EIN DEUTSCHES REQUIEM (A GERMAN REQUIEM) TO WORDS OF HOLY SCRIPTURE FOR TWO SOLOISTS, CHORUS, AND ORCHESTRA, OP. 45
Recording: Barbara Bonney, soprano (5th Mvt.); Andreas Schmidt, baritone (3rd and 6th Mvts.); Rudolf Scholz, organ; Concert Chorus of the Vienna State Opera (Chorus master: Walter Hagen-Groll); Vienna Philharmonic, conducted by Carlo Maria Giulini [DG 449 651-2]
Published 1868.
In terms of both length and musical content, the German Requiem is Brahms’s largest single work.  Deeply moving, profound, and powerful, its status as one of the greatest monuments of choral music, especially among its nineteenth-century peers, is unchallenged.  Surprisingly, this magnum opus is a relatively early composition, falling firmly in the second period, the “first maturity.”  It is an oratorio, a choral setting of biblical texts, and has little to do with the Latin Requiem Mass.  Brahms, whose religious views were complex and skeptical, nonetheless knew his Bible very well.  He assembled a text using the Old and New Testaments and even two verses from the Apocrypha.  They are meant primarily as a consolation for mourning survivors, but also contain much hope and blessing for the departed, particularly in the last two movements.  Written in stages between 1865 and 1868, its final form is nearly symmetrical.  The first and seventh movements have similar texts, and the musical material of the first subtly takes over the ending of the seventh, so that both movements end in the same way.  The second and sixth movements are grand and epic, with huge major-key closing sections after darker minor-key main sections.  The closing section of the sixth movement is among his grandest creations.  It is largely constructed as a fugue, but not slavishly.  A true fugue occurs at the end of the third movement, one constructed with a very special characteristic--an unchanging bass pedal tone.  He had considerable trouble getting the orchestra in the first performance to execute this correctly.  The prominent role of a baritone soloist in the first part of the movement (he is also heard in a smaller role in the sixth) is balanced by the soprano solo in the “opposite” fifth movement.  This fifth movement, among his most beautiful creations, was the last composed, a late addition to a work that had already premiered in six movements.  Finally, the popular fourth movement is like a central character piece.  The work was doubtless inspired by the death of his mother in 1865, an event that may have also precipitated the addition of the fifth movement, whose choral words (never sung by the soloist) make prominent maternal references.  The Requiem is his first work for chorus and full orchestra.  He had not yet written a symphony, and it served as a further study in orchestration, particularly in the use of brass and timpani.  The first movement famously omits violins (a device earlier used in his second orchestral serenade).  Brahms also scores for harp, an instrument he rarely employed.  Here, it is used sparingly, but to great effect, most notably at the end of the first and last movements.  It is of interest that the choral parts never split, so the choral texture never has more than four voices in harmony or counterpoint. 

Note: The texts below are the German Luther Bible text used by Brahms.  The King James Version is used as a comparable Reformation-era English text.  Lines are matched as closely as possible.  Verses are numbered differently in Psalms 39 and 84.  Scriptural references are listed in both German and English.

IMSLP WORK PAGE
ONLINE SCORE FROM IMSLP (First Edition from Brahms-Institut Lübeck--Note that soprano, alto, and tenor clefs are used in the voice parts.)
ONLINE SCORE FROM IMSLP (From Breitkopf & Härtel Sämtliche Werke)
ONLINE SCORE FROM IMSLP (Edition Eulenburg, edited by Siegfried Ochs):
First Movement (with introductory material)
Second Movement
Third Movement
Fourth Movement
Fifth Movement
Sixth Movement
Seventh Movement

1st Movement: “Selig sind, die da Leid tragen” (“Blessed are they that mourn”).  Ziemlich langsam und mit Ausdruck (Rather slow and with expression).  Ternary form.  F MAJOR, 4/4 time.
German Text:
--Selig sind, die da Leid tragen,
denn  sie sollen getröstet werden.
                                --Matthäus 5:4
--Die mit Tränen säen,
werden mit Freuden ernten.
--Sie gehen hin und weinen
und tragen edlen Samen,
und kommen mit Freuden
und bringen ihre Garben.
                                --Psalm 126:5, 6
 		English Text:
--Blessed are they that mourn:
for they shall be comforted.
                                --Matthew 5:4
--They that sow in tears
shall reap in joy.
--He that goeth forth and weepeth,
bearing precious seed,
shall doubtless come again with rejoicing,
bringing his sheaves with him.
                                --Psalm 126:5, 6

A Section--Matthew 5:4
0:00 [m. 1]--This movement is famously scored with no violins.  The string basses, some cellos, and organ pedals establish a low, pulsing pedal point on the note F.  Horns, the only winds heard, hold the note.  Divided cellos and violas gradually enter on a gently arching line beginning with a dotted (long-short) rhythm.  There are some dissonant notes and minor key suggestions under this melodic line.  After all voices enter, a full string harmony has emerged.  The pulsing bass line finally moves down, and the violas and cellos also move steadily down, with gentle syncopation, toward a half-close as the voices enter.
0:57 [m. 15]--The voices enter with the important first two words, “selig sind,” on long full-measure chords as the instruments drop out.  The rising three-chord figure will become one of the most important motives of the entire piece.  With the word “sind,” the instruments enter again with a statement of the main arching line from the introduction with the pedal point on F.
1:11 [m. 19]--The voices enter again and complete the beatitude couplet.  The instruments drop out for most of the statement.  The four parts do not move exactly together on the first line.  The first note in the basses, for example, is longer than the other parts, and the more active alto and tenor also diverge somewhat.  This creates a very close counterpoint.  The voices come together in the second line, as the sopranos reach a high note and the music suddenly brightens before settling into a cadence.  All voices except the sopranos repeat the word “getröstet.”  After the cadence, the instruments enter on the leaping figure used for the second statement of that word.  The strings are now joined by flute as well as horn.
1:52 [m. 29]--Statement of the first line of the couplet.  Voices and instruments alternate on two sequential  falling utterances of “selig sind,” the second of which begins higher.  The continuation introduces some slight dissonance and hints of the minor key, especially on the repeated word “Leid” (“pain”).  The trombones make their first entrance.  The oboe, also making its first entrance, bridges to the next line with an anticipation of the rising melody.
2:29 [m. 39]--The second line of the couplet is sung again.  The sopranos, entering later than the other parts, echo the previous oboe anticipation.  The first statement of “getröstet” is stretched out over pulsing strings.  The word is repeated in all parts but the altos, who repeat “sie sollen” before a bridging repeated note on “getröstet.”  After a full vocal cadence, the wind instruments (instead of strings) echo the leaping sopranos.
B Section--Psalm 126:5, 6--D-flat major
3:00 [m. 47]--The key very suddenly shifts down to D-flat major for the middle section.  The tenors and basses, doubled by cellos, have a descending line with mild dissonances on “Die mit Tränen.”  The altos then enter as the harp makes its first appearance, which is surprisingly exposed.  While the tenors and basses repeat “die mit Tränen” twice more, the altos are the first to sing “säen.”  More repetition is heard under the soprano  entrance, which soars on a slowly syncopated, sustained utterance of “Tränen” (“tears”).  There is a strong crescendo with another harp entry as all voice parts complete the line.
3:29 [m. 55]--At the high point, as the other three parts are completing the word “säen,” the tenors enter with the second line of the verse.  It is a triumphant, leaping melody with full orchestration.  The other voices, in the order soprano, bass, alto, echo the tenors.  The line is repeated and fragmented, the sopranos again soaring with mild syncopation.  The verse reaches an extended cadence, the tenors and basses lagging behind the women on a gently descending line on “ernten.”  Cellos and basses continue the descent and quietly move back to the home key of F.
4:07 [m. 65]--The low pedal F is established, as at the beginning.  The previous string descent had suggested F minor, but the voices and strings immediately establish F major.  The music is essentially the same as the introduction, but now the vocal parts sing with the strings on the first line of the next verse (Psalm 126:6).  The voices enter from bottom to top, repeating text as necessary under succeeding entries.  The soaring soprano entrance, under an expressive wind line, makes an unexpected ascending detour, but the music settles to the syncopated closing of the introduction music in the strings, as at the beginning.
5:00 [m. 79]--The same line, “sie gehen hin und weinen,” is stated on a static line by the tenors and basses at a very quiet level.  They sing in unison, with a prominent dissonance on “weinen,” and artfully slip back to D-flat.  Flutes and strings respond to the line with descending figures.  As the altos enter, it is clear that the music is none other than the opening of the B section from 3:00 [m. 47] with a slight extension at the beginning to re-establish the key and the subdued tension.  The soaring soprano line, with short responses from the other parts, now uses the second line of the verse (“und tragen edlen Samen”), rather than again repeating the first.  The same strong crescendo and harp entry are heard as the voices complete the line.
5:33 [m. 88]--High point, with triumphant tenor entrance (followed by soprano, bass, and alto), as at 3:29 [m. 55].  Since there are two more lines of the verse to sing, the third line is sung on the first entries, and the fourth is sung where the previous repetition and fragmentation of the second line from verse 5 was heard, sopranos beginning the line first.  Extended cadence, as before, on the word “Garben.”
6:01 [m. 96]--Re-transition.  There is no low string lead-in.  Instead, the introduction music, with the low pedal, enters in the key of the B section, D-flat, at the vocal cadence on “Garben.”  One statement of the initial arching melody is heard from the high violas.  The voices then enter with “selig sind” in D-flat, again with instruments dropping out under the familiar slow rising chords, but the word “sind” makes a very artful and sudden shift to F.
A’ Section
6:23 [m. 102]--Statement from the high violas of the initial arching melody from the introduction in F major as the voices sing “sind.”  This is followed by the voices once again entering with long, slow chords on “selig sind” to emphatically confirm the key.  As they finish, the altos are isolated on a new descending line on the first phrase of the beatitude.  The tenors dovetail with them in a further descent on “die da Leid tragen.”  Over these isolated entries, the winds play the music from 1:11 [m. 19] in a beautiful combination.
6:57 [m. 111]--Full statement of beatitude couplet, as at 1:11 [m. 19], but this time the instruments join with the voices on the second line.  There is no instrumental echo of the leaping figure.
7:28 [m. 119]--Right on the vocal cadence of the word “werden,” the winds enter.  The music is from 1:52 [m. 29], but the alternations between instruments (here winds only) and voices is reversed, the winds playing the previous vocal lines on “selig sind,” and the voices singing those words to the previous string responses.  With this reversal, in order to catch up, the dramatic repetition of "Leid" is omitted.  The word "tragen" is as before.  The oboe enters with its unaltered anticipatory phrase.
8:08 [m. 129]--Music and text as at 2:29 [m. 39], but  with a jarring harmonic surprise at the very end as the cadence is averted and the key is very briefly shifted to the previously unheard A major.  The wind echo of the  leaping figure is in that bright key.  The strings immediately repeat the leaping figure in A minor and extend it.  The winds enter again, and the instruments move back to the home key of F.
Coda
8:52 [m. 140]--In the climax of the movement, all voices enter on “getröstet werden” in very close imitation, top to bottom.  The basses enter on “sie sollen,” the sopranos sing those words, and the rest of the voices come together in another repetition of “getröstet werden.”  This is all sung over sustained strings.  The winds make a hint at the main melody, the oboe playing the three-note ascent.
9:09 [m. 145]--The tenors state “getröstet werden” on an isolated descending line following the three-note ascent from the oboe.  The sopranos follow after a three-note ascent from a flute, but the tenors enter again before they finish.  The basses also enter on the descending line, and finally the altos come in, creating a rich counterpoint before a joyous ascent on the word “sollen,” soaring to the heights in the sopranos, then the tenors, with angelic harp arpeggios.  The descent recedes as quickly as the ascent had swelled, and the voices complete the beatitude phrase in a gorgeous cadence with chords from the harp and plucked strings.
9:51 [m. 154]--A final repetition of “getröstet werden,” the all important “be comforted,” on repeated thirds falling to a cadence.  The men enter two beats after the women and complete the phrase after them.  The winds make a third entrance two beats after the men.  Slower harp arpeggios and quiet plucked strings mark the transfigured ending.
10:31--END OF MOVEMENT [158 mm.]

2nd Movement: “Denn alles Fleisch es ist wie Gras” (“For all flesh is as grass”).  Langsam, marschmäßig (Slow, moderate march)--Allegro non troppo.  Ternary form with extended closing section.  B-FLAT MINOR/MAJOR, 3/4-4/4 time.
German Text:
--Denn alles Fleisch es ist wie Gras
und alle Herrlichkeit des Menschen
wie des Grases Blumen.
Das Gras ist verdorret
und die Blume abgefallen.
                                --1. Petrus 1:24
--So seid nun geduldig, lieben Brüder,
bis auf die Zukunft des Herrn.
Siehe, ein Ackermann wartet
auf die köstliche Frucht der Erde
und ist geduldig darüber, bis er empfahe
den Morgenregen und Abendregen.
                                --Jakobus 5:7
--Aber des Herrn Wort bleibet in Ewigkeit.
                                --1. Petrus 1:25
--Die Erlöseten des Herrn werden wieder kommen
und gen Zion kommen mit Jauchzen;
ewige Freude wird über ihrem Haupte sein;
Freude und Wonne werden sie ergreifen
und Schmerz und Seufzen wird weg müssen.
                                --Jesaja 35:10
English Text:
--For all flesh is as grass,
and all the glory of man
as the flower of grass.
The grass withereth,
and the flower falleth away.
                                --1 Peter 1:24
--Be patient, therefore, brethren,
unto the coming of the Lord.
Behold, the husbandman waiteth
for the precious fruit of the earth,
and hath long patience for it, until he receive
the early and latter rain.
                                --James 5:7
--But the word of the Lord endureth for ever.
                                --1 Peter 1:25
--And the ransomed of the Lord shall return,
and come to Zion with songs
and everlasting joy upon their heads:
they shall obtain joy and gladness,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
                                --Isaiah 35:10

A Section--1 Peter 1:24--B-flat minor, 3/4
0:00 [m. 1]--The low strings and bassoons play two bare rising fifths on an upbeat.
0:07 [m. 3]--Muted violins and violas with higher winds begin the richly harmonized theme, serving here as an introduction.  It has the character of a solemn funeral march, despite being in triple time.  It generally descends, with dotted (long-short) rhythms in the middle of most bars and some mild syncopation.  The low strings and bassoons play slow rising and falling leaps on upbeats.  The horns, trumpets, and harp play punctuating chords.  Most striking is the timpani part, which plays a steady line with triplet rhythms.
0:39 [m. 13]--With a strong motion to the “dominant” key of F major, the theme that will be heard under the second sentence of 1 Peter 1:24 begins,  Rising arpeggios on extended upbeats are heard from the higher strings and, prominently, the oboe, later joined by piccolo.  The low strings and bassoons continue their rising and falling leaps, but the brass and harp briefly drop out.  The music reaches an anticipatory point, and two low bass F’s prepare for the vocal entry.
1:09 [m. 23]--The lower three voices (sopranos are absent) begin their ominous unison line in B-flat minor.  They sing the first sentence of the verse against the orchestral main theme from the introduction.  The violins drop out under the voices, leaving the main orchestral material to violas and high winds.  The trombones double the vocal line.
1:43 [m. 34]--The motion to F major is as in the introduction.  The rising upbeat arpeggios are again heard, but the violins are still absent.  The first part of the sentence is sung by the women in thirds, the sopranos making their first entry.  The men enter for the fallen flower, the four voice parts singing in full harmony leading to the same close heard before the vocal entry, with the two low bass F’s at the end adding timpani.
2:10 [m. 43]--A dramatic orchestral interlude begins quietly, but very ominously.  The violins join again.  The main orchestral theme begins, initially transformed into the F major from the end of the end of both the orchestral introduction and the first vocal statement of the verse.  It builds very steadily and inexorably, the timpani becoming more and more active.  The bass instruments now play a low pedal note.  The interlude moves back to B-flat minor as a horn begins a slow, but powerful rising line.  The timpani thunder as the climax approaches, and the orchestra reaches full power before the voices enter again.
2:47 [m. 55]--At the peak of the climax, the voices enter again with the unison line and the first sentence of the verse.  This time, however, they sing at full volume.  Sopranos are now present in a higher octave, and the violins are present as well.  The harp plays rich chords, and the thunderous timpani continue.  At the second part of the sentence, referring to the glory of man, not only do the instruments and voices suddenly recede, but the line itself is altered so that it will remain in B-flat instead of moving to F.
3:22 [m. 66]--The second sentence of the verse is set in a similar manner to 1:43 [m. 43], but now it is in B-flat major instead of F major.  Also, the first part is sung by altos and tenors in thirds instead of sopranos and altos.  The sopranos do not enter for the second part either, and the basses enter a bar later.  In compensation for the lack of sopranos perhaps, the violins are present.  The section reaches a quiet close in B-flat, where the two low bass notes are also now on that note instead of F.
B Section--James 5:7--G-flat major, 3/4.  Etwas bewegter (With somewhat more motion)
3:51 [m. 75]--A simple pivot creates a striking and sudden motion to G-flat major, which sounds very bright in this context (it has the same relationship to B-flat that D-flat has to F in the first movement).  The voices enter in flowing harmonies, doubled by the strings, on the first sentence of the verse.  Though in the same meter, the contrast with the preceding funeral march is palpable.  The basses enter later than the other voices on both “so seid nun geduldig” and “bis auf die Zukunft des Herrn” and omit “lieben Brüder.”
4:09 [m. 83]--The lower three voices stretched the word “Zukunft,” and so they finish later than the sopranos.  As they complete the phrase, the wind instruments enter and begin a repetition of the phrase.  The voices join them in its completion, singing only “bis auf die Zukunft des Herrn.”  This time, the lower three voices do not stretch the ending.  The strings are absent, the winds replacing them.
4:27 [m. 91]--The second sentence of the verse is set with counterpoint.  The sopranos begin, then the altos and basses enter together in harmony a bar later, followed by the tenors a bar later still.  The strings double the voices.  The words “auf die köstliche Frucht” are used for both repetition and motion.  The strings drop out as the altos and tenors begin to sing the words, then re-enter with the sopranos and basses, the cellos now plucked.  A horn also enters with low notes.  The music makes a bold turn back to the home key of B-flat.  The sopranos are the only voices that do not repeat the words, instead stretching them out with longer and multiple notes.  The altos and tenors repeat them twice, the basses once.  A cadence on B-flat is reached with the word “Erde.”
4:54 [m. 104]--The sopranos and tenors are isolated on the words “und ist geduldig” on the note B-flat, which pivots again to G-flat major.  After the altos, then the basses enter on notes creating a chord, the voices continue to sing the rest of the verse to music similar to that used for the first sentence at 3:51 [m. 75].  The flute and harp now add a very delicate and gracefully leaping line that seems to transfigure the melody and the words.  The strings are plucked, matching the harp, and other wind accompaniment is light. The basses again omit some text (“den Morgenregen”) as they “catch up” to the other voices.  The words “Morgenregen” and “Abendregen” are stretched out with long notes, the inner voices moving on the latter as a cadence is approached.   The voices reiterate “so seid geduldig” on a quiet third, echoed by the horns on an octave, who leap down to pivot back to B-flat minor for the reprise of the A section.
A Section Reprise
5:46 [m. 127]--The two rising bass fifths are omitted.  As at 0:07 [m. 3].
6:19 [m. 137]--As at 0:39 [m. 13].
6:48 [m. 147]--As at 1:09 [m. 23].
7:21 [m. 158]--As at 1:43 [m. 34].
7:48 [m. 167]--As at 2:10 [m. 43].
8:23 [m. 179]--As at 2:47 [m. 55].
8:58 [m. 190]--As at 3:22 [m. 66].
9:26 [m. 199]--Transition--1 Peter 1:25.  The voices enter in a grand major-key fashion in block chords on the powerful verse.  They are joined by high winds and trombones.  After “Aber des Herrn Wort,” the strings enter, the violins moving up in powerful syncopation, the cellos and basses (with bassoons) marching down.  “Bleibet” is isolated before being repeated with “in Ewigkeit.”  The last word is held over powerful brass and wind fanfares, along with a timpani roll, that anticipate the closing section.  The basses repeat “in Ewigkeit” under this on a steadily repeated note.  The upper voices complete the phrase on the first 4/4 bar, where the basses begin the closing section immediately as the top voices complete the word.
Closing Section--Isaiah 35:10--B-flat major, 4/4.  Allegro non troppo
9:49 [m. 206]--The basses sing the first phrase of the verse to a triumphal melody with marching dotted rhythms.  The words “und gen Zion” are sung twice.  The strings play strong supporting chords under them and they are doubled by trombones at first, then by bassoons.
10:01 [m. 213]--As the basses complete their phrase, the upper three parts imitate their melody, with the sopranos a fifth higher and the other parts in harmony.  The basses, after finishing their phrase, enter a bit later with another countermelody.  Only the sopranos repeat “und gen Zion.”  Trumpets double the melody at first, then oboes and clarinets join the bassoons.  The strong string chords continue.
10:15 [m. 219]--The voices now present the second phrase of the verse.  The violins begin a pulsating triplet rhythm.  The tenors begin by singing “ewige Freude,” which they sing twice in joyous, leaping lines.  The other voices respond with four interjections of “Freude.”  Against this, the trumpets and horns blast out the original melody sung by the basses at the beginning of the section.  Trombones, winds, and organ support the voices.  Motion to F major.  These words, “everlasting peace,” are heavily repeated later on.
10:24 [m. 223]--The voices come together on a grand statement of “ewige Freude.”  The latter word is supported by a huge, loud chord and a timpani roll.  Then, everything becomes suddenly quiet as sentence is completed with “wird über ihrem Haupte sein.”  The harmonies are more chromatic for this sudden drop in volume.  Flutes and clarinets leap in syncopated rhythm over the block chords.  As the voices complete the sentence, the upper strings reach upward with a strong syncopated arpeggio over a large crescendo and downward marching lower strings.
10:46 [m. 233]--The third and last phrase of the verse is sung.  The sopranos, doubled by oboe, sing the first part, through “ergreifen,” to another triumphantly arching line.  The tenors sing against them in longer notes, only on “Freude und Wonne,” strongly doubled by a horn.  Syncopated strings jubilantly soar above them.  Suddenly, after the low strings are left alone to lead in, there are quiet, short “sighs” with chromatic harmonies for the second part (“und Schmerz…”), the strings dropping out and the winds responding.  The figures become shorter and leap upward for “wird weg müssen” as the strings re-enter.  “Wird weg” is sung twice.  On the last word, a descending soprano line leads to the next statement.
11:13 [m. 245]--A variation of the previous music for another statement of the last phrase.  The tenors now have the complete first part (through “ergreifen”) on a variant of the previous soprano arching line.  They are still strongly doubled by the horn.  Altos and basses (doubled by another horn) sing “Freude und Wonne” in longer notes, the altos singing “Wonne” twice.  The syncopated strings continue.  Then, there is a line of counterpoint not heard before on “werden sie ergreifen,” the basses leading, followed by altos, tenors, and finally sopranos.  The basses repeat “werden sie ergreifen,” the altos “sie ergreifen,” and the tenors only “ergreifen.”  Wind instruments double the vocal lines over continuing high syncopated strings.
11:32 [m. 254]--The low strings, now with bassoons, again drop in volume and lead into “und Schmerz und Seufzen.”  The chromatic “sighing” phrases are now lengthened, with some mild syncopation.  Again, things pick up for “wird weg müssen.”  The altos and tenors sing the first two words, then the outer voices join for a repetition.  This pattern is repeated.  “Müssen” is now lengthened in all voices and repeated with yet another “weg.”  Against this, the opening march melody of the closing section suddenly enters in the wind instruments and organ, imitating each other in counterpoint.  The strings support the voices.
12:06 [m. 269]--A syncopated horn line, with a strong wind chord, leads to a restatement of the first phrase of the verse and a motion back to B-flat major.  The sopranos and tenors enter in unison, the tenors slightly behind.  Altos, then tenors, imitate them.  Octave leaps are prominent in all voices.  All parts repeat “die Erlöseten des Herrn.”  The full orchestra supports them, with long notes in the high winds.  Through lengthening of certain notes, the voices all come together on “werden wieder kommen,” jubilantly singing the continuation with full orchestral support, the basses on the original melodic line.  The words “gen Zion” and “kommen mit Jauchzen” are repeated.
12:31 [m. 281]--The voices break apart again.  Motion to E-flat major.  The lower three sing “und gen Zion” twice in counterpoint, followed by “kommen.”  The sopranos soar above them with “kommen mit Jauchzen,” the latter two words repeated.  The instruments continue to double and support the voices.
12:36 [m. 284]--The basses begin a surge on the word “kommen” with strong syncopation.  The upper three parts sing the word four times, two on a lower level and two on a higher level.  After their first statement of “kommen,” the basses sing “mit Jauchzen” four times under the other voices’ statements of “kommen.”  The basses are doubled by the loudest, lowest instruments, the upper three by higher winds and strings.
12:43 [m. 287]--As the basses complete their last statement of “mit Jauchzen,” the other three voices enter above them from bottom to top in very strong statements.  All four voices sing “kommen.”  The basses and tenors follow that with “und gen Zion kommen mit Jauchzen” (the basses omitting “und”), the altos with “kommen mit Jauchzen,” and the sopranos merely with “mit Jauchzen.”  The final arrival at “Jauchzen” is an extremely strong arrival point, and the home key of B-flat also returns strongly.  Under this passage, the violins begin a strong triplet rhythm on repeated notes.
12:51 [m. 291]--A return to the second phrase.  The altos sing “ewige Freude” twice, supported by trombones.  The tenors and basses respond with “Freude,” supported by low strings.  They are joined by the sopranos for three more interjections of the word.  The violins and violas leap joyously in the fast triplet rhythm, the winds joining them on the leaps.  The horns blast out the original dotted-rhythm melody.
13:00 [m. 295]--A climax similar to that at 10:24 [m. 223].  Grand statement of “ewige Freude,” the sopranos singing “Freude” twice and omitting “ewige.”  The climax is marked by a huge chord, more dissonant than the one at 10:24 [m. 223], and a drum roll.  The continuation of the sentence (“wird über ihrem Haupte sein”) diminishes rapidly, is somewhat chromatic, and is sung in much longer notes.  The flutes and clarinets play gentle syncopation over this quiet passage.
13:21 [m. 303]--Brahms marks the following coda “tranquillo.”  As the voices complete the phrase, the timpani begins to beat a thumping two-note pattern, doubled by cellos.  A trumpet and horn quietly intone the main melody of the closing section, imitated by a clarinet with oboe.  The tenors enter with a subdued statement of “ewige Freude.”  This pattern is repeated a third higher with a bassoon and oboe playing the main melody and the basses singing “ewige Freude.”  Finally, at the original level, flutes and oboes, imitated by horn, play the melody and the sopranos sing “ewige Freude.”
13:54 [m. 316]--A flute and oboe begin the pattern again, a third higher, imitated now by violins.  This time, basses and sopranos enter together in harmony, followed by altos and tenors in harmony.  All voices sing “ewige Freude” twice, the sopranos and basses adding an extra “ewige.”  The winds completely drop out above the thumping timpani and strings.
14:13 [m. 323]--The voices settle onto a final, very extended statement of the second phrase of the verse over a slow but powerful crescendo.  The sopranos omit the word “ewige,“ and sing ahead of the other voices before greatly extending “Haupte” to come together with them.  The thumping timpani continues.  The winds state the main melody in the following order: clarinets and bassoons, oboes and horns, flutes and trumpets with the other two horns, and finally trombones.  Under all this, the strings begin an long ascending scale, passed between violas and cellos and then taken by the violins.  The low strings again enter on the scale, the violins joining.
14:41 [m. 333]--The voices reach the word “sein” as the strings achieve the highest point of their extended scale and the crescendo also reaches its high point.  At this point, the scale turns around and quickly descends.  The volume rapidly diminishes.  The voices sing a very subdued final statement of “ewige Freude,” the brass and timpani drop out, the upper winds play long chords, and the bassoons join the low strings as the descending scale is passed to them.  The full orchestra plays a final chord with a timpani roll.
15:20--END OF MOVEMENT [337 mm.]

3rd Movement: “Herr, lehre doch mich” (“Lord, make me to know”).  Andante moderato.  Three large sections, the first displaying its own ternary form.  D MINOR/MAJOR, Cut time [2/2]--3/2--Cut time [4/2].
German Text:
--Herr, lehre doch mich,
daß ein Ende mit mir haben muß,
und mein Leben ein Ziel hat,
und ich davon muß.
--Siehe, meine Tage
sind einer Hand breit vor dir,
und mein Leben
ist wie nichts vor dir.
Ach wie gar nichts sind alle Menschen,
die doch so sicher leben.
--Sie gehen daher wie ein Schemen,
und machen ihnen viel vergebliche Unruhe;
sie sammeln und wissen nicht
wer es kriegen wird.
--Nun Herr, wess soll ich mich trösten?
Ich hoffe auf dich.
                                --Psalm 39:5-8
--Der Gerechten Seelen sind in Gottes Hand
und keine Qual rühret sie an.
                                --Weisheit Salomos 3:1                                 		English Text:
--Lord, make me to know mine end,
and the measure of my days,
what it is:
that I may know how frail I am.
--Behold, thou hast made my days
as a handbreadth;
and my age
is as nothing before thee:
verily every man at his best state
is altogether vanity.
--Surely every man walketh in a vain shew:
surely they are disquieted in vain:
he heapeth up riches,
and knoweth not who shall gather them.
--And now, Lord, what wait I for?
My hope is in thee.
                                --Psalm 39:4-7
But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God,
and there shall no torment touch them.
                                --Wisdom of Solomon 3:1

First Section--Psalm 39:4[5], 5[6] (first sentence)--D minor, Cut time [2/2]
0:00 [m. 1]--First part (A).  A bare horn octave is answered by timpani and plucked string basses in a descending line.  The baritone soloist enters with verse 4[5].  The stark melody, in the so-called “natural minor” or aeolian mode (no leading tone) arches up to a high note on “Ende,” which is held across the bar line.  The words “und ich davon muß” reach even higher before the descent to the cadence, which repeats those words.  Under the soloist, the horns continue playing long notes, the timpani and plucked string basses detached notes and rolls, while violas and cellos enter with slow-moving harmonies.
0:38 [m. 17]--The violins enter on a pulsating line with many repeated notes and syncopations.  The choral tenors and basses sing “Herr” in anticipation, then the full choir repeats the phrase of the soloist.  The sopranos take the melody, the other voices harmonizing.  The descent to the cadence is lengthened.  The cellos join the string basses in plucked notes, which move faster under the pulsing violins and violas.  The timpani continue as well, along with the horns, who are now joined by the trumpets on fanfare-like figures.
1:15 [m. 33]--Second part (B).  Overlapping with the choral cadence, the soloist enters with the first sentence of verse 5[6].  He sings the first phrase under wind chords in B-flat major.  On “Tage,” he sings an important long-short-short rising figure.  On “dir,” a surprising, powerful chromatic harmony is heard in the orchestra, the first violins and flutes playing the rising long-short-short figure, the other strings playing triplet rhythms.  The strings and brass quickly drop out.
1:33 [m. 41]--The second phrase of the sentence (from verse 5[6]) begins as had the previous phrase, under wind chords, but the chromatic harmony has shifted the key up to B minor.  After a high point on “ist,” held over the bar line, the descending harmony moves back toward D minor, but the cadence on “vor dir” is diverted back to B-flat in a so-called “deceptive” motion as the choir enters.
1:48 [m. 48]--The choir begins a harmonized version of the first phrase from 1:15 [m. 33].  The strings pulsate breathlessly on the triplet rhythm, with a rest on the first part of each upbeat.  The voices and instruments swell after “Tage,” and the harmony is changed from the solo statement. The winds and brass enter on a different powerful chromatic harmony on “dir,” the woodwinds taking the long-short-short figure.
2:06 [m. 56]--The choir continues with the second phrase.  It is much more intense than the previous solo statement at 1:33 [m. 41].  The melodic line in the soprano slides up by half-steps.  The words “mein Leben” are repeated.  The pulsating strings continue, and there is a huge crescendo.  A loud, syncopated outburst with wind and brass entry on “ist” marks the same high point, still held over the bar line. The key is wrenched back home to D minor.  The volume suddenly recedes for the last words, which are breathed out in quiet, isolated two-chord groups on “wie nichts” and “vor dir.”  The pulsating strings now have rests on the downbeats as well, and they are joined by brass and timpani.
2:32 [m. 66]--Third part (A’).  A timpani roll enters with the stark choral unison on “dir” from the last phrase.  Plucked strings and long horn notes mark the return of the opening material.  The soloist sings it again, but the entire string section now plays plucked chords on the off beats.  The timpani plays a continuous roll, moving up from A to D before “und mein Leben ein Ziel hat,” then back down and up again under the climactic rise on “und ich davon muß.”  Trumpets enter at that point.  The same words are repeated as the music descends and recedes to the cadence, which this time is interrupted.
3:07 [m. 82]--The choir unexpectedly enters in harmony, overlapping the soloist while interrupting and prolonging the cadence.  They sing “und ich davon muß.”  The soloist sings those words a third time, overlapping the choir over another crescendo, the violas taking their bows for a tremolo.  The choir reiterates the words, echoing the soloist’s line in harmony.  The music suddenly recedes, and the soloist sings the words a last time, reiterating “davon muß” over choral harmony on a very strong cadence.
3:34 [m. 93]--The full orchestra enters on the cadence with the long-short-short figure from the second part (B).  The entrance is sudden and loud, but it quickly recedes as it is reiterated an octave lower.  The pulsating triplets, now continuous, are heard in the lower strings and horns, along with the timpani.  The latter alternate with rolls.  The long-short-short figure is heard down yet another octave as the volume reaches a quiet level again.  Clarinets and bassoons play in counterpoint.  The short notes are reiterated three times.  They are lengthened on the last two statements, matching the pulsing triplets on the final one.  A grand pause, then a final bleak note (D) on plucked strings, timpani, and horn ends the first section.
Second Section--Psalm 39:5[6] (second sentence), 6[7], 7[8]--D major/minor, 3/2
4:00 [m. 105]--The meter shifts to a broader 3/2 time.  The soloist presents the remainder of verse 5[6] to a descending line beginning with a long high note.  The direction turns at “die doch so sicher leben,” the last word again reaching the high D where the melody began.  The word “leben” is then stretched out over another long descending line that reaches a cadence.  Despite some distinctive chromatic notes, the soloist’s melody is actually in D major.  The accompaniment, however, which is almost entirely in the winds, is a major/minor mixture.  It incorporates the long-short-short figure from the first section, then becomes more flowing, with harmonious thirds, under “leben.”
4:31 [m. 114]--While the low strings did enter surreptitiously under “leben,” it is with the last syllable of that word that the violins come in, echoing the long descending vocal line on that word under the flowing harmonies of the winds, which continue.  The line is extended slightly, avoiding the cadence.
4:44 [m. 118]--The trombones enter and turn unambiguously to minor.  The soloist sings verse 6[7] to a meandering line incorporating a rising triplet on “Schemen” and a small syncopation on “ihnen.”  Against this, the flutes and oboes, then clarinets and bassoons, then low strings (with horn harmonies) play a version of the long-short-short figure followed by a quicker descent.  This pattern is repeated as the verse continues.  At “sie sammeln, und wissen nicht, wer es kriegen wird,” the intensity rises, and the higher strings enter.
5:19 [m. 129]--The choir enters at the high point of the previous swelling, and sings a harmonized version of the soloist’s melody for the last part of verse 5[6].  It is still in major, but now in F major instead of D.  The violins and violas play a rocking accompaniment against rising lines incorporating the long-short-short figure in low strings and bassoons.  The clarinets support the voices, the oboes and flutes following them in sequential imitation.
5:33 [m. 133]--The direction turns at “die doch so sicher leben.”  The sopranos sing the original line, but alter the word “sicher” by turning down and leaping back up.  Under “leben,” the winds drop out while the tenors and altos take the flowing thirds previously played by the wind instruments.  They repeat the words “die doch so sicher,” with an extra repetition of “so sicher.”  The basses also repeat “so sicher,” their moving line doubled by the low strings and bassoons.
5:50 [m. 138]--Similar to 4:31 [m. 114]--the descending line is echoed at the cadence, but now a flute, oboe and horn play it.  The other winds play the flowing thirds, while the violins and violas continue their rocking figures.  The extension is slightly different to facilitate the motion back to D minor.
6:03 [m. 142]--Suddenly, the music takes a severe turn.  The soloist sings the question from verse 7[8] on a chant-like line with sparse accompaniment marked by a drum roll and trumpet entrance.  After finishing the question, his part is finished for the rest of the movement.
6:09 [m. 144]--Before the soloist can finish the question, the choir enters in a passage of counterpoint on the question.  The basses begin on a flowing, arching line.  The sopranos, altos, and tenors follow in that order, and then the basses sing the line again.  Each part repeats “mich trösten” with wide leaps (except the last bass entry).  Under all these entries, other voice parts not singing the flowing line sing “chanting” notes on “Nun, Herr,” alternating with “chanting” trumpets.  The strings play rocking triplets and the winds double voice parts of similar range.  The timpani play ominous rolls and the intensity gradually increases.
6:28 [m. 150]--The volume has reached a loud level as the voices briefly break the counterpoint.  Flutes and clarinets, followed by oboes and bassoons, suddenly blast out the long-short-short figure with its following descent.  They do this through the climax, with four full statements.  The sopranos and tenors sing the flowing line in very close imitation without the repetition of “mich trösten.”  The basses sing a chanting line on the whole question under this.  The pattern is repeated with tenors leading sopranos and the altos singing the chanting line.
6:40 [m. 154]--Under the wailing long-short-short figure in the winds, the voices cry out “Nun, Herr,” moving from top to bottom in close imitation, the sopranos and tenors on leaps and the altos and basses on static chanting notes.  This is done again at a higher level.  Suddenly, over a thunderous timpani roll, the climax is reached and the voices cry out the question, the men following the women, who do not sing “Nun, Herr” again.  The instruments break out into pulsating repeated chords.  Then the passion very quickly recedes, the strings drop out, and the voices quietly and timidly repeat the question (without “Nun, Herr”) under the pulsating winds.  These slow down, reaching a very dramatic pause on a dissonance.
7:17 [m. 164]--The trombones lead into the answer to the question  The basses begin, and the other voices enter in close imitation from bottom to top.  The key is now an unambiguous D major.  The vocal lines are flowing, and include triplet motion.  The low instruments remain on a steady, unchanging bass pedal on the “dominant” note, creating great anticipation.  Each voice part has different repetitions of all or part of “Ich hoffe auf dich.”  There is a very steady crescendo.  Horns, trombones and low strings are joined by trumpets, then winds and a timpani roll as the voices gradually come together on an emphatic “auf dich.”
Third Section--Wisdom of Solomon 3:1--D major, Cut time [4/2]
7:52 [m. 173]--This is the famous “pedal point” fugue.  It begins with the previous arrival.  The meter is a sort of “double cut time,” an archaic grouping into large 4/2 bars.  The low bass note “D” is held throughout the fugue.  Brahms makes sure it is heard by scoring it in organ pedals, basses and cellos, thumping, continuous timpani beats, tuba, and trombones.  The fugue exposition is very regular.  The tenors state the entire verse on the melody, or subject, which slowly works up, then cascades down on “sind in Gottes Hand.”  The remainder rises and falls again, with a hint of minor-key dissonance on “rühret.”  The instruments not playing the continuous D, such as violins and woodwinds, either double the subject or play a steady, flowing accompaniment in short notes.  The volume is strong and loud throughout.
8:03 [m. 176]--The fugue exposition continues.  The altos enter next on the “dominant” key of A.  They are followed by the sopranos on the home key, then the basses on the “dominant.”  As a new voice enters, the previous one continues with a “countersubject” using only the words “keine Qual rühret sie an.”  The altos and tenors continue with more free counterpoint after their “countersubjects.”  The verse is repeated by these continuing parts, as well as individual words or phrases.  The non-pedal point instruments continue to play either the flowing accompaniment, doubled voice parts, or, beginning in the first violins, wide leaps.  Horns and trumpets play sporadic interjections.
8:31 [m. 183]--The altos and sopranos, but not tenors, break briefly as the basses end their statement.  As the tenors and basses continue, the sopranos enter again with the subject, followed by the altos in counterpoint.  The sopranos break into a long, highly syncopated flourish on “Qual” (“torment”), which is doubled by the first violins.  The other voices slow their motion under the sopranos.
8:49 [m. 188]--The altos begin an entry on another related key, G, closely followed by the tenors.  The ending of the subject is now more free after “keine Qual.”  The sopranos, who have been singing free counterpoint, make a highly dissonant leap on “Qual,” which helps the music move briefly to minor.  The tenors echo this, having finished their statement of the subject. The instruments, particularly the strings, become very active.
9:02 [m. 191]--The altos rest for the following soprano entry, which suggests the minor key and is closer to the original form of the subject.  The tenors and basses continue.    The altos enter again as the sopranos are finishing the statement.  The tenors enter with the subject on its original level, but with the same minor-key tinge.  Over this, the sopranos move up to another high note on “Gottes Hand.”  The basses briefly drop out.  The violins imitate the sopranos high leap, moving to an even higher level and echoed by flutes.
9:22 [m. 196]--The basses begin a strong entry on the “dominant,” followed closely by the tenors.  The women drop out above them as they finish their previous phrases.  The endings of the bass and tenor entries are varied, as the counterpoint is changed.  When the tenors are near the end, the women continue the complete set of entries, echoing the basses and tenors with their close entries on the same levels.  All of these are in the “dominant” key of A, which greatly ratchets up the tension over the pedal point.  Finally, the tenors make a clear entry on the subject, reaching to another very high note on their descent.  In this passage, the strings double the voices exactly, passing the free flowing lines to the high winds.  The cellos leave the pedal point to double the basses.  At the end of the passage, the music moves back to D major.
9:44 [m. 201]--The tenors break into the long, syncopated flourish on “Qual.”  The string doubling of the voices is not longer exact, and the cellos move back to the pedal point.  All non-pedal instruments begin a shimmering oscillation.  The other three voices slow their motion under the tenor flourish.
9:55 [m. 205]--The voices suddenly come together, repeatedly singing “keine Qual” on oscillating chords under the shimmering instrumental texture.  The pedal point remains in force.  After four repetitions of “keine Qual,” the sopranos and basses begin to complete the sentence, the basses stating “rühret sie an” three times, the sopranos, moving slower and beginning later, only stating it once.  The altos and tenors repeat “keine Qual” again, the tenors twice more, before both sing “rühret sie an.”  All voices come together on their statement of the final “an,” the tenor “sie” being a bit delayed.  The ending, although very powerful, is also rather abrupt.  The last chord is usually held a very long time to offset this abruptness.
10:28--END OF MOVEMENT [208 mm.]

4th Movement: “Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen” (“How amiable are thy tabernacles”).  Mäßig bewegt (Moderately moving).  Five-part Rondo form (ABA’CA”).  E-FLAT MAJOR, 3/4 time.
German Text:
--Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen,
Herr Zebaoth!
--Meine Seele verlanget und sehnet sich
nach den Vorhöfen des Herrn;
mein Leib und Seele freuen sich
in dem lebendigen Gott.
--Wohl denen, die in deinem Hause wohnen,
die loben dich immerdar.
                                --Psalm 84:2, 3, 5
English Text:
--How amiable are they tabernacles,
O Lord of hosts!
--My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth
for the courts of the Lord:
my heart and my flesh crieth out
for the living God.
--Blessed are they that dwell in thy house:
they will be still praising thee.
                                --Psalm 84:1, 2, 4

A Section--Psalm 84:1[2]
0:00 [m. 1]--Brief introduction.  A flute and clarinet enter on an upbeat with a peaceful descending scale that turns back up, supported by the other winds.  The cellos provide an ascending counterpoint.  The violas have syncopated repeated notes.  The horns lead into the vocal entry.
0:09 [m. 5]--The voices enter in harmony with the verse.  The soprano line is an inversion of the opening flute/clarinet scale.  This breaks at “Herr Zebaoth,” which is sung twice.  The sopranos make a large leap, then descend downward, the other voices singing in harmonies with some inner motion.  The violins enter under the voices with an undulating accompaniment that somewhat doubles the melody.  The syncopated notes in the violas continue, and the low strings support the bass line.
0:26 [m. 13]--A the voices are finishing their line on “Herr Zebaoth,” the flutes and oboes echo the opening of the vocal phrase  The voices then enter again, beginning with “deine Wohnungen.”  This entry moves away from the home key, arriving at the “dominant” key of B-flat after a long descent on “Zebaoth.”
0:46 [m. 23]--At the vocal arrival, the violins begin a long, expressive descending line.  The tenors enter two bars later in imitation of the violin line.  The imitation breaks, and the tenors complete their statement of the verse with some mild dissonance.  The violin line continues in counterpoint, along with rising arpeggios in clarinets and violas.
1:07 [m. 33]--A bass entry overlaps the ending of the tenors' phrase.  Its opening echoes the preceding tenor line.  As it continues, the sopranos and altos enter in harmony, the sopranos initially echoing the tenors and basses.  All three voices prolong “lieblich,” allowing the tenors to enter again and for all four parts to come together to complete the verse and the section.  The violin melody continues to weave itself with the voices, sometimes doubling them.  A brief transition turns toward the minor key over plucked (pizzicato) cellos.
B Section--Psalm 84:2[3]
1:34 [m. 46]--The voices enter together with flutes and oboes, accenting “Seele.”  A counterpoint builds on “verlanget und sehnet,” moving over F minor and major toward the home key of E-flat.  The rocking line is presented first by the basses.  As they continue, the other three parts enter in imitation, bottom to top on different pitch levels.  The soprano entry comes at a closer distance.  The basses sing the words three times, with an extra repetition of “sehnet.”  The tenors and altos sing them twice.  The sopranos sing them only once, but also with an extra repetition of “und sehnet.”  Longer notes in the continuations of the lower parts minimize repetition.  In the orchestra, falling two-note figures in the clarinets and bassoons respond to rising figures in the strings.  The music swells toward the highest soprano note.
1:57 [m. 58]--After the voices come together, they greatly recede and sing in block harmony on “nach den Vorhöfen des Herrn,” the completion of the verse’s initial phrase.  The cellos and violas play wide plucked arpeggios under this.  The music changes keys again, to a D minor/major mixture.  Following the voices’ completion of the phrase, the violins join the plucked arpeggios in a brief transition marked by a plaintive, arching phrase from the oboes.
2:11 [m. 66]--The second part of the verse begins with accented string pulsations on the first beat of each bar.  The voices support this with longer notes on these beats, emphasizing words such as “Leib” and “Seele” (“body” and “soul”).  The passage is harmonically active, and the words “in dem lebendigen Gott” emerge in a very bright G-flat major.  The  strings, bassoons, oboes and horns double the voice parts here, and the accented pulsations briefly break.
2:26 [m. 74]--The previous sequence with the accented string pulsations is heard a half-step lower.  The analogous arrival on F is extended, as the middle voices, then the basses, begin “in dem lebendigen Gott” alone.  The sopranos enter two bars later, and again move the music back to the home key.  All voices repeat “in dem lebendigen” except the sopranos, who greatly stretch out the word over several notes.
A’ Section--Psalm 84:1[2] and 4[5] (beginning)
2:48 [m. 85]--The home key having arrived, the introduction is reprised.  This time, the violins begin it.  The introduction is extended by the flute and clarinet entering one bar later with their original line, imitating the violins, who continue to play in counterpoint.  The horn lead-in to the vocal entry is more elaborate.
2:57 [m. 90]--Vocal entry on the main melody, as at 0:09 [m. 5].
3:14 [m. 98]--Echo of opening vocal phrase from flutes and oboes, as at 0:26 [m. 13].  The ensuing vocal entry is shifted upward, so that it will remain in and reach a cadence on the home key of E-flat this time.
3:35 [m. 108]--Expressive descending violin line, as at 0:46 [m. 23].  This time, the line continues without any imitation from the tenors.  Instead, the full choir sings subdued block chords on “Wohl denen,” the first words of verse 4[5].  After this entry, the contour of the violin line is altered somewhat.
3:50 [m. 116]--The voices enter together, the sopranos singing the familiar leap toward the descending line previously heard in the violins.  They complete the first phrase of verse 4[5].  The violins play in active counterpoint with the melody.  Flutes join clarinets and violas on the ascending arpeggios.  There is mild dissonance, as when this melody was used before.
C Section--Psalm 84:4[5] (ending)
4:06 [m. 124]--The remainder of the verse (“die loben dich immerdar”) is sung to new material in a sort of double fugue.  The sopranos sing a strong, march-like line, imitated by the altos.  Against this, the basses sing a more active, leaping line, also march-like, that is imitated by the tenors.  After this, the counterpoint continues in an extension with various word repetitions.  The sopranos are absent after their initial line, joining on the extension only at the end.  The upper strings play a very martial series of descending leaps (ascending in the violas).  The low strings play a solid bass line, and the winds double the voice parts.
4:22 [m. 132]--The sequence begins again, this time with the tenors leading the basses on the stronger, slower line, and the altos leading the sopranos on the more active, leaping line.  This layout constitutes a double reversal, as the lines are switched between men and women and the imitating voices are also switched for both lines.
4:31 [m. 137]--The extension is interrupted with a new series of entries on both lines.  The tenors begin at a higher level with both lines, the faster one following the slower one.  The basses sing the faster line against the tenors’ slower one, then drop out.  The altos then sing the slower line against the tenors’ faster one.  Overlapping with this, the sopranos enter joyously with a leap and a fall on “die loben.”  This is echoed at close distance by the altos, then the tenors after they finish their previous lines.  In this passage, the strings abandon the martial leaps and play solid block harmonies matching the slower line in the tenors and altos.
4:43 [m. 143]--The sopranos again leap to a higher note on “die loben.”  They are imitated a fourth lower by the altos.  The altos continue to follow the sopranos, both singing in syncopation with notes held over bar lines on a descending scale.  Under this, the tenors and basses also sing in imitation on “die loben.”  They use a quicker ascending scale fragment, the basses following the tenors a fourth lower.  The instruments, except the low strings, largely double the voices here.
4:54 [m. 149]--The voices rapidly diminish, end their counterpoint and imitation, and come together on “dich immerdar.”  They sing long, slow harmonies.  All of the strings suddenly play pizzicato, with arching arpeggios in the first violins and violas under the long vocal chords.
A” Section (Coda)
5:01 [m. 153]--This final section uses only the first line of the opening verse.  A flute and oboe begin the initial descending scale, overlapping with the conclusion of the preceding long vocal chords.  The sopranos and tenors sing in unison with a new descending line on “Wie lieblich,” then leap up to a dissonance on a repetition of the words.  The violas, cellos, and clarinets play ascending arpeggios.  The first violins play the initial descending line under the dissonance, leading into the next passage with altos and basses.
5:13 [m. 159]--The altos and basses sing the unison line a fifth lower.  They also leap to a dissonance, but repeat this leap, singing the words three times instead of two.  A flute and oboe play fragments of the opening line under this repeated dissonance.  Arpeggios continue in cellos, violas, and clarinets.  The violins join them, playing pizzicato, under the dissonances.
5:24 [m. 165]--The voices come together for a full statement of the line.  The tenors and sopranos are still in unison, as are the basses and altos, so there are two lines sung against each other.  The alto/bass line is more active and colorful, repeating “wie lieblich,” but the tenor/alto line reaches high on long notes, swelling toward the highest one and creating an extremely satisfying cadence on “Wohnungen.”  The plucked string arpeggios continue.  The winds double the voices, except for the horns, and the low strings play their own bass line. 
5:41 [m. 173]--After the cadence, the horns, first with clarinets, then with oboes, play some final rising figures over the continuing plucked arpeggios.  The low strings take over after these rising figures, playing a descending line that is also very fulfilling.  The upper strings take their bows for two final chords against a held wind chord.
6:10--END OF MOVEMENT [179 mm.]

5th Movement: “Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit” (“And ye now therefore have sorrow”).  Langsam (Slowly).  Ternary form.  G MAJOR, 4/4 time.
German Text:
--Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit;
aber ich will euch wieder sehen
und euer Herz soll sich freuen
und eure Freude soll niemand von euch nehmen.
                                --Evangelium Johannes 16:22
--Sehet mich an:
Ich habe eine kleine Zeit
Mühe und Arbeit gehabt
und habe großen Trost funden.
                                --Jesus Sirach 51:35[27]
Ich will euch trösten,
wie Einen seine Mutter tröstet.
                                --Jesaja 66:13		 English Text:
And ye now therefore have sorrow:
but I will see you again,
and your heart shall rejoice,
and your joy no man taketh from you.
                                --John 16:22
--Ye see how
for a little while
I labor and toil,
yet have I found much rest.
                                --Ecclesiasticus 51:27
As one whom his mother comforteth,
so will I comfort you…
                                --Isaiah 66:13

A Section--John 16:22; Isaiah 66:13
0:00 [m. 1]--The strings alone play the beautiful introduction, which begins with a three-note upbeat.  The upper strings play with mutes for a very soft sound.  The initial ascent is followed by three descending groups.  The harmony is rich and full.  After the descents, the strings murmur on a repeated oscillation.
0:19 [m. 4]--The soprano soloist enters with a soaring line that immediately reaches quite high.  She sings the first phrase of the verse from John.  The winds enter, and the oboe has a prominent countermelody related to the preceding string introduction.  The strings now play slow plucked arpeggios, the lower strings first, then the violins and violas.  The word “Traurigkeit” is spread over another soaring line that then descends.  The flute takes over the introduction melody from the oboe.  After the phrase is complete, the clarinet plays an ascending arpeggio.
0:43 [m. 9]--The soloist repeats “Traurigkeit” on an ascending line that adds a new half-step.  The flute plays the ascending arpeggios just heard from the clarinet.  The word is sung again, then the entire phrase is sung in a generally descending motion that briefly moves to D minor.  Against this, the strings again take up their bows, descending with the winds.  The horns play chant-like repeated notes.
1:07 [m. 14]--As the soloist finishes the line, the violas and cellos play an ascending harmonized arpeggio, to which the winds respond with descending arpeggios harmonized in thirds.  As the winds enter, the soloist sings “aber” on a syncopated descending leap, back in G major.  The pattern and the word are repeated at a higher level, with the violins joining the ascending arpeggio.  The soloist then proceeds with the verse through “euer Herz soll sich freuen,” supported by strings on the flowing, beautiful introduction melody.
1:34 [m. 19]--The choir enters, very unobtrusively.  They sing the verse fragment from Isaiah.  These are the only words taken by the choir in the movement, and the soloist never sings them.  They sing it very quietly on a version of the opening introduction melody whose notes are lengthened (augmented).  It is shifted to D major.  The winds take over from the strings, playing the introduction melody at its original speed.  The soloist comes in above them, completing the John verse with a full close in D major, repeating the word “niemand.”  When the choir moves to “wie einen seine Mutter tröstet” (under the soloist’s “niemand”) the strings take over again on the introduction melody.  The choir sings these words to chant-like, slow moving chords.  Once again, the strings pass the accompaniment to the winds at the cadence.
2:00 [m. 24]--The winds add tension with a slight dissonance.  The choir then repeats “wie einen seine Mutter tröstet” very quietly on the chant-like repeated and slow-moving chords.  They also reach a gentle, soothing cadence in D major.  They are supported by strings.  The strings reiterate the cadence, joined by horns.  This leads into the B section.
B Section--Ecclesiasticus 51:27; Isaiah 66:13--Note that some German Bibles label the Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) verse as 27, but Brahms’s version of the Apocrypha labeled it as 35.
2:18 [m. 27]--The soloist sings “Sehet mich an” in syncopation, moving strikingly to the key of B-flat.  She continues the verse with light accompaniment from winds and strings, the latter entering largely in groups of three off the beat.  The arching line remains in B-flat for its first part, but artfully shifts up a half-step, to B major, on the word “großen,” which soars upward before slowly descending to a cadence in B on “funden.”
2:58 [m. 35]--The choir enters, overlapping with the soloist’s cadence.  In this middle section, they only sing the first part of their verse, “Ich will euch trösten.”  This they do to a quietly murmuring harmony doubled by strings, men first, then women.  The men join the women’s murmuring line on “euch trösten” to add fuller harmony.  The instruments bridge to the next entry of the soloist.
3:15 [m. 38]--The soloist sings the verse from “ich habe eine kleine Zeit” in B major, to essentially the same melody as before, with an added leap on “kleine.”  The accompaniment is reduced to strings alone, who now pulsate on syncopated notes.  There is an unexpected chromatic note on the second syllable of “gehabt” in the vocal line.  The soloist then adds an extra statement of “und habe großen” on a stepwise rising line before repeating the words in a more similar manner to their first appearance marking the key change.  The words change keys here as well.
3:43 [m. 44]--The choir enters as the soloist finishes the word “großen.”  They sing again on the words “ich will euch trösten.”  This time, the men lead and the women follow on the murmuring harmony.  Horns, then clarinets and oboes enter with the choir.  Above this, the soloist completes the key change.  Instead of stretching out the word “großen,” it is repeated.  The goal of the key change is D major, from whence the B section was approached at the end of A.  The choir gently descends on “trösten” twice more, moving back to the home key of G major.
A’ Section--Text of A Section
4:10 [m. 49]--The home key arrives, as does the main melody.  The soloist’s soaring line is taken by a solo cello.  The oboe plays its original countermelody, and the strings begin their slow plucked arpeggios.  Suddenly, the soloist interrupts with a new version of the melody that surprisingly turns to the minor key.  The flute takes over the counterpoint from the oboe, as it had done before.  Chant-like horn octaves punctuate the ending of the phrase.
4:43 [m. 56]--The soloist repeats the phrase “ihr habt nun Traurigkeit” on another soaring line with a large arch on “Traurigkeit.”  This line moves briefly toward B-flat, with minor-key tinges.  Finally, “Traurigkeit” is repeated a third time, this time turning downward and settling again on G minor.  The string accompaniment is sparse here, decorated only by oboe and horns.
5:07 [m. 60]--Very similar to 1:07 [m. 14], but the choral tenors, doubled by a horn, enter against the soloist’s line on “ich will euch wieder sehen,” anticipating the entrance of the rest of the choir on the augmented (lengthened) version of the melody.  The soloist had sung this line without the tenor counterpoint before.
5:33 [m. 65]--The full choir enters in a similar manner to 1:34 [m. 19], but this time they sing their lengthened, harmonized version of the melody in the home key of G instead of shifting to D.  Above this, the soprano soloist soars with a new, mildly syncopated version of the rest of the verse (“und eure Freude soll niemand von euch nehmen”).  She lingers on a high G on “Freude,” then repeats “und eure Freude,” reaching even higher, and completing the line in an almost transfigured manner.  The strings and winds both play here, the flutes and oboes playing the lengthened version of the melody, the strings gently oscillating.  The winds play the same arching, mildly dissonant bridge passage as before 2:00 [m. 24], but in G major.
5:59 [m. 70]--The choral reiteration of “wie einen seine Mutter tröstet” from 2:00 [m. 24] is expanded into a coda.  They sing this reiteration as before, but now the soloist adds a descending counterpoint on “von euch nehmen.”  Soft, sparse string accompaniment, as before.
6:12 [m. 72]--Instead of passing the cadence to strings and horns, the choir continues, singing the murmuring version of “ich will euch trösten” from the B section.  The men are imitated by the women.  The men continue, reaching high on “trösten” as the wind instruments enter.  The women then follow with a rising line.
6:29 [m. 75]--As the choir continues, the men repeating the entire phrase, the women only “ich will,” the soloist enters with an expressive, joyous, and transfigured descending line on “ich will euch wieder sehen.”  The choir, singing “will euch trösten” in syncopation, responds, doubled by strings.  The soloist then reiterates “wieder sehen” in syncopation, the choir responding with one more statement of “will euch trösten.”  They lengthen the last word, approaching a cadence.  Against this, the soloist sings her own lengthened version of “wieder sehen.”  It has a slight sense of timelessness and incompletion.  An oboe, then a flute, follow up on the voices over held string chords.  Then the rest of the winds enter on two final, very quiet chords.
7:29--END OF MOVEMENT [82 mm.]

6th Movement: “Denn wir haben hie keine bleibende Statt” (“For here have we no continuing city”).  Andante--Vivace--Allegro.  Through-composed form in three large sections, the first with two subsections.  C MINOR/MAJOR, 4/4--3/4--Cut time [4/2].
German Text:
--Denn wir haben hie keine bleibende Statt,
sondern die zukünftige suchen wir.
                                --Hebräer 13:14
--Siehe, ich sage euch ein Geheimnis:
Wir werden nicht alle entschlafen,
wir werden aber alle verwandelt werden;
--und dasselbige plötzlich, in einen Augenblick,
zu der Zeit der letzten Posaune.
Denn es wird die Posaune schallen,
und die Toten werden auferstehen unverweslich,
und wir werden verwandelt werden.
--Dann wird erfüllet werden
das Wort, das geschrieben steht:
Der Tod ist verschlungen in den Sieg.
--Tod, wo ist dein Stachel?
Hölle, wo ist dein Sieg?
                                --1. Korinther 15:51, 52, 54, 55
--Herr, du bist würdig
zu nehmen Preis und Ehre und Kraft,
denn du hast alle Dinge erschaffen,
und durch deinen Willen haben sie das Wesen
und sind geschaffen.
                                --Offenbarung Johannes 4:11		 English Text:
--For here have we no continuing city,
but we seek one to come.
                                --Hebrews 13:14
--Behold, I shew you a mystery;
We shall not all sleep,
but we shall all be changed,
--in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,
at the last trump:
for the trumpet shall sound,
and the dead shall be raised incorruptible,
and we shall be changed.
--Then shall be brought to pass
the saying that is written:
Death is swallowed up in victory.
--O death, where is thy sting?
O grave, where is thy victory?
                                --1 Corinthians 15:51, 52, 54, 55
--Thou art worthy, O Lord,
to receive glory and honour and power:
for thou hast created all things,
and for thy peasure they are
and were created.
                                --Revelation 4:11

First Section--4/4, Andante
First subsection--Hebrews 13:14--C minor
0:00 [m. 1]--The strings, playing with mutes, play an chord.  The oboes, clarinets and horns respond.  Both chords are unstable, their goals unclear.  The choir enters in a hushed manner with the strings, the cellos and basses now playing a march-like pizzicato.  The sense of key and overall goal remains unclear, reflecting the message of the text.  The word “keine” is given extra emphasis with a syncopation across the bar line.  Flutes, clarinets, and bassoons bridge to the second part of the verse couplet.
0:24 [m. 8]--The choir continues with the rest of the verse from “sondern.”  This is the only time these words will be sung.  There is a slight brightening.  The rising figure on “zukünftige” is echoed by “suchen,” but the second note is lowered by a half-step in sopranos and altos, ending the brief brightness.  The word “suchen” is stretched out over a distance, with much slow syncopation.  The basses repeat it.  The phrase ends in a questioning manner.  Flutes, oboes, and bassoons respond twice with a rising gesture. 
0:53 [m. 18]--The upper strings join in playing the march-like pizzicato.  Harmonized by the horns, the altos again begin the first part of the verse, imitated below by the tenors, who enter with clarinets.  The sopranos and basses join the counterpoint together as oboes, then flutes and bassoons join.  All voices drop out together except the altos, who continue on a descending line to a half-close with a bassoon.  The altos repeat the most text, beginning before and ending after everyone else.  The tenors also repeat much text.  The basses only repeat “bleibende,” and the sopranos repeat no words at all, holding a long note on “bleibende” that is echoed by the trailing altos.  Their last note is punctuated with a soft timpani roll and long horn note.
Second subsection--1 Corinthians 15:51, 52 (first sentence)--F-sharp minor-C minor
1:23 [m. 29]--The baritone soloist enters dramatically, but quietly with the first phrase of verse 51.  All strings are now bowed.  On the second syllable of “Geheimnis,” a very artful change of key to F-sharp minor occurs.  The syllable is stretched to three shorter notes after the first long one.  An echoing response to the soloist from winds and strings (the violins playing in tremolo) continues the key change.
1:38 [m. 34]--The soloist continues on the second phrase of verse 51 with light instrumental doubling.  Reaching a high note on “alle,” he then greatly extends “entschlafen” with seven notes on its second syllable.  Against this extension, an oboe, clarinet, and horn play a flowing counterpoint.  As he finishes, the choir enters softly, echoing his words in a chant-like manner.  Under the choir, the strings play an arching unison line echoing the soloist, to which the winds respond with a descending unison. 
2:09 [m. 46]--The soloist continues with the third and last phrase of verse 51.  This time, he reaches much higher on “alle,” which he repeats.  The low strings arch under him.  Under “verwandelt,” an oboe and clarinet play a descending line.  The word is repeated on another ascent.  The end of the phrase moves to the related C-sharp minor.  The choir responds in a chant-like manner, as before, again with the unison arching strings followed by the descending unison winds.  The choir’s arrival is in C-sharp minor.
2:50 [m. 62]--The violins begin a winding line over tremolos in the lower strings.  The soloist sings the beginning of verse 52 with great anticipation.  Under his quick descending leap on “plötzlich,” a flute joins the winding string line.  The music is now somewhat stronger, the soloist leaping to the highest note on “Augenblick” with two punctuating chords.  There is then a brief general pause.
3:02 [m. 67]--The soloist sings the next phrase of verse 52, completing the sentence.  He begins alone.  The trombones and tuba join him a bar later (“Posaune” is the German word for trombone, not trumpet!).  The choral sopranos and altos enter under his “letzten Posaune.”  Everything swells gradually, but powerfully, accelerating as well. 
3:10 [m. 71]--The soloist drops out, and the choir takes over.  The tenors enter, then the basses.  The key is wrenched down a half-step to the home key of C minor.  The women repeat “der letzten Posaune,” the tenors “der letzten,” and the basses no words.  The acceleration continues.  The trombones and tuba swell grandly.  The rest of the orchestra gradually enters, culminating on a huge chord and drum roll with a large arching arpeggio on tremolo strings.  After the choir drops out, large punctuating chords played against the arching arpeggio propel the acceleration to the next section in a much faster tempo.
Second Section--1 Corinthians 15:52 (second sentence), 54, 55--C minor, 3/4.  Vivace
3:29 [m. 82]--The meter shifts to a fast triple.  The key is back to C minor.  This is the most powerful entrance in the work.  The full choir and orchestra come together in massed forces.  The choir sings the remainder of verse 52.  The first two phrases are sung to similar music, the second with different harmony.  Both have a prominent triplet figure.  The inner voices move on the words “schallen” and the third syllable of “auferstehen” while the outer voices hold long notes.  The orchestration is characterized by rushing tremolo strings and thundering drum rolls. 
3:44 [m. 93]--The word “unverweslich” continues in a similar vein, powerfully sung twice with moving inner voices on the third syllable.  The remainder of the verse is sung and played to detached, powerful chords.  The rushing tremolo strings and some syncopated wind chords bridge to the next verse.  Brahms skipped verse 53 of the chapter.
4:05 [m. 109]--The soloist sings his final passage in the movement on the first part of verse 54.  It is essentially the same music as that from 1:23 [m. 29], adapted to the triple meter.  The same key change is implied, but the continuation from “das Wort, das geschrieben steht” moves immediately back to C minor instead of fulfilling the key change.  The orchestration thins for this last solo passage to quiet strings, long horn and wind notes, and softer timpani rolls.
4:24 [m. 122]--With the soloist’s last word (“steht”), the orchestra reprises the rushing tremolo string arpeggio, powerful punctuating chords, and thundering drum rolls from the very end of the transition to the second section before 3:29 [m. 82], adapted to the triple meter.
4:31 [m. 128]--The full choir, supported by the full orchestra, sings the remainder of verse 54.  The music is essentially the same as that from 3:29 [m. 82], with the two similar phrases, triplet figures, and moving inner voices.  Declamation is altered as necessary.  Instead of two different passages of text, both phrases are sung to the same text.
4:47 [m. 139]--The music is as at 3:44 [m. 93], adapted to two repetitions of “in den Sieg.”  Following these two interjections, the detached, powerful chords are sung to “ist verschlungen in den Sieg,” the word “verschlungen” sung twice in all voices, and three times in the altos and basses.  The bridging passage still has syncopations, but it is different, as new music will follow.
5:05 [m. 152]--New, but similar music is sung to verse 55.  The first question is sung to block chords in all voices, with emphasis on the word “Tod” (“Death”) provided by trombone blasts.  A motion to F-sharp is implied.  The question is repeated, with an extra repetition of that word and another implied motion, this time to A-flat.  The rushing tremolo strings and heavy syncopations continue.
5:14 [m. 159]--The second question is somewhat brighter.  The women and men separate after the word “Hölle,” the men holding the word “wo” and following the women on “ist dein Sieg” on a descending line.  Those words (“in den Sieg”) are repeated to a continuing descent with the men imitating the women.  The women sing the words one more time as the men “catch up,” then all voices sing the entire question together in an ascending, detached unison after “Hölle.”  The brass are much thinner here, and the strings become more angular, with sharp, detached leaps emerging into a triplet rhythm.  The music moves to A minor.  The voices pause for a brief orchestral bridge.
5:29 [m. 169]--The second question is sung again in a much brighter fashion, beginning in a major key (E-flat major, closely related to C minor).  This time, in a reversal, the women follow the men on the descending line after holding “wo.”  The pattern is similar to the one at 5:14 [m. 159], but the men sing “Hölle” twice instead of adding a third repetition of “in den Sieg.”  The voices come together again  on “in den Sieg” on a powerful unison descent that re-establishes a stark C minor.
5:41 [m. 178]--Both questions are asked in very powerful block chords, with lengthening of the two words depicting the enemies that are addressed, “Tod” and “Hölle” (“hell”).  The questions themselves are highly detached.  Tremolo strings bridge the two opening words to the two questions.  The second question includes the word “Hölle” again in all parts by the sopranos, who sing “wo” twice.  The timpani thump loudly under this question.  Tremolo strings bridge to the final passage of the second section.
6:00 [m. 192]--The interrogative word “wo” is sung three times by the full choir in long block chords against powerfully ascending strings and the rest of the orchestra.  There are two general pauses between each statement of the word.  The third is lengthened to five bars, and the string figures become more angular.  Under this third statement of the word, the music begins moving decisively to the major mode.  After another general pause, the entire question “wo ist dein Sieg?” is sung, with the last word lengthened to four bars under angular strings.  The bright C major key of this chord leads seamlessly into the last section.
Third Section--Revelation 4:11--C major, Cut time [4/2].  Allegro
6:24 [m. 208]--Much of this closing section is constructed as a fugue, although the fugal structure does break down throughout.  The opening is a true fugue exposition, with each voice part presenting the “subject,” which is a melody used for the first part of the Revelation verse (though “Kraft”).  As in the 3rd Movement fugue, the archaic 4/2 cut time is used.  The fugue subject itself consists mostly of long notes and has a noble, triumphant quality.  Each vocal part is doubled by a wind instrument or violins in its presentation, and the strings continually march in faster notes.  Its first presentation is from the altos and clarinets, the violins playing the faster detached notes.
6:32 [m. 212]--The sopranos have the next presentation of the subject, beginning a fifth higher, as the altos complete their statement.  They are doubled by the oboes.  The altos, after a bar, continue with the “countersubject,” which uses faster notes and more chromatic notes from outside the key.  It continues the Revelation verse (through “erschaffen”).  The violas take over the marching notes, and the first violins double the altos on the countersubject.
6:41 [m. 216]--The basses sing the subject at the original pitch, doubled by bassoons.  The altos continue immediately with the second part of the “countersubject,” completing the Revelation verse.  They are now doubled by violas.  The sopranos, after a bar, sing the first part of the “countersubject,” doubled by second violins.  The low strings enter for the first time and take over the marching fast notes.
6:50 [m. 220]--The tenors complete the fugue exposition.  Because of the thicker texture, they are doubled by first violins.  The sopranos immediately continue with the second part of the “countersubject,” still with the second violins, but the instruments now move more freely.  The basses have the first part of the “countersubject” (after a bar).  They are doubled by violas.  The altos, the first to begin, sing a new line after a pause that repeats “und sind geschaffen” twice.  The second violin line somewhat doubles them along with the sopranos.  Low strings continue the steady marching line.  Winds are completely absent.
6:59 [m. 224]--With the fugue exposition complete, the counterpoint becomes more free.  The first violins and low strings break into a joyous series of leaping octaves in triplet rhythm.  The altos and basses are paired on music resembling the subject and countersubject, the altos beginning the verse again and the basses completing it (abandoning the countersubject).  They are doubled by second violins and violas.  Halfway through, the sopranos and tenors enter with the same pairing a fifth higher (the tenors skipping the middle part of the verse).  The string doubling moves to sopranos and tenors, but the viola line becomes quicker and more free.  The key moves to G minor.  The organ enters.
7:08 [m. 228]--As the altos finish their line, and the tenors and sopranos continue with theirs, the basses, who ended earlier, enter with another variant of the subject.  The altos follow a bar later (as the sopranos end their subject statement with a new rising syncopated line).  The tenors follow the altos, and finally the sopranos enter again.  The winds and brass have entered the scene with various doublings and chords.  Only the second violins and violas continue to double voice parts in the strings, the others taking the quickly leaping triplet octaves. 
7:17 [m. 232]--The four voices gradually come together.  Only the tenors state the first part of the verse in full without repetition.  The sopranos omit “und Kraft.”  The altos also omit those words, but repeat parts of “zu nehmen Preis und Ehre.”  The basses repeat “und Ehre” twice.  The voices come together on an incomplete close in G minor, the women on “Ehre” and the men on “Kraft.”  The full orchestra is now present, including timpani.
7:22 [m. 235]--The music suddenly quiets down.  The tenors and basses present the middle part of the verse (“denn du hast alle Dinge erschaffen”) in harmony with light accompaniment, including a marching line in the cellos.  They move toward E-flat major.  The altos then continue the verse with “und durch deinen Willen haben sie das Wesen” in E-flat, doubled by second violins, the violas taking over the marching line.  Finally, the sopranos, with first violins, complete the verse with “und sind geschaffen,” moving back to G minor as the marching line moves back to cellos and basses.  The tenors, then the altos, echo the sopranos with short lines on “und sind geschaffen.”
7:43 [m. 244]--All four voices sing in counterpoint.  The sopranos, doubled by oboes and first violins, sing the original subject, moving back to the home key of C.  The tenors sing against them with the last part of the verse from “durch deinen Willen.”  Second violins and clarinets, then violas double them.  The altos and basses enter later, the former with the middle part of the verse (from “denn du hast…”), the latter merely with “und sind geschaffen.”  The second violins and clarinets move from the tenors to double the altos.  The low strings continue to march, and the horns enter.  The voices end together.
7:52 [m. 248]--All strings break into the leaping triplet octaves.  The sopranos and tenors briefly drop out.  The basses take over the opening of the main subject, now doubled strongly by a trombone.  The altos sing the same initial words on a rising figure doubled by clarinets.  The tenors join on “zu nehmen.”  Then, the counterpoint is completely broken as the sopranos join for another statement of “zu nehmen.”  The full orchestra plays block chords with the choir, with jubilant trumpet and timpani echoes.
8:00 [m. 252]--The choir sings “Preis und Ehre” twice in syncopation, with the full orchestra and trumpet/timpani echoes.  After a third statement of the words, they continue with “und Kraft.”  The men repeat “Ehre” (or “und Ehre” in the basses) and the women repeat “und Kraft.”  Basses, then altos, have some faster motion against the other voices.  The voices come together with punctuating orchestral chords.
8:11 [m. 257]--The basses begin a partial statement of the subject, cutting off the last words “und Kraft.”  They are supported by a trombone and lower strings.  The other three voices sing in harmonies against them on “zu nehmen Preis und Ehre und Kraft,” supported by winds.  The violins play a detached, active, arching line.  The basses carry their partial subject over past the other voices.  Before they finish, the strings imitate their rising line in harmony.  Then the voices enter together with winds and brass, dovetailing and alternating with the strings once more.  They sing the same text, first cutting off “Kraft,” then adding it as off-beat orchestral blasts replace the alternation.  The harmonies in the passage are wide-ranging.
8:32 [m. 267]--The music suddenly becomes quiet.  The words “zu nehmen Preis und Ehre” continue to be developed in dovetailing entries passed from bass to soprano, then to tenor and finally to alto.  These are supported by block chords in the strings.  A flute and bassoon alternate on a detached arching line.  An oboe joins the flute on its second entrance.  The harmonies briefly suggest E minor and G minor.
8:43 [m. 271]--The altos alone complete their phrase with “und Kraft.”  As they do this, the sopranos, doubled by flutes, oboes, and first violins, begin a strong entry of the main subject that moves to E minor.  The tenors, with second violins and clarinets, sing “durch deinen Willen haben sie das Wesen” from the last part of the verse on faster notes.  As the tenors finish, the altos, who just completed their previous line, enter with the subject below the sopranos before the soprano entry is completed.  This device, called “stretto,” continues as the basses, then the tenors (who just finished their previous line) make overlapping entries.  Horns and strings double the entries.  The lower strings play the detached, marching faster notes.
8:58 [m. 278]--The tenors cut off after “Ehre,” as do the basses.  C major is again in force.  The upper three voices enter with the same words (“zu nehmen Preis und Ehre”) as the line of the basses continues.  The words are passed in dovetailing alternation once between the upper three voices in harmony and the basses.  The top voices appear to begin another alternation, but they repeat “zu nehmen Preis” as the basses enter, coming together with them.  The full orchestra, with short, punctuating chords and full brass, is now playing as the music approaches a climax.
9:08 [m. 282]--The voices arrive at the word “Ehre” and hold it for three bars, all parts moving slowly in long notes, the men alternating with the women, who hold notes over bar lines in their slow descent.  The strings begin to play in pulsating syncopation as well, and the trombones march upward with the low strings.  The men cut off first, and another rising series of overlapping imitations on “zu nehmen Preis” follows from bottom to top.  The soprano entry is delayed, and the other voices enter in harmony with them.  There is now a huge swell as the voices complete the phrase, arriving at the word “Kraft” after thumping timpani beats and downward precipitating low strings and bassoons.  The chord on “Kraft” is huge, long, and unstable, both arresting progress and creating anticipation.  A loud timpani roll increases the tension.
9:28 [m. 291]--The preceding enormous chord is followed by a very sudden diminishing.  The tenors enter with long notes on the middle part of the verse (“denn du hast alle Dinge erschaffen”).  The leaping violas stand out in the light accompaniment without organ.  As the tenors finish their line, the sopranos echo them, supported in harmony by the altos.  The tenors, leaving out “denn du hast,” join them in harmony after completing their line.  The violins join on the leaping figures.  The winds play a slow-moving harmonic background, an oboe doubling the soprano melody.
9:45 [m. 298]--The tenors, still leading the women, begin to complete the verse.  The words “und durch deinen Willen haben sie das Wesen” are passed from tenors to altos to sopranos.  The tenors repeat “das Wesen,” and the altos sing longer notes.  All three voices come together on the word “Wesen” after a small swell in volume.  The winds and horns provide a background, while the violins and violas continue their leaping figures.  At the top of the crescendo, “und sind geschaffen” is sung emphatically.  The basses remain absent from this entire passage.
9:59 [m. 304]--The basses, after their long absence, begin a variant of the main subject as the upper three voices complete their emphatic “geschaffen.”  Another passage of overlapping entries (“stretto”) ensues as the three voices come in after the basses from bottom to top.  The orchestra plays punctuating chords, but the horns and trumpets briefly drop out, leaving the trombones to carry the brass sound.  
10:10 [m. 309]--As the sopranos arrive at “nehmen Preis und Ehre,” the music starts to resemble the long held “Ehre” with marching trombones and low strings at 9:08 [m. 282].  Another series of bottom-to-top overlapping entries on “zu nehmen Preis” follows as the sopranos and altos cut off their previous statements at “Ehre.”  This time, these entries more decisively shift the key.  The lower voices repeat some words, then all voices come together on another huge chord on “Kraft” that is led into by timpani beats and downward falling lower strings, again punctuated by a drum roll.  The chord suggests a move to A minor.
10:28 [m. 317]--This passage is similar to that at 9:28 [m. 291].  The key difference is that there are more entries and the basses participate.  The altos, instead of the tenors, sing “denn du hast alle Dinge erschaffen” over leaping violas.  They are in the unexpected key of E major.  They do not complete the phrase alone, as the tenors had before.  Instead, the tenors enter in overlap with the quiet phrase, shifting the key down to D.  Finally, the sopranos, in harmony with the basses, enter as the violins join the quiet leaps of the violas.  The soprano line shifts down to the home key of C, and is on the same notes as in the previous passage, still doubled by an oboe.
10:45 [m. 324]--This is as at 9:45 [m. 298].  The upper three voices complete the verse with exactly the same notes as before, and the instrumental parts are the same.  The only difference (but it is a striking difference) is that the basses are now singing together with the low strings, adding a new contrapuntal voice.  This line was heard before in the low strings, but it was not sung.  The basses, as before, do not participate in the emphatic “und sind geschaffen,” since they lag behind the others on the word “Wesen.”
10:58 [m. 330]--The basses again begin the main subject as the upper three voices complete “geschaffen,” but they diverge from 9:59 [m. 304], as Brahms is now bringing everything to a close.  The overlapping bottom-to-top entries are shorter and confine themselves to “Herr, du bist würdig,” although the tenors do sing “zu nehmen” once.  The brass and timpani drop out.  The first set of entries is followed by another in the order bass, alto, tenor, soprano, all overlapping.  Everything diminishes quickly, reaching a point of anticipation on “würdig.”
11:17 [m. 339]--The voices come together powerfully with the full orchestra except trombones.  They sing the last part of the main phrase, following the preceding “würdig,” which is “zu nehmen Preis und Ehre und Kraft.”  Up until “Ehre,” the statement is very forceful, with punctuations of strings, trumpets, and timpani off the beat.  It seems as if this statement will bring things to an end, but Brahms surprises us on “Ehre,” as the voices suddenly become quiet.  The trombones enter solemnly.  The remaining brass and all winds except clarinets drop out.  The strings join on the solemn chords.  The final word, “Kraft,” is extended on a highly anticipatory chord over a quiet timpani roll.
11:35 [m. 345]--The powerful statement begins exactly as just previously, but now “Ehre” retains and builds upon the intensity.  The trombones enter at full volume while the trumpets and timpani play emphatic repeated notes under the word.  The altos, with winds, trombones, and violas, add motion to the tremendous final cadence on “Kraft.”  Brahms placed a fermata (“hold”) on this last chord, and it is usually sustained to some length.
12:08--END OF MOVEMENT [349 mm.]

7th Movement: “Selig sind die Toten” (“Blessed are the dead”).  Feierlich (Solemnly).  Ternary form, with a coda that makes reference to the end of the 1st movement.  F MAJOR, 4/4 time.
German Text:
--Selig sind die Toten,
die in dem Herrn sterben, von nun an.
Ja der Geist spricht,
daß sie ruhen von ihrer Arbeit;
denn ihre Werke folgen ihnen nach.
                                --Offenbarung Johannes 14:13		 English Text:
--Blessed are the dead
which die in the Lord from henceforth:
Yea, saith the Spirit,
that they may rest from their labors;
and their works do follow them.
                                --Revelation 14:13

A Section
0:00 [m. 1]--Over a low F from horns, string basses, and organ pedal, the cellos begin a halting upward ascent with repeated notes.  The choral sopranos immediately and strongly sing the first sentence of the verse, beginning with a long note, then a stretched out descent on “Selig.”  The line continues, arching back up beyond the opening point for a flourish at the end of “sterben.”  They are doubled by an oboe.  Under this, the other strings join the cellos in the halting upward ascent in harmony.  They reverse direction and begin a large descent as the sopranos turn and move upward, the first violins leaping to a very high starting note.  The words “von nun an” are sung twice, the second with a triplet flourish on “von.”
0:36 [m. 10]--As the sopranos close with a motion to the “dominant” key of C major, the basses enter in that key.  They sing the same line with the same trajectory, also changing keys, but they make a slightly darker turn and end up in G minor.  The winds, largely absent during the soprano statement, now take up most of the halting ascent, but the following descent is given back to the strings.
1:08 [m. 18]--As the basses arrive, the rest of the choir enters.  They sing “Selig sind die Toten” twice.  The text is staggered, and all voices have various repetitions of either “selig” or “die Toten.”  The halting figures are passed between winds and strings.  The choral harmonies are colorful and unstable, moving toward a harmonic goal.  Flutes and oboes begin to move with the voices.
1:35 [m. 25]--The voices, except the basses, come together on the rest of the sentence, singing in syncopated long notes.  The basses sing on the downbeats and lag behind with the text.  The “halting” line spreads out to wider leaps in the strings.  The choir, except the basses, repeats “die in dem Herren sterben.”  All voices diminish and descend to a long, quiet note on the last word before moving to “von nun an.”  The string leaps are particularly beautiful under “nun.”  The goal is a clear and very gentle cadence in C major.
2:12 [m. 34]--The winds lead an extremely beautiful instrumental closing to the opening section.  Their descent includes lilting triplet figures.  The strings continue the halting upward motion with repeated notes, then take over the lilting line from the winds.  The winds themselves continue with a final upward sweep in triplets.  The section closes with a full cadence and a unison plucked “C” from the string section with horns.
B Section--A major
2:36 [m. 40]--The B section uses the second, longer sentence of the verse.  It begins with a very solemn invocation of “Ja der Geist spricht” from the lower three voices in unison, repeating the note C and descending a half-step.  Their only instrumental backing is from horns and trombones, the latter making their first entrance in hymn-like harmony.  The altos drop out and leave the men to complete the phrase with “daß sie ruhen von ihrer Arbeit.”  There is still very little motion, but the bassoons join the solemn harmony.  The word “Arbeit” leads to an extremely artful and satisfying key change to a bright A major.
3:08 [m. 48]--An oboe enters before the men finish their cadence.  It leads into the A-major section, followed by a flute.  A horn provides counterpoint.  A shimmering oscillation begins in the strings.  The voices make staggered entries on “daß sie ruhen von ihrer Arbeit,” tenors first, then sopranos in syncopation, then altos and basses together.  After the voices enter, all winds except bassoons drop out.  The voices all come together on the last word with a half-close.
3:33 [m. 54]--For the first time since their initial entries in the first movement, the voices sing a cappella.  All instruments drop out.  The choir finishes the verse with “denn ihre Werke folgen ihnen nach.”  The harmonies are close and slightly staggered, the altos entering after the other three voices.  Another cadence in A major is avoided with a deceptive motion to a chord on F-sharp.
3:48 [m. 58]--The key moves to the “dominant,” E major.  Overlapping with the choir’s completion of the verse, the oboe again leads with anticipation into the next passage, again followed by the flute and horns.  The strings enter, mixing the oscillation with a winding, syncopated violin melody.  The sopranos then lead the voices into a full statement of the verse from “daß sie ruhen von ihrer Arbeit.”  The tenors and basses follow, then the altos in a slight staggering.  The sopranos finish “Arbeit” before the others. 
4:10 [m. 64]--The voices complete the verse again.  This time, they are not a cappella, as the strings continue, but the winds briefly drop out.  The sopranos begin “denn” before the others, but the voices then come together.  The sopranos have a long, flowing line on “folgen.”  That word is lengthened in all voices, then repeated before “ihnen nach.”  The string motion becomes more intermittent.  The choir, with horns, moves toward a cadence in E major on “nach,” but it is interrupted by the orchestra.
4:35 [m. 70]--As the voices sing “nach,” the orchestra makes a rather jarring detour to the minor mode with a deceptive cadence.  Flute, oboe, and first violins play a minor-key echo of the preceding line from the vocal altos.  The voices enter again and set things right, moving back to major as they sing “folgen ihnen nach” again.  The winds drop out.   The voices finally reach a cadence in E major, trailed by the lower strings without violins.
4:58 [m. 76]--The altos and basses return to the beginning of the sentence, “Ja der Geist spricht.”  Again in a solemn unison, they chant on the same repeated E.  The trombones and horns enter in hymnal harmony, providing the only accompaniment.  Following this invocation, the tenors and sopranos join the altos on “daß sie ruhen,” with oboe and flute providing their familiar dovetailing lines.  The basses drop out for this, then interrupt the other voices with another invocation of “Ja der Geist spricht” with horns and trombones.
5:30 [m. 84]--The sopranos and altos, with clarinets, sing “daß sie ruhen,” moving away from E major, initially pivoting to A-flat.  The oboe and flute again play their dovetailing lines.  This moment, still with no strings, is quite ethereal.
5:41 [m. 87]--The women begin what appears to be a repetition of their previous music in A-flat, with an entry of the strings in a shimmering background.  In a subtle alteration, the harmony is diverted back to the main key of the middle section, A major.  This is further confirmed when the men enter, trailing the women with the tenors a half-step above the sopranos.  The women hold the word “ruhen,” avoiding any text repetition and coming together with the men , completing the phrase on “von ihrer Arbeit” with a half-close.
6:02 [m. 92]--The choir again sings a cappella on “denn ihre Werke,” altos trailing the rest.  The tenors and basses begin to repeat the words, followed by the sopranos (who omit “denn”) and the altos.  This repetition briefly diverts to D major.
6:18 [m. 96]--The strings subtly enter on long chords while the flute and oboe play the arching melody previously used for “folgen ihnen nach.”  Against this, the choir sings those words, first in long notes on “folgen,” then repeating “folgen” with the altos and tenors taking over the arching melody.  The winds drop out as all voices gently descend to an A-major cadence on “nach.”  The strings, now with violins, trail behind.  This passage is very similar to 4:35 [m. 70], with alterations to certain elements.
A’ Section with Coda
6:41 [m. 102]--Deceptive cadences and other diversions had been used throughout the B section.  Now comes the most significant.  The arrival at A major in the strings is interrupted by a very sudden diversion--through a deceptive cadence--to the home key of F.  This coincides with the return of the opening material, which is also very sudden and strong.  The initial statement of the first sentence is essentially the same as the beginning of the movement except that the tenors sing instead of the sopranos and the oboe doubling is omitted.
7:16 [m. 111]--This passage is very similar to 1:08 [m. 18], but since the music must now remain in F major instead of moving to C, the musical lines are altered accordingly in contour after initial similarities.  The sopranos and basses still sing “Selig sind die Toten” twice, with repetitions of “selig” and “die Toten,” but the altos and tenors add the words “die in dem Herren sterben,” which they had not done at 1:08 [m. 18].
7:42 [m. 118]--Since the previous passage made alterations to remain in F major, this music is nearly analogous to 1:35 [m. 25] with subtle differences, such as an upward striving line in the sopranos on “Herren” and the altos and tenors moving with the flowing soprano rhythm on the second statement of “die in dem Herren sterben.”  The diminishing descent to the long note on “nun” is preserved, along with the beautiful string leaps approaching the cadence, this time in F major instead of C major.
8:18 [m. 127]--Instrumental interlude analogous to 2:12 [m. 34], but with a surprise at the end.  The winds play the gentle descent, then the strings, as before, but the final upward sweep in triplets is marked by an unexpected return of the choir.  They simply sing “Selig sind die Toten” on these ascending notes.  They swell in volume, which the wind ascent before had not done.  The arrival is another sudden harmonic diversion, this time to the key of E-flat as the coda begins.
8:38 [m. 132]--CODA.  The music of the coda is entirely derived from the first movement.  The arrival at E-flat major emerges suddenly and quietly into the descending alto line dovetailing with the tenors from the passage at 6:23 [m. 102] of the first movement--the beginning of its A’ section.  The winds also play the same music as they did there--the main theme of the first movement.  The words are those of the main part of this movement, the tenors taking over on “die in dem Herren sterben.”
8:58 [m. 137]--This is a combination of music from the first movement and the main part of this finale.  It begins with the quiet rising three-chord figure from the first vocal entrance of the first movement on the same words (“Selig sind”), with descending clarinet and oboe and doubling strings.  The voices then, however, break into a statement of “Selig sind die Toten” more reminiscent of the present movement, wrenched back to F major and culminating in another sweeping ascent in triplets with full orchestra in a sudden swell and another sudden key shift, to D-flat.  Slow, syncopated strings settle the music back down.
9:24 [m. 143]--The voices again hark back to a specific first movement moment, the opening rising chords on “Selig sind” in D-flat major before the movement’s A’ section.  In a slight alteration from that passage, one complete statement in D-flat (without basses) is heard before the “artful” shift to F major.  Descending lines in flute, oboe, and violin, such as the vocal descents on “getröstet werden” from 9:09 [m. 145] of the first movement are heard, but the initial string melody, which was present before its A’ section, is not.
9:41 [m. 147]--The dovetailing alto/tenor line from the beginning of the first movement’s A’ section is heard again, this time in its original key of F major, the home key of both movements, using the text of the present one.
10:01 [m. 152]--In a very subtle and extraordinary compositional feat, Brahms jumps to the closing music of the first movement from 9:09 [m. 145], already anticipated in the wind descents at 9:24 [m. 143] of this movement.  The link is made by an insertion.  The tenor and soprano descents are preserved, but Brahms precedes them with similar descents from basses and altos a fifth lower, creating a complete bottom-to-top imitation.  These descents are sung to  a syncopated “selig sind” instead of “getröstet werden.”  The three-note ascents are in the violins instead of oboe and flute.  After the sopranos’ descent is reached, the music matches the end of the first movement almost exactly except for the text.  The entry of the harp at the joyous ascent (now on the word “Herren” in the sopranos) is particularly striking since that instrument has not been heard since midway through the second movement.
10:46 [m. 162]--The music from the very end of the first movement from 9:51 [m. 154] is reprised exactly, using two repetitions in each voice of the word “selig” instead of “getröstet werden.”  The entire work thus ends with the same word with which it began, and the first and last movements end with the same music.
11:24--END OF MOVEMENT [166 mm.]
END OF WORK


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