Unsere Liebe ist fester noch mehr.

Eisen und Stahl, man schmiedet sie um,

Unsere Liebe, wer wandelt sie um?
Eisen und Stahl, sie können zergehn,
Unsere Liebe muß ewig bestehn!«

English Translation

PART 1
0:00 [m. 1]--The 4-bar piano introduction sets the mood with a low bass melody and
a very steady, quiet, strangely ominous 3/4 motion. The right hand responds with
off-beat arpeggios and isolated double notes or chords after the third beat of each
bar. The right hand remains in the low middle register as well.
0:08 [m. 5]--Stanza 1. The singer begins in a low register, continuing the mood
of the introduction. The word “dunkel” is given isolation and emphasis. The piano
continues the rhythm pattern of the introduction. The off-beat arpeggios move to
the left hand. The isolated notes after the third beat are now single notes. The
right hand moves to a higher level and plays chords that shadow the vocal melody.
The melody itself begins with the same ominous bass line heard in the
introduction.
The second line begins higher and winds its way downward, including a plunging
octave
leap on “schweiget.” There is a motion to D minor/major.
0:21 [m. 12]--The piano anticipates the vocal line at line 3, which includes some
chromatic notes and half-steps. It begins on D minor, but moves quickly back to
B. The word “ja” is attached to the third line rather than the fourth. The third
line builds slightly, but line 4 settles down to a surprising full cadence. The
piano pattern remains quite constant. The singer’s range remains rather low
throughout
the stanza. The introduction is repeated before the next stanza, beginning at the
vocal cadence.
0:46 [m. 25]--Stanza 2. Brahms sets the second stanza to exactly the same music
as the first, in both the vocal line and the piano part. This is striking, since
the rest of the song is decidedly through-composed and non-strophic. There are
some
alterations to rhythm and declamation to fit the text, notably the omission of the
high note used for “ja” in stanza 1 and the addition of repeated notes for extra
syllables. There is also a buildup, rather than a settling, in line 4. Only the
last note of the vocal line is changed to avoid “full” closure and lead into the
dramatic music of the next section, but the introduction is repeated as before.
PART 2
1:22 [m. 45]--Stanza 3. After the “narrative” character of the first two stanzas,
Brahms suddenly intensifies the drama for the unusual six-line stanza containing
the boy’s words to the girl. The piano adopts a highly intense triplet rhythm in
the high register it has avoided up to this point of the song. The arpeggios are
rather angular, with downward octave leaps and smaller upward leaps. The vocal
line
also suddenly breaks into the high register against the triplet pattern of the
piano’s
right hand line. The left hand plays two-note harmonies and, on vocal rests, low
octaves in long-short rhythm. Later octaves march up and leap down.
1:36 [m. 53]--After a half-cadence, lines 3 and 4 are set to the same music as the
first two lines, with alterations to rhythm and declamation. The volume has now
reached a rather strong level. The same half-cadence is reached.
1:50 [m. 61]--The last two lines of the stanza come to a marvelous climax, and are
set to similar, but new and much higher music. Brahms indicates a large crescendo
and even a slight quickening of the “moderate” speed. Under the last line, the low
bass octaves steadily march up, including powerful dotted (long-short) rhythms.
The cadence is full and powerful.
2:02 [m. 68]--An unusually large piano interlude follows this first climax. At
first,
it continues the drama of the last two lines. The piano continues its angular
triplet
rhythm, at first with a steady upper note (B). Against this, the left hand plays
a melodic line with two-note harmonies (mostly sixths). This is punctuated with
low bass octaves that also later become melodic. The music gradually quiets down
to a very hushed, almost motionless point for the girl’s response. The right-hand
triplets work their way downward to the middle register, and the left hand slows
down to longer and lower harmonies.
PART 3
2:25 [m. 79]--Stanza 4. The music completely changes for the girl’s response. The
time signature changes to 6/8, which is a smooth transition from the triplet rhythm
of the preceding music. Brahms also marks a tempo change from “moderately” to
“rather
slowly” (“Ziemlich langsam”). Finally, the mode shifts from B minor to B major.
The narrative introduction and her first words are extremely quiet and subdued.
The music is now very sweet and comforting, in stark contrast to what has gone
before.
The piano introduces a rocking figure on the first half of each bar. This turning
figure will pervade the entire final section.
2:53 [m. 87]--The last two lines of the stanza increase somewhat in speed, volume,
and intensity, but the rhythmic pattern continues in the piano. Already in the bar
bridging to the third line, the piano has introduced the “rocking” figure at a
lower
level on the second half of the bar. The harmony is quite unstable, first
suggesting
E major and then, on the other side of the home key, F-sharp major before becoming
highly chromatic in the fourth line. The music settles down after “unsere Liebe.”

3:11 [m. 94]--Another, briefer interlude slows the music down again and brings it
back to the soft level of the section’s opening. This already begins at the fourth
stanza’s final half-cadence. The rocking figure continues over harmonies and the
established bass pattern, but now the patterns on the second beat move out of the
middle range. At first, they are higher than those on the first beat, but then
they
settle together on a steady trill-like motion that is played close below a long
held
note as the music slows. All of this is over steady bass octaves on the
preparatory
“dominant” note. A distinct upbeat leads into stanza 5.
3:27 [m. 99]--Stanza 5. The first two lines are a nearly strophic repetition of
those in stanza 4. The first words (“Eisen und Stahl”) swing down lower, but then
“man schmiedet sie um” remains at a high, questioning level rather than descending,
as had the narrative words in stanza 4. The long top right hand notes are also now
syncopated. Other than this, the second line, with a similar opening (“unsere
Liebe”)
is set in the same way as in stanza 4.
3:52 [m. 107]--The increase in speed and volume begins as at 2:53 [m. 87], but
rather
than settling down, the intensification continues to a warm, full-hearted, and very
satisfying climax. The point of departure is after “unsere Liebe.” These words
are repeated for emphasis, and at that climactic point, where the voice reaches its
highest pitch, the piano introduces a “cross rhythm” grouping that suggests 3/4
meter.
This cross rhythm gradually moves back to regular 6/8 motion. A lengthened,
syncopated
repetition of the key word “ewig” creates a final vocal phrase that is an irregular
five bars.
4:16 [m. 117]--The piano postlude begins with the vocal cadence and overlaps with
it, creating another five-bar phrase. It moves back to the cross-rhythm and
implied
3/4 motion, which remains in force until the end. The plunging broken chords
descend
quickly from the excited cadence to the slow, quiet, and serene ending of a truly
great song.
4:41--END OF SONG [121 mm.]

2. Die Mainacht (The May Night). Text by Ludwig Heinrich Christoph Hölty. Sehr
langsam und ausdrucksvoll (Very slowly and full of expression). Ternary form (with
A’ fusing A and B). E-FLAT MAJOR, 4/4 time (High key F-sharp major).

German Text:
Wann der silberne Mond durch die Gesträuche blinkt,
Und sein schlummerndes Licht über den Rasen streut,
Und die Nachtigall flötet,
Wandl’ ich traurig von Busch zu Busch.

[ Here a stanza not set by Brahms]

Überhüllet von Laub girret ein Taubenpaar

Sein Entzücken mir vor; aber ich wende mich,
Suche dunklere Schatten,
Und die einsame Träne rinnt.

Wann, o lächelndes Bild, welches wie Morgenrot

Durch die Seele mir strahlt, find ich auf Erden dich?
Und die einsame Träne
Bebt mir heißer die Wang herab!

English Translation (including Stanza 2 of the poem, not set by Brahms)

0:00 [m. 1]--A two-bar piano introduction sets up the slow, lullaby-like
accompaniment
pattern. Steadily rising bass notes and chords elicit undulating three-note
responses
from the right hand.
0:11 [m. 3]--Stanza 1 (A). The warm melody begins in a low register and moves at
a slow pace against the continuing “lullaby” accompaniment. The first two lines
gently rise and fall, the second with slightly more intensity and adding some
chromatic
notes.
0:42 [m. 9]--The last two lines change keys suddenly, ending up in the minor
version
of E-flat, which continues through the brief bridge to the next stanza. The
“lullaby”
continues in the right hand, but the bass pattern breaks, introducing slow
syncopations
held across bar lines. The vocal phrase in the third line rises to the stanza’s
highest pitch in the related key of G-flat major, while the last line makes a very
slow descent to the minor-key cadence. The bridge passage is essentially a minor-
key
version of the introduction.
1:12 [m. 15]--Stanza 2 (B). Perhaps Brahms skipped Hölty’s second verse so that
he could write this highly imaginative ternary form. The second musical verse
begins
suddenly in yet another new key, the rather distant B major (although the minor
version
of E-flat helped to get there). Musically, it is quite different, being set in a
higher register, and with gentle repeated chords and double notes replacing the
slow
lullaby rhythm in the piano part, the right hand slowly leaping up and down. The
shift in tone color is striking, including the atmospheric chromatic notes. The
first half of the second line suddenly swells in volume from the quiet that has
thus
far dominated.
1:34 [m. 21]--The piano begins a sudden motion back toward E-flat, which is
continued
by the voice with the second half of line two. This unstable passage is rather
disturbing
and disruptive. The piano begins the shift at the top of the preceding buildup,
introducing arpeggios in the left hand played in triplet rhythm. The remainder of
line two (in A-flat minor) remains strong, ending with a distinctive downward leap
in the voice, while the third line settles suddenly back down, both in volume and
pitch, in E-flat minor. The piano motion goes back to the pulsations without the
arpeggios, then slows down to isolated syncopations and finally off-beat chords.

2:05 [m. 27]--For the last line, Brahms quickly shifts back to major and an
accompaniment
resembling the opening (but with the right hand beginning its figures on the
beats).
The music magically becomes very warm and full at the climactic word “Träne.”
This
word is stretched out with a long note and a descending arpeggio. The verse ends
inconclusively, however. The piano becomes quiet and slower in the brief interlude
resembling the introduction, and comes to an expectant pause. This vocal line is
strangely similar to that of the third line of stanza 3, a relationship that will
become more clear at line 3 of the last verse.
2:35 [m. 33]--Stanza 3 (A’). The first two lines of the verse in the vocal line
are musically the same as in the first stanza (with the exception of a syncopated
emphasis and lengthening on “find”). The accompaniment, however, shifts from the
slow lullaby rhythm to a more rocking and active, yet still gentle triplet rhythm
derived from the lullaby motion.
2:58 [m. 39]--The surprise moment of the song! At line 3 of the last stanza, the
music no longer follows that of the first verse, and suddenly the singer presents
the music of the last line of the second stanza, as at 2:05 [m. 27]. The texts of
the lines are obviously the same, with the first word of the final line, “bebt,”
replacing the earlier “rinnt.” This is a wonderful example of allowing textual
response
to override musical form. What Brahms has essentially done here is to combine the
material of the first two musical verses in the last one. The continuing triplet
motion (including chords and double notes) makes the climax at “Träne” more
intense
than that at 2:05 [m. 27], however, and where that moment had become inconclusive
and abortive, Brahms uses his remaining “extra” line to bring it to a fine
resolution.

3:19 [m. 45]--The word “heißer” is repeated on a descending arpeggio, and at that
point there is a brief harmonic shift down to E (notated as F-flat) to increase the
drama just a bit before the close. From here, the music settles down. The word
“Wang,” which quickly shifts back down to E-flat, is drawn out with syncopation to
accomplish this “settling” to the cadence on E-flat. The triplet motion continues
in the piano until it stops on a chord under the end of “Wang” and the first
syllable
of “herab.”
3:34 [m. 48]--The piano postlude is similar to the introduction, but with more
harmonic
“color” notes (mostly D-flats) that indicate the path this incredible song has
taken.
It is extended upward for two bars toward a final chord, doubling the length of
the introduction and interludes. The close, after such a fulfilling climax, is
soft
and slow (and ever slower), as at the song’s hushed beginning.
4:15--END OF SONG [51 mm.]

3. Ich schell’ mein Horn ins Jammertal (I Blow my Horn into the Vale of Tears).
Anonymous Old German text from the famed collection Des Knaben Wunderhorn.
Durchaus
nicht zu langsam und ziemlich frei vorzutragen (Not too slowly throughout, and to
be presented rather freely). Simple strophic form. B-FLAT MAJOR, Cut time [2/2]
(Low key G major).

German Text:
Ich schell’ mein Horn ins Jammertal,
Mein Freud’ ist mir verschwunden,
Ich hab’ gejagt, muß abelahn,
Das Wild läuft vor den Hunden.
Ein edel Tier in diesem Feld
Hätt’ ich mir auserkoren,
Das schied von mir, als ich wohl spür’,
Mein Jagen ist verloren.

Fahr hin, Gewild, in Waldeslust!

Ich will dir nimmer schrecken
Mit Jagen dein’ schneeweiße Brust,
Ein ander muß dich wecken
Mit Jägers Schrei und Hundebiß,
Daß du nit magst entrinnen;
Halt dich in Hut, mein Tierlein gut!
Mit Leid scheid’ ich von hinnen.

Kein Hochgewild ich fahen kann,

Das muß ich oft entgelten,
Noch halt ich stät’ auf Jägers Bahn,
Wie wohl mir Glück kommt selten.
Mag mir nit g’bürn ein Hochwild schön,
So laß ich mich begnügen
An Hasenfleisch, nit mehr ich heisch,
Das mag mich nit betrügen.

English Translation

Each eight-line stanza corresponds to four musical lines in each verse. It is a

simple strophic form with all verses under the same staff. The musical style is
very archaic. The piano simply follows the four-part harmony of the male a
cappella
choral setting in Op. 41, No. 1, and even the top line, sung by the voice, is in
the piano part. The entire piano part is notated in the bass clef; the treble
staff
is empty. The archaic and austere-sounding harmony stems from the fact that the
chords are all in “root position” (meaning the keynote of the chord is always in
the bass--a B-flat chord will have B-flat in the bass).
0:00 [m. 1]--Stanza 1. No introduction. The first musical line (two lines of
text)
is exactly the same as the second (at 0:12, m. 12). The rhythm of the poetry leads
to unusual 11-measure phrases. The musical lines rise and fall in B-flat major
until
suddenly being diverted to a half-cadence in the related G minor (with a hollow
fifth
serving as the “dominant” chord--without the chord’s third, or middle note) at the
phrase’s end.
0:24 [m. 23]--Line 3 (5 and 6 of the poem) provides contrast, with new harmonies
and a more insistent melodic line. The first half of the line suggests C minor.
The second half moves hesitantly back to B-flat major. The volume swells slightly
at the end (louder, then softer). The phrase is again 11 bars.
0:35 [m. 34]--Line 4 (7 and 8 of the poem) begins as the first two, but what had
been the last two notes (at the “-lo-” syllable of “verloren”) are expanded into
a very effective melisma, with seven notes on the syllable. No other syllable in
each verse has more than one note. The melisma includes another loud-soft swell,
but is responsible for avoiding the sudden half-cadence in G minor heard in the
first
two lines. The music finally settles on the last syllable, “-ren.” The melisma
lengthens the phrase to 14 bars.
0:53 [m. 1]--Stanza 2. Exact strophic repetition with new text.
1:15 [m. 23]--Line 3. Notice the singer swell a bit early on the colorful word
“Hundebiß”
(“dog’s bite”).