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.
Two Songs Op. 91: Gestillte Sehnsucht
Johannes Brahms Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Gestillte Sehnsucht op. 92
(Text: Friedrich Rückert)
In goldnen cbendschein getauchet
Wie feierlilch die Walder stehn!
In leise Stimmen der Voglein hauchet
Des cbendwindes leises Wehn.
Sie lispeln die Welt in Schlummer ein.
Ihr Wunsche, die ihr stets euch reget
Ilh Herzen sonder Rast und Ruh!
Du Sehnen, das die Brust beweget,
Wann ruhest du, wann schlummerst du?
Beim Lispeln der Winde der Vogelein
Ihr sehnenden Wunsche, wann schlaft ihr ein?
cch, wenn nicht mehr in goldnen Fernen
Mein Geist auf Traumgefieder eilt,
Nicht mehr an ewig fernen Sternen
Mit sehnendem Blick mein cuge weilt,
Dann lispeln die Winde, die Vogelein
Mit meinem Sehnen mein Leben ein.
The song "Gestillte Sehnsucht" (Stilled Longing) by Johannes Brahms, set to the text by Friedrich Rückert, explores the theme of longing and the desire for rest and peace. The opening stanza describes the serene atmosphere of a golden evening, with the trees standing solemnly and the gentle voices of birds blending with the soft breeze. This imagery sets the tone for the rest of the song.
The second stanza delves deeper into the nature of longing and its relentless presence in the hearts of individuals. The poet wonders when these desires, which constantly stir the hearts without rest or peace, will find respite and sleep. The poet connects the lulling whispers of the wind and the birds with the longing of the human heart, suggesting that maybe in the harmonious sounds of nature, the longing will find solace.
In the final stanza, the poet muses on a time when their spirit no longer wanders in distant dreams or gazes longingly at unreachable stars. When this happens, the wind and the birds will then whisper the poet's longing, incorporating it into their own lives. Here, the poet merges their personal longing with the universal longing of nature, creating a sense of unity and acceptance.
Overall, "Gestillte Sehnsucht" explores the universal experience of longing and the desire for rest and tranquility. Through the imagery of nature and the connection between human longing and the natural world, Brahms creates a poignant and introspective musical setting for Rückert's text.
Line by Line Meaning
In goldnen Abendschein getauchet
Drenched in golden evening light
Wie feierlich die Walder stehn!
How solemnly the forests stand!
In leise Stimmen der Voglein hauchet
In soft voices breathe the little birds
Des Abendwindes leises Wehn.
The gentle blowing of the evening wind.
Was lispeln die Winde, die Vogelein?
What do the winds, the little birds whisper?
Sie lispeln die Welt in Schlummer ein.
They whisper the world to sleep.
Ihr Wunsche, die ihr stets euch reget
Your desires, that are always stirring within you
Ilh Herzen sonder Rast und Ruh!
You hearts, without rest or peace!
Du Sehnen, das die Brust beweget,
You yearning, that moves the breast
Wann ruhest du, wann schlummerst du?
When will you rest, when will you sleep?
Beim Lispeln der Winde der Vogelein
While the winds and the little birds whisper
Ihr sehnenden Wunsche, wann schlaft ihr ein?
You longing desires, when will you sleep?
cch, wenn nicht mehr in goldnen Fernen
Ah, when no longer in golden distances
Mein Geist auf Traumgefieder eilt,
My spirit rushes on dream-wings
Nicht mehr an ewig fernen Sternen
No longer at eternally distant stars
Mit sehnendem Blick mein Auge weilt,
With longing gaze my eye lingers
Dann lispeln die Winde, die Vogelein
Then the winds and the little birds whisper
Mit meinem Sehnen mein Leben ein.
With my yearning, my life.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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@mweston3246
Miss Norman is an appreciated recital artist of German lieder and this hauntingly beautiful rendition of a Ruckert poem is a masterpiece. Many thanks to whomever posted this!!
@daviddoyle1586
I love this so perfect vocally superb in every way in my humble opinion .
@Wavewolfaroha
Lovely interpretation, beautifully executed by all three performers! Thank you for sharing.
@cmcull987
She's tremendous. Thank you for sharing this. And thanks to Brahms and the violist. Truly.
@Hajnikovmuz
absolutely stunning, both composition and performances! Brahms is a master of well-crafted textures and wistful melodies
@Kuhrvenal
This interpretation has true soul.Thanks so much for this,friend :)
@Wavewolfaroha
Lovely interpretation, beautifully executed by all three performers! Thank you for sharing. Thank you for providing text.
@VivaRenata
Beautiful and tasteful rendition, even if Norman is not as much of an "alto" as Flagstad was. I respect Norman greatly for her appreciation of her great predecessor in the dramatic Wagnerian repertoire. Norman planted a beautiful tree 1995 outside the small house in Hamar where Flagstad was born a century before. It was pretty small when I finally made it there 2002, but it is a wonderful tribute that is still growing.
@TheJamesalden
Thanks so much for uploading this. I love Brahms, and, come to think of it, I don't believe he could even write a mediocre tune if he wanted to; though some of his earliest ones seem to have been destroyed because he considered them "unworthy". I might be mistaken. I hope so. I would like to hear some of his earlier efforts, like Mendelssohn...
@silviapavani-devisser1150
How marvelous. So touching, sensitive and integrated