FOUR DUETS FOR ALTO AND BARITONE, OP. 28
Recording: Brigitte Fassbaender, alto; Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau,
baritone; Karl Engel, piano [DG 449 641-2]
Published
1864. Dedicated to Mrs. Amalie Joachim.
Brahms turned to a new voice combination for his second
set of vocal duets, which represent a significant advance upon Op.
20. All four are full-fledged male/female dialogues. Even
the third duet, which could easily function as a solo song, assigns the
two stanzas to clearly differentiated characters. Three of the
four use texts by great German romantic poets, while the second duet
uses a folk text. The first poem’s obscure meaning is greatly
clarified by Brahms’s setting. The haunting image of the nun
remembering her knight who did not return from the crusade is amplified
by the perfectly matched music. Brahms’s restrained use of the
piano in this piece is unusual. The second duet is the only
“wooing” dialogue before the much later Op. 75, No. 3, although many
solo songs are implied dialogues of a similar nature. The second
of the Op. 31 quartets, which are almost exactly contemporary to this
set, has a similar subject of wooing and resistance, but there Brahms
simply has two voices sing each character. The third duet quite
masterfully combines the two singers’ individual strophes together in a
third one, with the baritone’s protestations of constancy seeming to
win out. The last duet is a quintessential dialogue. It is
exciting and delightful throughout. Rarely did he compress so
much material into so little time as he did into this piece’s 80
seconds. Interestingly, the baritone has the last word in all but
the first duet (where he is only a tragic memory). Even in the
second, where they end together, it is quite clear that the character
sung by the alto will give in and let him inside. In the last
duet, however, despite his final protest, it seems that the hunter’s
beloved may well lock him out all night! In the later duets, Op.
61 and Op. 66, Brahms returned to the soprano/alto pairing of Op. 20
and largely abandoned dialogues. He would bring them back with a
vengeance, however, in the four mixed-voice settings of his final set,
Op. 75, which has interesting parallels to this early group.
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.
ONLINE
SCORE FROM IMSLP (First Edition from Brahms-Institut
Lübeck) NOTE: The score of the first edition differs from
the later 1927 Complete Edition (Gesamtausgabe)
in two places. In No. 2, mm. 33-34, the alto moves up in the Gesamtausgabe (as had the baritone
in the corresponding passage in stanza 1) instead of down. In No.
3, the Gesamtausgabe replaces
mm. 37-39, all 3/4 bars in the first edition, with one 4/4 bar and one
6/4 bar, reducing the number of measures in the entire duet by
one. Thus, the piano postlude begins at m. 39 in the Gesamtausgabe. The last beat
of m. 37 is stretched into two, incorporating the previous alto
accompaniment pattern for those two beats, to create a 4/4 bar.
The baritone comes in on the last beat, against one alto note (G-sharp)
instead of two shorter alto notes (A and G-sharp), as seen in the first
edition. Measures 38-39 are essentially unchanged, but they are
notated as one 6/4 bar instead of two 3/4 bars. This recording
uses the version from the first edition (which is also seen in the
Peters edition of these duets) in both of the relevant passages.
1. Die Nonne und der Ritter (The Nun and the Knight). Text
by Josef Karl Benedikt von Eichendorff. Andante. Varied
double strophic form. G MINOR, 3/4 time.
German Text:
Da die Welt zur Ruh’ gegangen,
Wacht mit Sternen mein Verlangen,
In der Kühle muß ich lauschen,
Wie die Wellen unten rauschen!
“Fernher mich die Wellen tragen,
Die ans Land so traurig schlagen,
Unter deines Fensters Gitter,
Fraue, kennst du noch den Ritter?”
Ist’s doch, als ob seltsam’ Stimmen
Durch die lauen Lüfte schwimmen;
Wieder hat’s der Wind genommen, -
Ach, mein Herz ist so beklommen!
“Drüben liegt dein Schloß verfallen,
Klagend in den öden Hallen,
Aus dem Grund der Wald mich grüßte,
’s war, als ob ich sterben müßte.”
Alte Klänge blühend schreiten;
Wie aus lang versunknen Zeiten
Will mich Wehmut noch bescheinen,
Und ich möcht’ von Herzen weinen.
“Überm Walde blitzt’s von weitem,
Wo um Christi Grab sie streiten;
Dorthin will mein Schiff ich wenden,
Da wird alles, alles enden!”
Geht ein Schiff, ein Mann stand drinnen,
Falsche Nacht, verwirrst die Sinne!
Welt Ade! Gott woll’ bewahren,
Die noch irr im Dunkeln fahren!
English
Translation
0:00 [m. 1]--Stanza 1.
After a piano bass octave, the alto’s first verse is presented in G
minor. It is extremely quiet and hushed. The rhythm is
constant (long-short in triple meter), as is the sparse
accompaniment. In the first line, the bass octave is held, with
one right-hand chord per bar. The vocal line arches gently up and
back. The second vocal line winds downward. while the piano bass
octaves move for the first time. The piano harmonies are very
austere and veer toward C minor.
0:22 [m. 10]--The third line
introduces even more colorful harmonies suggesting D minor, then major.
The vocal line arches like line 1. The piano diverges from its
octaves, but the low bass note is again held. In the last line,
the voice descends to the last word, stretching it out to three bars
and creating a six-bar phrase. This extension is slightly
syncopated. The piano bass again moves to octaves, and the highly
chromatic line settles on a G-major chord.
0:43 [m. 20]--A piano interlude
takes the music back through G minor, arriving at its “relative” major
key of B-flat. This occurs in two rising statements (still in the
long-short rhythm) over held bass octaves.
0:57 [m. 27]--Stanza 2. A
low bass B-flat signals the baritone’s first response. His major
key and more minimal chromatic harmony contrast his verse from
hers. The first line arches up and back, as had the alto’s first
line. The second line steadily descends. The long-short
rhythm persists. The accompaniment is now slightly more active,
with the left hand joining the long-short rhythm in broken fourths and
fifths in the first line, broken octaves in the second line.
1:15 [m. 36]--The third line
also arches, but begins to mildly build. The harmony briefly
moves to E-flat major. The last line begins with a mild high
point, as the baritone descends from a higher pitch and moves back to
the key of G minor. The left hand motion is changed to broken
sixths and tenths under this last line instead of octaves. The
baritone’s last word (his identity, “Ritter”) is a downward-leaping
octave, punctuated by an accented note in the piano.
1:29 [m. 44]--This piano
interlude begins with the upbeat of the accented note under the second
syllable of “Ritter.” It introduces a second voice in the right
hand. The two voices do not move together, so there is now right
hand motion on every beat. There is some syncopation in the lower
voice, and the top one mostly sticks to the long-short rhythm, but
twice plays short-long groups. In the last two bars, the top
voice slows down and the lower voice becomes more active. The
left hand holds an octave D throughout the interlude.
1:45 [m. 53]--Stanza 3.
The introductory bar continues the motion of the interlude with a
two-note upbeat. These two-note upbeats continue after the alto
enters. Her vocal line is as in stanza 1, as are the
harmonies. The slightly more active accompaniment has the
two-note upbeats flowing into the next bar, then repeating the pattern
a bar later. The left hand has single bass notes, but they only
move in the second and fourth lines, being held through the first and
third.
2:24 [m. 72]--This third piano
interlude, like the first, moves to B-flat major. It introduces a
more flowing line in broken chords. There are two phrases of
generally ascending broken chords, each introduced by the familiar
two-note upbeat. The bass line is as in the first interlude.
2:37 [m. 79]--Stanza 4, lines
1-3. For the first three lines, the baritone’s vocal part in this
stanza is the same as in stanza 2. The accompaniment is even more
active than in stanza 3, with the flowing broken chords continuing
through the first two phrases after the two-note upbeat. In the
third line, the left hand begins to play faster broken chords.
There, the volume starts to build, but now it begins a more extended crescendo.
3:02 [m. 92]--Stanza 4, line 4
and Stanza 5, line 1. In a highly dramatic stroke, the alto
enters with stanza 5 over the baritone’s last line. This
overlapping text reveals a crucial point of the poem: that it is not a
dialogue, but that the knight’s words are distant memories. The
key moves to an almost otherworldly A-flat major as the volume
swells. At “blühend” in the alto and “sterben” in the
baritone, there is a sharp dissonance between the voices (m. 94).
The piano now has full rising arpeggios split between the hands.
3:09 [m. 96]--Stanza 5, lines
2-4. The alto’s continuation is dynamic in comparison to what has
gone before. The second line moves from A-flat toward E-flat
major as the piano bass finally moves from what had been eight bars of
a “dominant” pedal point on the note E-flat. The third line
suddenly quiets down again, and the long-short rhythm is strikingly
abandoned for two “sighing” phrases that are separated by a rest.
The last line, after a two-note upbeat, is lengthened to eight bars by
placing single syllables under each “long-short” pair. The
harmony here drifts to F minor and C major. The piano arpeggios
continue with some dovetailing and internal voicing.
3:36 [m. 111]--Stanza 6, lines
1-3. The music is here marked animato,
and a large buildup begins. The piano begins the agitation with
low octave tremolos and isolated trumpet-like calls. The baritone
sings his opening phrase three times, each a step higher. The
first two of these are both sung to the first line. The third is
sung to the second line. The third line introduces a new,
narrowly leaping vocal phrase. The dynamic harmony of the passage
reaches a tentative A minor.
3:59 [m. 128]--Stanza 6, line 4
and Stanza 7, lines 1-2. At the high point, the baritone sings
the last line of the stanza to nearly the same music as the last line
from his original strophe in stanza 2. Against this, the alto
again makes a dramatic entrance with the just-introduced narrowly
leaping vocal phrase. To this, she sings the first line of stanza
7, in imitation of the baritone. She follows with further
imitation (a ninth higher) on the second line while the baritone
repeats the third line of stanza 6 to a new, more active phrase
(including two statements of the word “dorthin”). The harmony
veers again toward C.
4:10 [m. 136]--The baritone
begins anew as the alto drops out. He repeats the last line of
stanza 6 with expanded leaps. The alto enters two bars later with
a repetition of stanza 7, line 2. She is in closer near-imitation
with the baritone, ending up an octave, rather than a seventh above
him. The baritone has now sung his last, and from “wirst die
Sinne,” the alto is alone. Under the long-held first syllable of
“Sinne,” the piano accompaniment settles and slows, quieting to an
unstable arrival on A major.
4:29 [m. 147]--Stanza 7, lines
3-4.The alto sings the last two lines to the same music used for the
last two lines of stanzas 1 and 3. The accompaniment is a series
of rising arpeggios with low bass notes and octaves. These
continue after the music settles on another G-major chord at the vocal
cadence. They become split between the hands and lead to an
extremely gentle closing in major instead of minor, suggesting the
nun’s transfigured penance.
5:14--END OF DUET [161 mm.]
2. Vor der Tür (At the Door). Old German folk
text, possibly from Hoffmann von Fallersleben’s collection.
Vivace. Five-part through-composed form. B MAJOR, 3/4 time.
German Text:
Tritt auf den Riegel von der Tür,
Wie gern käm ich herein,
Um dich zu küssen.
“Ich laß dich nicht herein.
Schleich immer heim ganz sacht
Auf deinen Füssen.”
Wohl kann ich schleichen sacht
Wie Mondenschein,
Steh nur auf, laß mich ein:
Das will ich von dir haben.
O Mägdlein, dein’n Knaben
Laß ein!
English
Translation
0:00 [m. 1]--Part 1. The
piano bass establishes its skittish, almost giggling sotto voce pattern. The
baritone presents his suit with a hesitant beginning on an upbeat,
repeating the words “Tritt auf.” The entire first line (with both
statements of “tritt auf”) is repeated, establishing the halting,
lilting melody and doubled by the piano right hand in chords. The
piano bass alternates between high and low octaves.
0:11 [m. 11]--The second line
is smoother, more expressive and ardent, reaching the high pitch on a
repetition of “wie gern herein.” Those words are repeated a
second time on a descent, leading to the third line. It
introduces expressive chromatic pitches in both piano and voice,
lengthening the word “küssen.” The repetition of that line
and a piano punctuation swell and recede quickly, questioning and
unresolved. The piano plays full chords and octaves throughout
the passage, abandoning the “giggling” bass.
0:26 [m. 25]--Part 2. The
last three lines of the first stanza are the only words the alto will
sing in the duet. She presents the first of these to the same
melody the baritone had used, but in the minor key (B minor). She
prefaces the line with a hesitant “ich laß dich nicht.” The
notes used for the opening of the baritone’s line repetition are
omitted. She then picks up the melody again with a full (and
straight) repetition of her own line. The piano accompaniment is
now secretive, passing winding four-note groups between the hands.
0:33 [m. 33]--The alto’s second
line departs from the baritone’s melody, turning it in the opposite
direction, but maintaining the switch to a smoother expression.
The accompaniment changes, with the right hand playing wide high-low
oscillations. The left hand support includes some octave
doubling. With some hesitancy, the words “ganz sacht” are
repeated. The third line (the last of the stanza) again changes
direction. It is briefer than the baritone’s corresponding
passage. The repetition of “deinen Füßen” arrives on
F-sharp. The ensuing piano bridge re-establishes the skittish
left hand under right hand arpeggios.
0:45 [m. 45]--Part 3. The
F-sharp cadence and the bridge have avoided committing to major or
minor. The arrival back on B major is thus quite smooth.
The baritone sings the first two lines of the second stanza to nearly
the same melody used in his opening entreaty. A repetition of the
two lines adds some new leaps to the melody. Against this, the
alto again presents her first line (the fourth of stanza 1). She
sings in exact imitation (canon) two bars behind the baritone an octave
higher, stating the line twice, both times with the anticipatory “ich
laß dich nicht.” The piano now passes the “skittish”
figures between the hands.
0:55 [m. 55]--The alto now
leads the canon with her second line (stanza 1, line 5). It
begins as had the baritone melody from 0:11 [m. 11]. She diverges
after two bars to reach her highest pitch (as does the baritone).
The baritone’s imitation sets the third line of the second
stanza. The alto repeats her line three times with two extra
statements of “ganz sacht.” The baritone’s line is also given
three times, but the second repetition omits “nur” and adds
“und.” It is preceded by an extra “steh auf.” His third
repetition also omits “mich,” again reiterating “steh auf.” The
canon is brought a bar closer together after the alto’s first
reiteration of “ganz sacht,” which the baritone does not imitate.
His imitation is also no longer exact. In the third statements of
both singers’ lines, upward leaps take over. The alto has one
“extra” leap. These leaps swell in volume. The piano
accompaniment passes four-note rising arpeggios between the hands.
1:10 [m. 69]--Part 4. The
previous passage had set up an expected motion to E major.
Instead, the climax of the buildup resolves with a “deceptive” motion
to C major. Here, the baritone presents the last three lines of
the poem. Brahms marks the passage con anima. His largely
descending melody, beginning from his highest pitch, is presented
ardently, with a strong piano accompaniment containing chords in the
right hand and descending arpeggios in the left, all with much motion
from upbeats. He repeats “o Mägdlein.”
1:18 [m. 77]--Over the words
“dein’n Knaben laß ein,” which repeat the previous music
exactly, the alto enters weakly with her first line. Two extra
halting reiterations of “dich nicht” seem to indicate further erosion
of her resolve. The baritone repeats “dein’n Knaben” three more
times, the last time adding again the final “laß ein!” This
last repetition diverges from the previous phrase. The alto
completes her line, and the music arrives on the expectant “dominant”
chord of B major. This is the climax of the duet, and Brahms
marks it animato. A
bridge brings back the “giggling” left hand figures, and the music
quickly subsides.
1:29 [m. 89]--Part 5. The
last part again begins in canon, now at a distance of one bar.
The vocal line of the baritone reaches higher much earlier than
before. He uses the first line of the first stanza and the third
line of the second. “Tritt auf” is stated twice, then the rest of
the line is also stated twice. The alto uses all of her text
except “auf deinen Füßen,” words not heard since their first
presentation. The first line has the usual anticipatory “ich
laß dich nicht.” It is repeated. The second line has
the customary repetition of “ganz sacht.” The alto’s pitch falls
dramatically after the first “ich laß dich nicht,” and her
imitations become more weak, introducing narrow winding motion under
the colorful word “schleich.”
1:39 [m. 99]--After another
buildup, the baritone sings the music and the text of Part 4, and the
piano accompaniment follows suit. He is now in the key originally
expected at that point, E major. This arrives with the alto’s
previous “sacht.” He again reiterates “o Mägdlein,” moving
back to the home key of B. The alto’s responses continue.
She reiterates “ich laß dich nicht herein” for what is now the
eighth (!) time, proving that her rejection is quite ineffectual.
The last three words are echoed on the familiar rapidly falling
figure. Her second line falls even more in pitch over the
baritone’s rising “ dein’n Knaben laß ein,” showing the
characters coming closer, literally and figuratively.
1:46 [m. 107]--The final
passage returns to the smoother motion heard at 0:55 [m. 55]. The
piano plays the four-note arpeggios passed between the hands, also as
heard at 0:55. The alto only sings her first line, the baritone
only the third line of stanza 2. The alto leads on the rising
arpeggios. The baritone imitations reach a half-step higher than
she does. The text repetition becomes more fragmented.
1:53 [m. 114]--As the alto
turns to longer notes lasting a full bar for a last futile statement of
“ich laß dich nicht ein,” the baritone actually matches her pitch
rather than reaching higher. He continues to sing one more
arching arpeggio under her longer notes, and they come together on the
same word, “ein!” They hold this pitch (on a harmonious tenth) as
the piano arpeggios become more joyous. These arpeggios reach
even higher after the voices drop out before three bright final chords
end this wonderful, seductive dialogue.
2:08--END OF DUET [124 mm.]
3. Es rauschet das Wasser (The Water Rushes). Text by
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. In sanfter Bewegung (In gentle
motion). Three part form, with two contrasting strophes combined
in the third part. F MAJOR, 4/4 time with six 6/4 bars and seven
3/4 bars.
German Text:
Es rauschet das Wasser und bleibet nicht steh’n;
Gar lustig die Sterne am Himmel hingeh’n;
Gar lustig die Wolken am Himmel hinzieh’n
So rauschet die Liebe und fähret dahin.
Es rauschen die Wasser, die Wolken zergeh’n;
Doch bleiben die Sterne, sie wandeln und gehn.
So auch mit der Liebe, der treuen, geschicht,
Sie wegt sich, sie regt sich und ändert sich nicht.
English
Translation
0:00 [m. 1]--The piano
introduction is richly harmonized, with evocative rolled chords.
It begins with an upbeat and gives a first presentation of the melody
that will be presented by the alto. Mild syncopation is
introduced as it builds and reaches upward.
0:14 [m. 4]--The introduction
now takes up the melody that will be sung by the baritone, including
the distinctive turn figure. The harmonies are somewhat smoother,
abandoning the rolled chords and introducing a descending middle voice
that includes some chromatic notes.
0:22 [m. 6]--Stanza 1. It
is completely presented by the alto, who in Goethe’s characterization
is skeptical of the constancy of love. The first three lines are
sung in regular two-bar phrases. The accompaniment is quite
simple, the left hand playing on the beats and the right hand after
them in detached harmonies. The third line introduces a prominent
chromatic note (F-sharp) on the second syllable of “lustig.”
0:43 [m. 12]--For the last
line, the alto lengthens the phrase to three bars with an elongation of
“fähret.” The colorful F-sharp remains prominent. The
line is then repeated in nearly the same rhythm, again in three
bars. This time, the notes from “die Liebe” are shifted upward
and effect a brief motion to and cadence in a poignant A minor.
The piano echoes this cadence. The accompaniment becomes slightly
less detached and regular here. The basic outline remains, but
right hand chords are held longer and neither hand sticks to the
previous rhythmic pattern.
1:06 [m. 18]--Stanza 2.
The baritone takes this stanza, and argues that love is constant and
unchanging. His melody is similar to that of the alto in the
first line (as the text is also similar), but he embellishes it with
the turn figure heard in the introduction. The accompaniment is
now much smother, with active inner voices. It contains elements
of the previous alto melody. The second line introduces the first
two 6/4 bars. These metrical extensions give emphasis to the
constancy of the stars. The word “bleiben” (“remain”) is
noticeably lengthened. The left hand begins to play solid bass
octaves here. A small climax is created.
1:27 [m. 22]--The third line is
again in the old meter and resembles the alto’s third line in both
melody and rhythm, including an introduction of the “colorful” F-sharp
in the piano. The fourth line brings back the 6/4 meter for two
more bars. Although the F-sharp and other chromatic elements are
retained from the corresponding alto line, the baritone’s line is not
repeated, and it remains in F major for a full cadence.
1:49 [m. 26]--Combination of
stanzas 1 and 2. The alto still sings stanza 1 and the baritone
sings stanza 2, but they now alternate and overlap melodies and
words. The accompaniment used for the alto, with the detached
hand alternation, returns. The alto begins with her first
line. It is broken up by the baritone after the first bar.
He sings his first line in its entirety, including the turn
figure. The alto only completes her line as she comes in against
the second bar of the baritone phrase.
2:00 [m. 29]--The baritone now
sings his original second line, and his accompaniment returns, along
with the 6/4 bars and the small climax. Since his music is now
dominant, the alto must alter her second line. It is now
stretched out to match the 6/4 bars, and it reaches much higher.
Her last syllable soars upward.
2:13 [m. 31]--The baritone’s
accompaniment is retained for the third line, again in the 4/4
meter. His vocal line is only altered by the addition of yet
another turn figure at the end. The alto sings her third line
against him, but this time it is much closer to her original
melody. The only major difference is the introduction of a
lilting triplet-rhythm figure at the very beginning.
2:21 [m. 33]--For the last
line, 3/4 instead of 6/4 and 4/4 bars are used. This is to
accommodate text repetition from both singers. The baritone
begins as he had before, but suddenly he repeats “sie wegt sich, sie
regt sich” on new pitches to accommodate the alto’s motion to A
minor. This she does on music that is very similar to her initial
three-bar last line. Instead of repeating the entire line, she,
like the baritone, only repeats the first half, “so rauschet die
Liebe.” Neither have sung the second halves of their lines yet.
2:33 [m. 37]--The alto finally
breaks from the baritone. She sings the last half of her line in
a single 3/4 bar and ends with an A-minor cadence, as she had
before. The baritone, however, overlaps her cadence and sings his
last words in two final 3/4 bars. He begins by somewhat imitating
the alto, but then moves to his initial melody and shifts the music
quickly back to the home key of F major for a very warm and
beautiful cadence. He tellingly reiterates the words “und
ändert” (“and changes”) before the final “sich nicht!” (“itself
NOT!”).
2:46 [m. 40]--With the
baritone’s final cadence, the piano introduction returns in full.
The original five 4/4 bars are followed by two new ones that bring the
piece to a transfigured and luminous, yet somehow still questioning
close with a “prayerful” plagal cadence.
3:27--END OF DUET [46 mm.]
4. Der Jäger und sein Liebchen
(The Hunter and his Love).
Text by August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben. Allegro.
Varied strophic form. F MAJOR, 2/4 time.
German Text:
Ist nicht der Himmel so blau?
Steh am Fenster und schau!
Erst in der Nacht,
Spät in der Nacht
Komm’ ich heim von der Jagd.
“Anders hab’ ich gedacht,
Tanzen will ich die Nacht!
Bleib vor der Tür,
Spät vor der Tür
Willst du nicht tanzen mit mir!”
Mädchen, der Himmel ist blau,
Bleib am Fenster und schau.
Bis in der Nacht,
Spät in der Nacht,
Heim ich kehr’ von der Jagd.
“Ist auch der Himmel so blau,
Steh’ ich doch nimmer und schau’
Ob in der Nacht,
Spät in der Nacht
Heim du kehrst von der Jagd.”
English
Translation
0:00 [m. 1]--The extremely
brief and loud introduction is simply a cadence figure with the right
hand moving up in chords and the left hand moving down in single
notes. The left hand plays on the beats and half-beats, the right
hand after them, a pattern that will continue with the vocal entry.
0:04 [m. 3]--Stanza 1.
The baritone breathlessly presents his verse protesting that he will
come late from the hunt. The first two lines are set to the same
three-bar phrase that arches up and down. The short third and
fourth lines use two-bar phrases, the first descending from a high note
and the second again arching. The rhythm pattern from the
introduction continues in the piano, but the left hand is now
harmonized with two notes, and roughly doubles the voice. The
right hand now plays only octaves after the left hand notes.
0:12 [m. 13]--The last line of
the verse is a large arching five-bar phrase. The line is stated
twice, once ascending and once descending. Under the ascending
line, the piano left hand stops doubling the voice and moves parallel
to the right hand octaves in sixths. As the voice descends the
piano left hand imitates the arching phrase, playing the ascending
portion. The right hand here abandons the octaves and gradually
plays its two-note harmonies at smaller distances. The volume
suddenly increases dramatically.
0:15 [m. 17]--As the voice
finishes with a cadence, the left hand of the piano continues its
imitation, moving from the ascent to the descent. At this point,
the right hand begins yet another imitation, playing the ascent.
When both hands finish their motion, they continue moving in the same
directions, apart from each other. The left hand plays the entire
descent again an octave lower, and the right hand the entire ascent an
octave higher. This gives the verse an emphatic full close.
0:19 [m. 21]--The two
introductory bars are now played in the higher, related key of B-flat
major.
0:21 [m. 23]--Stanza 2.
The alto now presents her rejecting response in B-flat. The
accompaniment is similar, but much lighter. The right hand now
plays on the beats, resting on the half-beats, but playing after
both. This results in a dance-like motion, with quickly slurred
downward leaps on the main beats. Like the baritone, the alto
also sings her first two lines to identical three-bar phrases, with the
piano left hand roughly doubling her vocal line. The phrase
arches, but is narrower in range than was the baritone’s.
0:25 [m. 29]--The short third
and fourth lines are now identical four-note descents. Somewhat
unexpectedly, the baritone enters, dovetailing with his previous third and fourth
lines. He imitates her at a seventh (not quite an octave) below,
creating mild dissonance and suggesting the related G-minor key.
0:29 [m. 33]--The accompaniment
from stanza 1 returns, abandoning the quick downward leaps. The
fifth line for the alto is in D minor. It essentially turns the
baritone’s previous line upside down, descending before it
ascends. She does this faster, however, turning before finishing
the line. She then repeats the whole line, shooting powerfully
upward toward a cadence in D minor and creating a five-bar
phrase. Under her repetition, the baritone enters with the fifth
line of stanza 1, imitating her first arching statement exactly.
The piano left hand doubles him in octaves.
0:32 [m. 37]--As both voices
reach the D-minor cadence, the piano begins three successive rising
statements of the two introductory bars, moving up by fifths to G
major, C major, and finally the home key of F major. The last of
these is played with widely distant hands, the right hand an octave
higher than at the beginning.
0:37 [m. 43]--Stanzas 3 and
4. The verses are sung by the two voices simultaneously, the
baritone on stanza 3 and the alto on stanza 4. She actually
begins with the repeated three-bar phrase heard by the baritone in
stanza 1, and the text is indeed similar. The first statement
omits the opening leap. The baritone comes in a bar behind her
with new, but related three-measure phrases (also with similar
text). Their lines thus dovetail with each other. The
accompaniment is as in stanza 1.
0:42 [m. 49]--The third and
fourth lines are also sung by the alto to the same lines the baritone
had in stanza 1. He now imitates her exactly at a distance of an
octave plus a fourth lower. The accompaniment diverges from
stanza 1, both hands becoming more wide-ranging, though the right hand
still plays in octaves. The quasi-doubling of the alto’s vocal
line in the left hand is abandoned. The harmony of the
accompaniment moves to the “dominant” key of C.
0:45 [m. 53]--The voices now
have a long developmental passage that interrupts the basic
verse. They both sing to their respective last lines, alternating
with each other on rising half-lines with similar texts. Under
them, two versions of the introductory bars slide upward first to
D-flat, then to D.
0:49 [m. 57]--The previous
passage having increased in volume, the voices now return to their
respective second lines. They begin together, but the baritone’s
first notes are lengthened so that the voices end up in alternation
again. The alto inserts a new variant of the first words,
replacing “nimmer” (“never”) with “nicht” (“not”). Her second
alternation restores the original word. The baritone repeats “und
schau,” but the alto does not. Her statement of those words is
isolated. The whole passage moves to G major, beginning with
another variant of the introduction in the piano. After this, the
accompaniment becomes more static, both hands hovering around the same
range for four bars.
0:54 [m. 63]--In a very
exciting passage, both voices become hushed again. They sing on
their short third and fourth lines, followed by the last lines.
The baritone sings longer notes in four rising, building waves.
The alto responds with shorter notes. These are harmonically very
active, moving through E-flat major, F major, and G minor before
arriving again at home in F. Against the baritone’s third and
fourth “waves,” the alto actually comes together with him on the words
“von der Jagd,” the only time in the duet that this happens.
Before the arrival on F major, both voices sing the shorter notes
together in pleasing harmony.
1:01 [m. 71]--The voices now
become hushed again and reverse roles, the alto taking the four rising,
building “waves” in long notes and the baritone providing the short
responses. The alto’s first three “waves” move through G-flat
major, A-flat major, and B-flat minor.
1:06 [m. 77]--At the arrival on
B-flat minor, the music diverges from the previous passage, and the
alto holds a note over a bar line. The baritone enters not with
his last line, but with his third (shorter) line against the alto’s
final line. They avoid the previous “coming together.” The
alto then returns to her
short lines. The baritone ends up singing the third line twice
(where he also holds a note over a bar). Both repeat the word
“spät” in their successive fourth lines. Under all this, a
four-chord progression (B-flat minor, G-flat major, C major, and F
major) is heard three times in succession.
1:11 [m. 83]--Finally, the
five-bar arching phrase that closed stanza 1 returns. It almost
sneaks in, as the baritone has already sung the first word of his last
line (“heim”) while the alto finished her last alternation. The
alto sings the original baritone version heard at 0:12 [m. 13].
Under her ascent, the baritone sings an “anticipation” of the descent
on his last line. When she then descends with the repetition, the
piano left hand imitates with the ascent, as it had before, but now it
is joined by the baritone, who returns briefly to his third line (“bis
in der Nacht”) as he turns around.
1:14 [m. 87]--The alto reaches
her final cadence. As at 0:15 [m. 17], the piano left hand
continues its imitation with the descent. This time, however, it
is doubled by the baritone, who returns to his final line. Note
that here he changes the word “kehr’” (“return”) to “komm”
(“come”). He had also done this as early as right before 1:01 [m.
71], when the voices briefly came together. As in the previous
passage, the piano right hand plays the ascent against this.
After the baritone concludes, the piano’s hands diverge apart as they
had before, the right hand ascending another octave and the left hand
descending another octave, ending the duet with the same emphatic full
close.
1:26--END OF DUET [91 mm.]
(runoff after 1:19)
END OF SET
BRAHMS LISTENING GUIDES HOME