
the first violins leaping to a very high starting note. The words “von nun an” are
sung twice, the second with a triplet flourish on “von.”
0:36 [m. 10]--As the sopranos close with a motion to the “dominant” key of C major,
the basses enter in that key. They sing the same line with the same trajectory,
also changing keys, but they make a slightly darker turn and end up in G minor.
The winds, largely absent during the soprano statement, now take up most of the
halting
ascent, but the following descent is given back to the strings.
1:08 [m. 18]--As the basses arrive, the rest of the choir enters. They sing “Selig
sind die Toten” twice. The text is staggered, and all voices have various
repetitions
of either “selig” or “die Toten.” The halting figures are passed between winds and
strings. The choral harmonies are colorful and unstable, moving toward a harmonic
goal. Flutes and oboes begin to move with the voices.
1:35 [m. 25]--The voices, except the basses, come together on the rest of the
sentence,
singing in syncopated long notes. The basses sing on the downbeats and lag behind
with the text. The “halting” line spreads out to wider leaps in the strings. The
choir, except the basses, repeats “die in dem Herren sterben.” All voices diminish
and descend to a long, quiet note on the last word before moving to “von nun an.”
The string leaps are particularly beautiful under “nun.” The goal is a clear and
very gentle cadence in C major.
2:12 [m. 34]--The winds lead an extremely beautiful instrumental closing to the
opening
section. Their descent includes lilting triplet figures. The strings continue the
halting upward motion with repeated notes, then take over the lilting line from the
winds. The winds themselves continue with a final upward sweep in triplets. The
section closes with a full cadence and a unison plucked “C” from the string section
with horns.
B Section--A major
2:36 [m. 40]--The B section uses the second, longer sentence of the verse. It
begins
with a very solemn invocation of “Ja der Geist spricht” from the lower three voices
in unison, repeating the note C and descending a half-step. Their only
instrumental
backing is from horns and trombones, the latter making their first entrance in
hymn-like
harmony. The altos drop out and leave the men to complete the phrase with “daß sie
ruhen von ihrer Arbeit.” There is still very little motion, but the bassoons join
the solemn harmony. The word “Arbeit” leads to an extremely artful and satisfying
key change to a bright A major.
3:08 [m. 48]--An oboe enters before the men finish their cadence. It leads into
the A-major section, followed by a flute. A horn provides counterpoint. A
shimmering
oscillation begins in the strings. The voices make staggered entries on “daß sie
ruhen von ihrer Arbeit,” tenors first, then sopranos in syncopation, then altos and
basses together. After the voices enter, all winds except bassoons drop out. The
voices all come together on the last word with a half-close.
3:33 [m. 54]--For the first time since their initial entries in the first movement,
the voices sing a cappella. All instruments drop out. The choir finishes the
verse
with “denn ihre Werke folgen ihnen nach.” The harmonies are close and slightly
staggered,
the altos entering after the other three voices. Another cadence in A major is
avoided
with a deceptive motion to a chord on F-sharp.
3:48 [m. 58]--The key moves to the “dominant,” E major. Overlapping with the
choir’s
completion of the verse, the oboe again leads with anticipation into the next
passage,
again followed by the flute and horns. The strings enter, mixing the oscillation
with a winding, syncopated violin melody. The sopranos then lead the voices into
a full statement of the verse from “daß sie ruhen von ihrer Arbeit.” The tenors
and basses follow, then the altos in a slight staggering. The sopranos finish
“Arbeit”
before the others.
4:10 [m. 64]--The voices complete the verse again. This time, they are not a
cappella,
as the strings continue, but the winds briefly drop out. The sopranos begin “denn”
before the others, but the voices then come together. The sopranos have a long,
flowing line on “folgen.” That word is lengthened in all voices, then repeated
before
“ihnen nach.” The string motion becomes more intermittent. The choir, with horns,
moves toward a cadence in E major on “nach,” but it is interrupted by the
orchestra.

4:35 [m. 70]--As the voices sing “nach,” the orchestra makes a rather jarring
detour
to the minor mode with a deceptive cadence. Flute, oboe, and first violins play
a minor-key echo of the preceding line from the vocal altos. The voices enter
again
and set things right, moving back to major as they sing “folgen ihnen nach” again.
The winds drop out. The voices finally reach a cadence in E major, trailed by
the lower strings without violins.
4:58 [m. 76]--The altos and basses return to the beginning of the sentence, “Ja der
Geist spricht.” Again in a solemn unison, they chant on the same repeated E. The
trombones and horns enter in hymnal harmony, providing the only accompaniment.
Following
this invocation, the tenors and sopranos join the altos on “daß sie ruhen,” with
oboe and flute providing their familiar dovetailing lines. The basses drop out for
this, then interrupt the other voices with another invocation of “Ja der Geist
spricht”
with horns and trombones.
5:30 [m. 84]--The sopranos and altos, with clarinets, sing “daß sie ruhen,” moving
away from E major, initially pivoting to A-flat. The oboe and flute again play
their
dovetailing lines. This moment, still with no strings, is quite ethereal.
5:41 [m. 87]--The women begin what appears to be a repetition of their previous
music
in A-flat, with an entry of the strings in a shimmering background. In a subtle
alteration, the harmony is diverted back to the main key of the middle section, A
major. This is further confirmed when the men enter, trailing the women with the
tenors a half-step above the sopranos. The women hold the word “ruhen,” avoiding
any text repetition and coming together with the men , completing the phrase on
“von
ihrer Arbeit” with a half-close.
6:02 [m. 92]--The choir again sings a cappella on “denn ihre Werke,” altos trailing
the rest. The tenors and basses begin to repeat the words, followed by the
sopranos
(who omit “denn”) and the altos. This repetition briefly diverts to D major.
6:18 [m. 96]--The strings subtly enter on long chords while the flute and oboe play
the arching melody previously used for “folgen ihnen nach.” Against this, the
choir
sings those words, first in long notes on “folgen,” then repeating “folgen” with
the altos and tenors taking over the arching melody. The winds drop out as all
voices
gently descend to an A-major cadence on “nach.” The strings, now with violins,
trail
behind. This passage is very similar to 4:35 [m. 70], with alterations to certain
elements.
A’ Section with Coda
6:41 [m. 102]--Deceptive cadences and other diversions had been used throughout the
B section. Now comes the most significant. The arrival at A major in the strings
is interrupted by a very sudden diversion--through a deceptive cadence--to the home
key of F. This coincides with the return of the opening material, which is also
very sudden and strong. The initial statement of the first sentence is essentially
the same as the beginning of the movement except that the tenors sing instead of
the sopranos and the oboe doubling is omitted.
7:16 [m. 111]--This passage is very similar to 1:08 [m. 18], but since the music
must now remain in F major instead of moving to C, the musical lines are altered
accordingly in contour after initial similarities. The sopranos and basses still
sing “Selig sind die Toten” twice, with repetitions of “selig” and “die Toten,” but
the altos and tenors add the words “die in dem Herren sterben,” which they had not
done at 1:08 [m. 18].
7:42 [m. 118]--Since the previous passage made alterations to remain in F major,
this music is nearly analogous to 1:35 [m. 25] with subtle differences, such as an
upward striving line in the sopranos on “Herren” and the altos and tenors moving
with the flowing soprano rhythm on the second statement of “die in dem Herren
sterben.”
The diminishing descent to the long note on “nun” is preserved, along with the
beautiful
string leaps approaching the cadence, this time in F major instead of C major.
8:18 [m. 127]--Instrumental interlude analogous to 2:12 [m. 34], but with a
surprise
at the end. The winds play the gentle descent, then the strings, as before, but
the final upward sweep in triplets is marked by an unexpected return of the choir.
They simply sing “Selig sind die Toten” on these ascending notes. They swell in
volume, which the wind ascent before had not done. The arrival is another sudden
harmonic diversion, this time to the key of E-flat as the coda begins.
8:38 [m. 132]--CODA. The music of the coda is entirely derived from the first
movement.
The arrival at E-flat major emerges suddenly and quietly into the descending alto
line dovetailing with the tenors from the passage at 6:23 [m. 102] of the first
movement--the
beginning of its A’ section. The winds also play the same music as they did
there--the
main theme of the first movement. The words are those of the main part of this
movement,
the tenors taking over on “die in dem Herren sterben.”
8:58 [m. 137]--This is a combination of music from the first movement and the main
part of this finale. It begins with the quiet rising three-chord figure from the
first vocal entrance of the first movement on the same words (“Selig sind”), with
descending clarinet and oboe and doubling strings. The voices then, however, break
into a statement of “Selig sind die Toten” more reminiscent of the present
movement,
wrenched back to F major and culminating in another sweeping ascent in triplets
with
full orchestra in a sudden swell and another sudden key shift, to D-flat. Slow,
syncopated strings settle the music back down.
9:24 [m. 143]--The voices again hark back to a specific first movement moment, the
opening rising chords on “Selig sind” in D-flat major before the movement’s A’
section.
In a slight alteration from that passage, one complete statement in D-flat
(without
basses) is heard before the “artful” shift to F major. Descending lines in flute,
oboe, and violin, such as the vocal descents on “getröstet werden” from 9:09 [m.
145] of the first movement are heard, but the initial string melody, which was
present
before its A’ section, is not.
9:41 [m. 147]--The dovetailing alto/tenor line from the beginning of the first
movement’s
A’ section is heard again, this time in its original key of F major, the home key
of both movements, using the text of the present one.
10:01 [m. 152]--In a very subtle and extraordinary compositional feat, Brahms jumps
to the closing music of the first movement from 9:09 [m. 145], already anticipated
in the wind descents at 9:24 [m. 143] of this movement. The link is made by an
insertion.
The tenor and soprano descents are preserved, but Brahms precedes them with
similar
descents from basses and altos a fifth lower, creating a complete bottom-to-top
imitation.
These descents are sung to a syncopated “selig sind” instead of “getröstet
werden.”
The three-note ascents are in the violins instead of oboe and flute. After the
sopranos’ descent is reached, the music matches the end of the first movement
almost
exactly except for the text. The entry of the harp at the joyous ascent (now on
the word “Herren” in the sopranos) is particularly striking since that instrument
has not been heard since midway through the second movement.
10:46 [m. 162]--The music from the very end of the first movement from 9:51 [m.
154]
is reprised exactly, using two repetitions in each voice of the word “selig”
instead
of “getröstet werden.” The entire work thus ends with the same word with which it
began, and the first and last movements end with the same music.
11:24--END OF MOVEMENT [166 mm.]
END OF WORK

BRAHMS LISTENING GUIDES HOMEFIVE SONGS (LIEDER), OP. 47

Recording: Jessye Norman, soprano (No. 5); Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, baritone;
Daniel
Barenboim, piano [DG 449 633-2]
Published 1868.

The aesthetic of Op. 46 is largely continued in this set, which again begins with
two Daumer songs, this time adaptations of the medieval Persian poet Hafis. Brahms
follows these rather complex songs with two simple strophic ones, closing with an
explicitly feminine sonnet by Goethe. Three of the songs, Nos. 1, 3, and 4, are
among the most popular in his output. Both of the strophic songs (Nos. 3 and 4)
are exceedingly beautiful. The serenity of No. 3 (“Sonntag”) has lent it the
character
of a composed folk song. No. 4, a setting of the baroque poet Paul Fleming, is
joyous
and breathless. Of the two opening Daumer settings, No. 1 is the more successful,
with an exuberance that seems to be answered later in the set by No. 4. The second
song (“Liebesglut”) has a virtuosic piano part that is surprisingly independent of
the vocal line. While artfully composed, with an impressive “metrical modulation”
at the end, the song seems somewhat overwrought in comparison to the other four.
The closing Goethe setting, while rather subdued, shows a great understanding of
the sonnet form, which is reflected exactly in the musical structure. The
exquisite
craftsmanship is matched by a sensitive matching of the music to the restrained
emotion
of the text.

Note: Links to English translations of the texts are from Emily Ezust's site at
http://www.recmusic.org/lieder.
For the most part, the translations are line-by-line, except where the difference
between German and English syntax requires slight alterations to the contents of
certain lines. The German texts (included here) are also visible in the
translation
links.

IMSLP WORK PAGE

ONLINE SCORE FROM IMSLP (First Edition from Brahms-Institut Lübeck--original keys;
does not include the repetition of the last line in No. 3)
ONLINE SCORE FROM IMSLP (From Breitkopf & Härtel Sämtliche Werke--original keys;
includes the repetition of the last line in No. 3)
ONLINE SCORE FROM IMSLP (Edition Peters, edited by Max Friedländer):
No. 1: Botschaft (in original key, B-flat minor/D-flat major)
No. 1: Botschaft (in middle key, G minor/B-flat major)
No. 1: Botschaft (in low key, F minor/A-flat major)
No. 2: Liebesglut (in original key, F minor/major)
No. 2: Liebesglut (in low key, E-flat minor/major)
No. 3: Sonntag (in original [middle] key, F major; includes the repetition of the
last line)
No. 3: Sonntag (in high key, G major; includes the repetition of the last line)
No. 3: Sonntag (in low key, E-flat major; includes the repetition of the last line)

No. 4: O liebliche Wangen (in original key, D major)

No. 4: O liebliche Wangen (in middle key, C major)
No. 4: O liebliche Wangen (in low key, A major)
No. 5: Die Liebende schreibt (in original key, E-flat major)
No. 5: Die Liebende schreibt (in low key, D-flat major)

1. Botschaft (Message). Text by Georg Friedrich Daumer, adapted from the Persian
by Hafis. Grazioso. Ternary form (ABA’). B-FLAT MINOR/D-FLAT MAJOR, 9/8 time
(Middle
key G minor/B-flat major, low key F minor/A-flat major).

German Text:
Wehe, Lüftchen, lind und lieblich
Um die Wange der Geliebten,
Spiele zart in ihrer Locke,
Eile nicht hinwegzufliehn!

Tut sie dann vielleicht die Frage,

Wie es um mich Armen stehe;
Sprich: »Unendlich war sein Wehe,
Höchst bedenklich seine Lage;

Aber jetzo kann er hoffen

Wieder herrlich aufzuleben,
Denn du, Holde,
Denkst an ihn.«

English Translation

0:00 [m. 1]--Introduction. The piano sets up the lilting 3x3 pattern typical of
9/8 time. The harmonization and bass have a certain thickness countered by
Brahms’s
marking of leggiero (lightly). The introduction is unambiguously in the minor key
(B-flat minor) that is relative to the main D-flat major key of the song. After
two rising sequential phrases, the vocal entry is prepared by an accented and
prolonged
dissonance.