Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Wir Düfte;
Warst immer treu uns Spielgesell,
Drum dienen willig dir und schnell
Die Lüfte.
English Translation
In all five stanzas, Brahms repeats the short three-syllable rhyming third and
sixth
lines (one or two words). The sixth line of each stanza except the fourth is
stated
a total of three times.
0:00 [m. 1]--The piano introduction sets the exceedingly lively mood. The use of
triplet rhythm within the context of the large 6/4 bars creates a rather broad
sweep,
despite the fast tempo. The main right hand line, featuring a distinctive opening
leap of a sixth, creates mild syncopation against the very active left hand, which
plays undulating arpeggios in triplets.
0:08 [m. 5]--Stanza 1 (A)--The singer enters and echoes the piano’s broad, sweeping
line, but at a much quieter level. The piano’s hands reverse as the singer enters,
the left hand now playing the broad, syncopated line and the right hand taking the
busy triplets, many of them difficult double notes. They are also regrouped into
patterns suggesting 3/2 rather than 6/4 and clash somewhat with the metric pattern
of the voice, increasing the forward momentum. The first two lines are set to
similar
parallel phrases.
0:15 [m. 9]--The vocal line reaches higher, increasing greatly in volume after the
repetition of “Geliebter,” and briefly moves to E major. The stanza culminates in
two long melismas (several notes per syllable) after a held note on the second
syllable
of the word “Betrübter.” At that point, the piano breaks into sweeping upward
arpeggios
after a strong emphasis of the 3/2 grouping in both hands (in m. 14). The second
“Betrübter” abandons the 3/2 grouping before another set of sweeping arpeggios
leads
to a strong cadence in the home key on a third statement of the word.
0:34 [m. 19]--The piano introduction is repeated as a bridge between verses,
entering
at the cadence, but it is altered at the end to modulate to the closely related key
of E major.
0:41 [m. 23]--Stanza 2 (B). The stanza is set in E major and is somewhat more
contemplative.
Although the material is new, it is closely related to the main A section. The
busy accompaniment breaks a bit for a less active, but forceful dotted rhythm
containing
chords and leaps. It returns to the earlier quick triplet motion (in the 3/2
grouping)
at the repeated third line.
0:52 [m. 29]--The fourth and fifth lines are similar to the first two, but the
melody
is shifted forward by a half-bar. The dotted rhythm in the accompaniment is
replaced
by a smoother variant that still abandons the triplets. At the fifth line, the
right
hand, in the melody’s original metric position, anticipates the vocal line, which
seems to imitate it. The left hand plays wide-ranging arpeggios underneath this.
Some abbreviation at the end of the vocal line brings it back to the right metric
orientation. Although the long melismas are gone, the last line is still repeated
three times, with a brief pause on the last one--a bit of a relief in this
extraordinarily
active song. The accompaniment with triplet rhythm and 3/2 grouping again returns
here.
1:07 [m. 36]--A very brief interlude moves back to A major. The right hand
triplets
are wide-ranging, as is the leaping left hand. Both move upward and increase in
volume. The grouping is ambiguous, but leans more toward the 6/4 of the vocal
melody.
1:10 [m. 38]--Stanza 3 (A). The musical material is identical to that of stanza
1. The return of the main material is unusually satisfying (and is again for
stanza
5). The melismas are on the first syllable of “Lüfte.”
1:35 [m. 52]--The piano introduction is again repeated as a bridge, but is again
altered for yet another new key (D major). The left hand triplets slow to straight
rhythm in the half-bar leading into the verse, which did not happen before stanza
2, and this transition also quiets considerably more than did that one.
1:42 [m. 56]--Stanza 4 (C). There are some similarities to B (stanza 2),
especially
in the vocal line, but the material is further removed from A than was that
section.
The key, D major, is completely new. Again, the setting seems more contemplative.
The accompaniment is also new, consisting largely of light, detached arpeggios in
parallel motion and straight rhythm with 6/4 grouping. There is a vocal break
after
the repeated third line.
1:53 [m. 62]--The piano bridges to the fourth line, the right hand anticipating the
descending vocal melody while the left hand continues the light arpeggios. When
the voice enters, the breathless A material makes a subtle return, but only the
broadly
syncopated left hand line is used, not the triplets. The right hand instead takes
the light arpeggios back over from the left. The left hand rejoins the right in
parallel motion halfway through the fifth line. The last line is only repeated
once.
The transitional interlude comes to a brief pause, as after stanza 2, but it does
not involve the vocal line and does not change the accompaniment pattern.
2:13 [m. 71]--Stanza 5 (A). Another welcome return to the main material follows
the harmonic shift of the preceding pause. In addition to rounding off the song
musically, the repeated lines (three-syllable rhyming words) are also the same as
in stanza 1. Instead of returning to the introduction at the end as before, the
“sweeping arpeggios” under “Betrübter” continue their sweep for a short postlude
after the singer finishes, ending with three sharp chords.
2:50--END OF SONG [87 mm.]
2. Erinnerung (Remembrance). Text by Max Gottfried von Schenkendorf. Innig
(Intimately).
Arch-like rondo form (ABA’B’A”). C MAJOR, 3/4 time (Low key A major).
German Text:
Ihr wunderschönen Augenblicke,
Die Lieblichste der ganzen Welt
Hat euch mit ihrem ew’gen Glücke,
Mit ihrem süßen Licht erhellt.
English Translation
1:58 [m. 79]--Stanza 5 (A”). For the most part, this return to the music and tempo
of the opening is the same as the first stanza, mirroring the textual parallel
(same
opening line) between the verses. The only major variation is in the
accompaniment,
where the low bass octaves are now more solidly on the downbeats. There are a
couple
of added “color” notes in lines 3 and 4.
2:37 [m. 96]--The bridge passage that had led to stanza 2 is expanded into a calm
and slow-moving postlude. Its lengthened chords add to the mood of longing and
mild
regret. The added material that brings the song to a close is in the warm middle
register, with resonant low bass notes.
3:03--END OF SONG [101 mm.]
3. An ein Bild (To a Portrait). Text by Max Gottfried von Schenkendorf. Etwas
langsam
(Somewhat slowly). Ternary/strophic form (AABB’A). A-FLAT MAJOR, 4/4 time (Low
key F major).
German Text:
Was schaust du mich so freundlich an,
O Bild aus weiter Ferne,
Und winkest dem verbannten Mann?
Er käme gar zu gerne.
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