1:06 [m. 27]--The cadence of stanza 1 merges with a four-bar interlude.

The first
two bars have rich chords, while the second anticipate the return of the opening
melody.
1:16 [m. 31]--Stanza 2 (A’). The first two lines are set as at 0:06 [m. 3], except
for a slight alteration of the melody on the word “wir” in the first line, which
moves up instead of down. The echoing one-bar interlude is also omitted.
1:28 [m. 36]--In contrast to stanza 1 at 0:20 [m. 9], the third line follows
immediately
without the intervening echo. It also begins with the leap to a chromatic note and
subsequent upward slide, but the second gesture reaches farther upward. The second
gesture adds even more “sliding” chromatic notes and hints at a move to D-sharp
minor.
The key changes and the music that accompanied the fourth line and its repetition
are completely omitted, accommodating the fact that stanza 2 is one line shorter.

1:38 [m. 40]--The changes to the second gesture of line 3 allow for a quick return
to the home key after the brief minor-mode suggestion. Lines 4-6 are set to
similar
music as lines 5-7 of stanza 1, but the last two lines are sung at a lower pitch
level, still reaching the gentle cadence in the home key. The first two bars of
the interlude from 1:06 [m. 27] follow this cadence.
1:58 [m. 48]--As a postlude, the last line is sung again to a low repeated note,
under which the piano, also in a low register, plays the opening melody. On the
last word (“Brust”), the voice leaps up to a note right above the final keynote.
It is suspended there for a full bar, with the delayed downward resolution
bringing
a great sense of fulfillment. The steady piano accompaniment slows to triplet
groups
for the only time under this suspension and delayed resolution. The voice and
piano
end together.
2:17--END OF SONG [51 mm.]

8. “Unbewegte laue Luft” (“Motionless, tepid air”). Text by Georg Friedrich

Daumer.
Langsam--Lebhaft (Slow--Lively). Through composed form in two large sections with
contrasting tempo and meter. E MAJOR, 9/8 and 4/4 time (Low key C major).

German Text:
Unbewegte laue Luft,
Tiefe Ruhe der Natur;
Durch die stille Gartennacht
Plätschert die Fontäne nur.
Aber im Gemüte schwillt
Heißere Begierde mir,
Aber in der Ader quillt
Leben und verlangt nach Leben.
Sollten nicht auch deine Brust
Sehnlichere Wünsche heben?
Sollte meiner Seele Ruf
Nicht dir deine tief durchbeben?
Leise mit dem Ätherfuß
Säume nicht, daherzuschweben!
Komm, o komm, damit wir uns
Himmlische Genüge geben!

English Translation

SECTION 1 (Langsam--9/8). Lines 1-4

0:00 [m. 1]--Two-bar introduction establishing the pattern of rising arpeggios and
the prominent dissonance (lowering of the second scale degree) in the bass. It is
in the piano’s bass and tenor register.
0:12 [m. 3]--The voice enters in the languid tempo established by the piano. While
not quite “motionless,” there is a static effect. The characteristic chromatic
note
on “laue” (“tepid”), which lowers the sixth scale degree, becomes a prominent
“marker”
for this opening melody on its recurrences in the fast section. The second line
gradually moves downward after an initial leap. The line is repeated with a turn
to E minor and B minor. The slow rising arpeggios, one per bar, continue in the
piano, along with a solid bass in octaves.
1:03 [m. 13]--As the repetition of the second line ends, the piano abandons its
pattern
of languid arpeggios for a more flowing motion with trills, signifying the
splashing
in the fountain. The third line enters against this motion, which is still slow,
in warm B major. The trills continue in the pattern as the fourth line is sung.
The fourth line is repeated, turning back home to E, but also back to the minor
mode.
1:33 [m. 20]--At the word “nur” in the repetition of the fourth line, the slow, low
arpeggios begin again for an interlude that serves as a transition to the faster
second section. Despite this function, the interlude actually becomes steadily
slower
and quieter, ending in a bar marked “Adagio.” It is highly chromatic.
SECTION 2 (Lebhaft--4/4). Lines 5-16
2:08 [m. 25]--The tempo change is sudden, but not jarring. Half of one 4/4 bar
should
equal a third of one 9/8 bar. The piano begins its rippling accompaniment one bar
before the voice enters. To transition out of the interlude, it begins quietly,
but quickly builds as the voice enters. The fifth and sixth lines are joyous and
in major, but still retain chromatic tinges, especially as loud piano chords enter.

2:19 [m. 31]--The seventh line begins with the same sweeping gesture as the fifth,
but going into the eighth line, the music is even more joyous and fulfilling, and
less chromatic. Some “color” notes remain in the accompaniment at the high point
of line eight. There is a one-bar transition to the next passage.
2:31 [m. 37]--The accompaniment becomes less active, using a triplet rhythm (groups
of six instead of groups of eight in the rippling pattern). The music is also more
subdued than the preceding passage. While still in the “Lebhaft” tempo, the ninth
line is sung to the same music as the first line from the “Langsam” tempo, complete
with the characteristic chromatic note and even rhythmic correspondence. Line ten
is very chromatic, with the piano bass sliding up in octaves. A loud one-bar
outburst
leads to the next couplet.
2:42 [m. 43]--The eleventh and twelfth lines are set in a similar manner to the
preceding
two. Line eleven also echoes the first line from the slow section. Line twelve
begins as did line ten, but it then erupts into even more chromatic notes, making
a surprising key change to F major, a half-step above the home key.
2:53 [m. 49]--The thirteenth and fourteenth lines are completely set in the key of
F major. The preceding key change creates a rather “remote” sound that is
heightened
by the quiet, delicate setting of the lines. A two-bar interlude over a large
crescendo
slides back to the home key and sets up the climax of the song.
3:04 [m. 55]--The climax arrives with the penultimate fifteenth line and the return
of E major. The faster rippling accompaniment in groups of eight notes returns.
The voice soars in longer, higher notes. The words “Komm, o komm” are stated
twice
before the line continues. The last line arrives with the song’s highest pitch (to
music previously heard in line eight, at a smaller climax). There are sharply
accented
off-beat chords under the last word, “geben.” A one-bar bridge suddenly quiets the
music down.
3:19 [m. 63]--The last two lines are repeated to quiet music. The fifteenth line
is now set to the music of the opening line from the slow section, which has now
made three appearances in the fast section, all with its characteristic chromatic
note. That note is retained for the beginning of the last line, which finally
slides
up to a gentle, if somewhat inconclusive ending. Under this, the rippling piano
reaches ever higher in the right hand and ever lower in the low octaves of the
left.
This pattern continues for two bars after the singer ends before a quiet chord,
spaced very widely between the hands, concludes the diverse, satisfying song. The
three recurrences of the opening melody in the fast portion are an effective device
to unify the two sections.
3:49--END OF SONG [70 mm.]
END OF SET

EIGHT SONGS (LIEDER UND GESÄNGE), OP. 58

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, baritone; Daniel Barenboim, piano [DG 449 633-2]
Published 1871.

This set is the first example of a type of grouping that would continue in the next
two sets. Perhaps not as symmetrical as Op. 59 nor as steadily progressive as Op.
63, it nonetheless contains internal “subgroups” by two poets. The first three
songs
are all by Kopisch, two of them translations from Italian. There are also two
songs
by Friedrich Hebbel that are juxtaposed, and while very different, they both begin
with similar vocal gestures. The two books are also highly contrasted. The first
four love songs are of a rather gentle character, despite the somewhat bitter
ending
of No. 3 (“Die Spröde”), and the second set of four contains more deeply
introspective,
dark, and heavy songs. The set also retains a vestige from the three previous
sets
(including the previous Daumer set, Op. 57), the long “capstone” song, which he
abandoned
in Op. 59 and Op. 63. As in Op. 48 and Op. 49, that “capstone” song is by August
Friedrich von Schack, and is quite extended even though Brahms cut two verses from
the poem. The first four songs all have virtuosic piano parts, especially No. 1,
“Blinde Kuh,” which is practically a piano toccata with vocal embellishment. No.
2, “Während des Regens,” uses metrical alternation to an unusual degree and is the
only one of Brahms’s “rain songs” (the most famous of which are in Op. 59) where
the precipitation is a symbol of joy rather than of regret or loss. No. 4, which
continues the character of the first set despite not being by Kopisch, is one of
the most inspired, hushed, and atmospheric of all the songs, and is extraordinarily
difficult for both performers. The second book begins with the painfully lamenting
and almost motionless “Schwermut,” which is about as stark a contrast to the
serene,
joyful No. 4 as can be imagined. The Hebbel songs both include romantic imagery
typical of earlier song composers. No. 6 is a ghostly, spectral picture, while No.
7 transitions--almost without a demarcation--from an idyllic forest dream scene to
the protagonist’s inner torment. Sketches exist for this song (a rarity for
Brahms),
which give great insight into his compositional process. The setting of the Schack
“Serenade” uses the typical idioms of the genre, such as plucked string imitation,
but it is nonetheless quite tragic, as the singer remains unanswered and alone at
the window. The songs of Op. 58 are not among the composer’s most familiar, but
they are all of exceptional quality and imagination, and provide an unusual array
of moods and styles within a carefully planned organization.

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.
Includes an earlier version of the text for No. 3. Also includes an individual
printing of No. 8. No. 3 has the original minor-key ending. In No. 4, the last
beat of m. 23 is a G-major chord. In No. 5, the first section is notated in 4/4
[common time].)
ONLINE SCORE FROM IMSLP (From Breitkopf & Härtel Sämtliche Werke--original keys.
Includes major-key ending of No. 3, changed from the first edition [not played by
Barenboim]. Text of No. 3 as sung by Fischer-Dieskau. In No. 4, the last beat of
m. 23 is changed to a B-minor chord. In No. 5, the first section is notated in 2/2
[cut time]. These changes from the first edition were not retained in the Peters
Edition.)
ONLINE SCORE FROM IMSLP (Edition Peters, edited by Max Friedländer):
No. 1: Blinde Kuh (in original key, G minor/major)
No. 1: Blinde Kuh (in low key, E minor/major)
No. 2: Während des Regens (in original key, D-flat major)
No. 2: Während des Regens (in low key, B-flat major)
No. 3: Die Spröde (in original key, A major--as in the first edition, includes the
minor-key ending as played by Barenboim. In the later complete edition, the ending
was changed to major. Includes text as sung by Fischer-Dieskau.)
No. 3: Die Spröde (in low key, G major--includes minor-key ending and text as sung
by Fischer-Dieskau.)
No. 4: O komme, holde Sommernacht (in original key, F-sharp major--as in the first
edition, has a G-major chord on the last beat of m. 23. In the later complete
edition,
it was changed to a B-minor chord.)
No. 4: O komme, holde Sommernacht (in low key, E major--analogous to the first
edition,
the last beat of m. 23 is an F-major chord, not an A-minor chord.)
No. 5: Schwermut (in original key, E-flat minor, from high voice edition--as in the
first edition, the first section is notated in 4/4 [common time]. In the later
complete
edition, it is in 2/2 [cut time].)
No. 5: Schwermut (in original key, E-flat minor, from low voice edition [not
changed
from high voice edition]--the first section is notated in 4/4 [common time].)
No. 6: In der Gasse (in original key, D minor)
No. 6: In der Gasse (in low key, C minor)
No. 7: Vorüber (in original key, F major)
No. 7: Vorüber (in low key, D major)
No. 8: Serenade (in original key, A minor)
No. 8: Serenade (in low key, F-sharp minor)
BOOK I:
1. Blinde Kuh (Blind Man’s Bluff). Text by August Kopisch, after an Italian
(Sicilian)
folk poem. Vivace. Binary form (AABB’) with coda. G MINOR/MAJOR, 2/4 time (Low
key E minor/major).

German Text:
Im Finstern geh’ ich suchen,
Mein Kind, wo steckst du wohl?
Ach, sie versteckt sich immer,
Daß ich verschmachten soll!

Im Finstern geh’ ich suchen,

Mein Kind, wo steckst du wohl?
Ich, der den Ort nicht finde,
Ich irr’ im Kreis umher!

Wer um dich stirbt,

Der hat keine Ruh’!
Kindchen erbarm dich,
Und komm herzu!
Ja, komm herzu,
Herzu, herzu!

English Translation

0:00 [m. 1]--Introduction. The piano establishes its accompaniment pattern for the
first two verses. It is a constant stream of light and steady notes (sixteenth
notes)
in both hands. The hands move in opposite directions at times, other times in the
same direction. One hand often plays scales while the other plays leaps, and at
times the hands play similar patterns. The perpetual motion, quiet level, and
light
touch create a playful and secretive mood despite the minor key. The opening of
the right hand anticipates, in notes twice as fast, the beginning of the vocal
melody.
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