Johannes Brahms (7th May 1833–3rd April 1897) was a composer of the Romanti… Read Full Bio ↴Johannes Brahms (7th May 1833–3rd April 1897) was a composer of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Germany, he eventually settled in Vienna, Austria.
Brahms wrote a number of major works for orchestra, including two serenades, four symphonies, two piano concertos, a Violin Concerto, a Double Concerto for violin and cello, and a pair of orchestral overtures, the Academic Festival Overture and the Tragic Overture.
His large choral work Ein deutsches Requiem ("A German Requiem") is not a traditional, liturgical requiem (Missa pro defunctis), but a setting of texts which Brahms selected from the Lutheran Bible. The work was composed in three major periods of his life. An earlier version of the second movement was first composed in 1854, not long after Robert Schumann's attempted suicide, and was later finished and used in his first piano concerto. The majority of the Requiem was composed after his mother's death in 1865. The fifth movement was later added after the official premiere in 1868. The complete work was then published in 1869.
Brahms's works in variation form include the Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel and the Paganini Variations, both for solo piano, and the Variations on a Theme by Joseph Haydn in versions for two pianos and for orchestra. The final movement of the Fourth Symphony (Op. 98) is also formally a set of variations.

His chamber works include three string quartets, two string quintets and two string sextets, as well as a clarinet quintet, a clarinet trio, a horn trio, a piano quintet, three piano quartets and three piano trios. He composed several instrumental sonatas with piano, including three for violin, two for cello and two for clarinet (which were subsequently arranged for viola by the composer). His solo piano works range from his early piano sonatas and ballades to his late sets of character pieces. Brahms also wrote about 200 songs and is considered among the greatest of Lieder composers (with Schubert and Schumann). His chorale preludes for organ, which he wrote shortly before his death, have become an important part of the organist's repertoire.

Brahms never wrote an opera, nor did he ever write in the characteristic late-19th-century form of the tone poem, strongly preferring to compose absolute music that does not refer to an explicit scene or narrative.

Despite his reputation as a serious composer of large, complex musical designs, some of Brahms's most widely known and commercially successful compositions during his life were aimed at the thriving contemporary market for domestic music-making, and are small-scale and popular in intention. These included his arrangements of popular dances, in Hungarian Dances, the Waltzes Op. 39 for piano duet, the Liebeslieder Waltzes for vocal quartet and piano, and some of his many songs, notably the Wiegenlied, Op. 49 No 4 (published in 1868). This last item was written (to a folk text) to celebrate the birth of a son to Brahms's friend Bertha Faber, and is universally known as Brahms' Lullaby.

49 Deutsche Volkslieder
Johannes Brahms Lyrics

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Schwesterlein, Schwesterlein,
Wann geh'n wir nach Haus?

Morgen wenn die Hahnen kräh'n,
Woll'n wir nach Hause geh'n,
Brüderlein, Brüderlein,
Dann geh'n wir nach Haus.

Schwesterlein, Schwesterlein,
Wann geh'n wir nach Haus?

Morgen wenn der Tag anbricht,
Eh' end't die Freude nicht,
Brüderlein, Brüderlein,
Der fröhliche Braus.

Schwesterlein, Schwesterlein,
Wohl ist es Zeit.

Mein Liebster tanzt mit mir,
Geh' ich, tanzt er mit ihr,
Brüderlein, Brüderlein,
Lass' du mich heut'.

Schwesterlein, Schwesterlein,
Was bist du blass?

Das macht der Morgenschein
cuf meinen Wängelein,
Brüderlein, Brüderlein,
Die vom Taue nass.

Schwesterlein, Schwesterlein,
Du wankest so matt?

Suche die Kammertür,
Suche mein Bettlein mir,

Brüderlein, es wird fein
Unterm Rasen sein.

Overall Meaning

These lyrics are from Johannes Brahms's song "Schwesterlein". The song is a part of his collection "49 Deutsche Volkslieder" (49 German Folk Songs) and is written in the style of a traditional German folk song.

The lyrics revolve around a conversation between a sister and a brother. The sister keeps asking when they will go home, and the brother keeps reassuring her that they will go home the next day, when the rooster crows. The repetition of the lines "Schwesterlein, Schwesterlein, Wann geh'n wir nach Haus?" and "Brüderlein, Brüderlein, Dann geh'n wir nach Haus" emphasizes the longing for home and the desire to leave the current place.

In the second stanza, the sister asks the same question, and the brother responds that they will go home when the day breaks and the joy is not yet over. This suggests a sense of anticipation and the idea that leaving the current place will bring even more happiness.

The third stanza takes a different tone, as the sister mentions that her lover dances with her, but if she leaves, he will dance with someone else. It implies a bittersweet situation where the sister has to make a choice between staying with her brother or going with her lover.

In the fourth stanza, the sister appears pale, and the brother attributes it to the morning light shining on her cheeks. He mentions that his cheeks are wet from the dew, indicating a contrast between the sister's paleness and his own freshness.

Finally, in the last stanza, the sister seems weak and asks for her bedroom and bed. The brother tells her to look for the chamber door and find her little bed. However, he cryptically adds that it will be "fine under the grass," which could imply a metaphorical interpretation suggesting death or burial.

Overall, the lyrics of "Schwesterlein" depict a longing for home, the complexities of relationships, and the juxtaposition of joy and melancholy.

Line by Line Meaning

Schwesterlein, Schwesterlein,
O sister, dear sister,

Wann geh'n wir nach Haus?
When will we go home?

Morgen wenn die Hahnen kräh'n,
Tomorrow when the roosters crow,

Woll'n wir nach Hause geh'n,
We will go home.

Brüderlein, Brüderlein,
O brother, dear brother,

Dann geh'n wir nach Haus.
Then we will go home.

Schwesterlein, Schwesterlein,
O sister, dear sister,

Wann geh'n wir nach Haus?
When will we go home?

Morgen wenn der Tag anbricht,
Tomorrow when the day breaks,

Eh' end't die Freude nicht,
Before the joy ends,