Brahms’s second-largest choral work (and by far his largest secular vocal composition) is, for many understandable reasons, one of the least-known of all his large-scale publications.  Initially begun as a potential contest entry, it was completed five years after the bulk of it was written, resulting in a misleading opus number.  The composer himself came to regard it as a “problem child,” and seemed to see completing it as a burden.  The most familiar aspect of this cantata is that it supposedly gives the best idea possible of what an opera by Brahms might have sounded like.  Indeed, its continuous structure is totally different from anything he had ever written or would write, including the Triumphlied, another neglected work with which it is often grouped.  Brahms began the cantata in 1863 with the intention of entering a contest sponsored by a group in Aachen that specifically prescribed a work for male chorus and orchestra, and he certainly intended to win the money.  He came across Goethe’s long dramatic poem from 1811, which the poet explicitly called a “cantata” and intended for musical setting (but not staging).  The court composer Peter von Winter set it, and, as Goethe intended, the Prince of Gotha, supposedly a fine tenor, sang the part of Rinaldo.  Brahms began his own setting of the text in earnest, and in the process created a demanding piece that is beyond the capabilities of most male choirs.  The solo tenor part, much larger than the alto solo in the Rhapsody, took on an epic “Heldentenor” quality that requires an absolutely first-rate singer.  Brahms did not finish in time to enter the contest, and only completed the final chorus (which is musically separated from the rest of the cantata) in 1868 out of a sense of duty, for his enthusiasm had waned.  Considering this attitude, the sheer brilliance of the final chorus, written post-Requiem, is a wonder.  The work’s neglect arises mainly from the considerable difficulties in presentation.

Goethe’s text is based on an episode from the epic poem Gerusalemme Liberata by the Italian Renaissance poet Torquato Tasso.  (A common misconception is that the text comes from Goethe’s play about Tasso’s life.)  The story of the virtuous crusader knight Rinaldo and the seductress Armida was one of the most popular subjects for operatic setting, with composers as diverse as Lully, Handel, Gluck, and Dvořák contributing examples.  In its basic outline, the story describes how Rinaldo, the most valiant knight in the service of Godfrey of Bouillon, is seduced by the enchantress Armida, who was sent by the Prince of Darkness to thwart the knights in their quest for the Holy Land.  She transports him to an enchanted island, where he lives with her in supposed bliss.  Godfrey dispatches the knights to free Rinaldo from her spell and bring him back to the crusade.  Resisting his efforts to save her, Armida transforms into a she-demon and violently destroys the island paradise.  Rinaldo, reluctantly freed, returns with the knights.  Goethe’s text describes an episode from the story in two scenes.  It begins with the knights’ arrival on the island.  The work is emphatically for male voices and only male voices.  Armida neither sings nor takes active part, and exists mainly in Rinaldo’s memories.  Even the destruction is merely described by Rinaldo, who only mentions her name once.  In a separate, much shorter scene, Goethe describes the departure of the ship for Jerusalem.  Brahms followed Goethe’s text almost to the letter.  The main portion is a continuous 1144-measure structure.  Sectional division within this structure is often clear, but sometimes arbitrary.  Only the final chorus, written later, is truly discrete.  The tenor soloist depicting Rinaldo has three extended arias, but as the cantata progresses, the choir injects itself more into his solos.  Eventually, Rinaldo is subsumed into the final chorus.  The opening chorus and the interlude “Zurück nur, zurücke” are the other extended passages for choir alone.  One aspect of the cantata that is worth noting is its excellent, highly atmospheric orchestration, especially considering that the bulk of it was written before the German Requiem.

The recording used for this guide is split into 12 CD tracks, corresponding to the sections into which I have separated and analyzed the cantata below (except for the final chorus, which takes up tracks 11 and 12).  The timings given in the guide will indicate the track numbers and the timings within those tracks, as well as a running time within the entire recording if all the tracks were to be combined together.

Note: For this work only, I have taken a different approach to texts and translations than I have otherwise done.  This is the largest secular text set by Brahms, and the only overtly dramatic one; therefore translations vary widely.  For the purposes of my analysis in the guide, I have divided the cantata into several sections.  At the head of each section, the original German text by Goethe appears, along with three public domain translations from the 19^th and early 20^th Centuries that preserve Goethe’s original rhyme scheme and meter.  The translation by J. Powell Metcalfe was printed in the original Simrock vocal score of the Brahms cantata as a singable version, and is thus specifically associated with the Brahms work.  The translation by Edgar Alfred Bowring comes from his nearly complete translation of Goethe’s poems.  It was published in 1853 and thus predates the Brahms cantata by more than a decade.  Bowring’s translation, for some reason, does not include the final chorus.  The translation by Edwin Evans accompanied the analysis of the cantata in his 1912 Handboook to the Vocal Works of Brahms.  Finally, I include the modern literal translation by Peggie Cochrane from the booklet to the DG recording used for the guide.  This translation is Copyright 1969 by The Decca Company Limited, London.  I claim fair use doctrine in reproducing this translation.  In doing so, I cite the example of the 2010 dissertation on Rinaldo by Guadalupe Rivera (University of Arizona, 2010).  In this dissertation, Rivera includes the text and translation of the cantata from the 1983 Oregon Bach Festival program guide, with permission from and credit to the festival.  This translation is clearly identical to the Cochrane/Decca version, differing only in the inclusion of text repetition.  Neither Rivera nor the Oregon Bach Festival credits Ms. Cochrane, Decca, or Deutsche Grammophon.  Rivera’s dissertation is available at this link.  The permissions, text, and translation appear on pp. 62-70.  See also the following links:

Singable Translation by J. Powell Metcalfe from Emily Ezust’s site, http://www.lieder.net.  The original German appears alongside the Metcalfe translation.  Below the text is included Metcalfe’s metrical translation of the passage from Tasso’s Gerusalemme Liberata that appears at the head of the Goethe text in most editions of the Brahms cantata score.
The source for the Edgar Alfred Bowring translation can be found here.  Rinaldo (without the final chorus) begins on p. 207.
Full Text of Handbook to the Vocal Works of Brahms by Edwin Evans (1912).  This link leads directly to the section on Rinaldo beginning on p. 206 (continuing through p. 222).

IMSLP WORK PAGE
ONLINE SCORE FROM IMSLP (First Edition from Brahms-Institut Lübeck.  Note that tenor clefs are used for the solo and choral tenor parts.)
ONLINE SCORE FROM IMSLP (From Breitkopf & Härtel Sämtliche Werke)
ONLINE FILE FROM IMSLP (Prefatory pages to Sämtliche Werke, vol. 18, which include the ten measures cut by Brahms in his personal copy of the first edition)

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Rinaldo.  Text by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  Dramatic poem after Gerusalemme Liberata by Torquato Tasso.  In most printed editions of the score (including those linked above), the entire Goethe text is given at the front.  In these editions, Goethe’s poem is preceded by a relevant excerpt from Tasso’s epic in German translation.


FIRST SECTION.  Introduction and opening chorus.  Allegro.  Introduction with two full text statements (AA’) and epilogue.  E-FLAT MAJOR, Cut time [2/2].

German Text: Chor Zu dem Strande! Zu der Barke! Ist euch schon der Wind nicht günstig, Zu den Rudern greifet brünstig! Hier bewähre sich der Starke: So das Meer durchlaufen wir.	English Text (Metcalfe): Chorus To the vessel, yonder riding! For the favouring breeze is blowing, And our hearts are all a-glowing, O’er the billows, swiftly gliding, With our oars to cleave our way.
English Text (Bowring): Chorus To the strand! quick, mount the bark! If no favouring zephyrs blow, Ply the oar and nimbly row, And with zeal your prowess mark! O’er the sea we thus career.	English Text (Evans): Chorus To the vessel gladly going, Though fair wind greet us no longer, We can grasp our oars the stronger; And the strong, their strength is showing, Aid us through the sea to glide.
English Text (Cochrane): Chorus To the shore! To the ship! Though the wind be not favourable to you yet, ardently grasp the helm. Here let the strong man prove himself: thus we shall race through the waves!

TRACK 1
Introduction
0:00 [m. 1]--The opening heavily emphasizes the “dominant” note, pulling toward E-flat, but without arriving there.  At the outset, a quiet horn octave is supported by a single plucked note in the strings, all on B-flat.  The bassoons, then horns and clarinet, then finally flutes and violins all tentatively play a rising octave on the same note.  The flutes then hold the top notes of the E-flat chord, G and B-flat.  At the same time, the strings begin to pulsate on B-flat, with the violins and violas playing in syncopation.  Out of this nebulous texture, the horns and clarinets emerge with a descent on those same top notes.  The resulting hunting horn call is repeated. 
0:15 [m. 7]--The clarinet and horn diverge, and the clarinet soars up, then plunges more quickly back  down.  The pulsating strings begin to harmonize, then shift downward, as do the flute harmonies.  The key itself turns strongly to B-flat, but it is B-flat minor, and the descending clarinet leads all instruments to a soft cadence there.  A supporting horn entry preserves the “hunting horn call” flavor, and the cadence is punctuated by another low plucked string B-flat.
0:31 [m. 16]--The opening pattern begins again with an abrupt harmonic shift a third down.  The low bass note is now G-flat, and the key is C-flat.  The held note is skipped, and the rising octave in bassoon, horn/clarinet, and flutes/violins begins immediately.  Again, the flutes hold the top notes of the chord and the strings begin to pulsate, now on G-flat.  The clarinet and a single horn emerge with the hunting horn descent, as expected.  The clarinet again soars up and back down, and the strings again harmonize.  But this time, the shift toward a minor key is averted.  The oboe imitates the clarinet’s descent at a higher level, overlapping with it.  In turn, the flutes join the clarinet in another higher response to the oboe.  The winds and pulsating strings settle to a cadence in C-flat, which is now notated as B major.
0:56 [m. 32]--The cadence on B is immediately diverted downward with a slide to B-flat in the lower strings, which continue to pulsate, the violas now in syncopation.  The wind instruments begin to play isolated octaves on the second half of each measure against the low strings.  These octaves, following the bass notes, emphasize B-flat while B (or C-flat) continues as a chromatic or minor-key inflection.  The violins join the string pulsations, and the a steady crescendo begins.  This intensifies with the entry of the timpani.  B-flat again takes the “dominant” role in the home key of E-flat.  After a labored chromatic ascent, everything stalls on B-flat.
1:17 [m. 47]--Suddenly, as fortissimo is reached, the harmony is violently shifted to G-flat with blasting trumpets, a string tremolo, and a timpani roll.  Out of this, over the continuing drum roll, a plaintive oboe solo emerges.  This solo is an anticipation of the first tenor recitative.  The loud trumpets, tremolo, and drum roll interrupt the oboe, and they wrench the harmony up another notch to C-flat.  The plaintive oboe solo is heard again in that key.
1:32 [m. 55]--Another loud blast with tremolo and drum roll makes a further shift, now to E.  There, with accompanying lines from flute, clarinet, and bassoon, over a low horn note and steady drum roll, the second oboe joins the first.  They make a very expressive descent.  A soft plucked string chord briefly interrupts it.  As the other winds join, along with the violas, the key artfully slides down and home to E-flat in preparation for the choral entry.
First Choral Statement (A)
1:47 [m. 63]--The strings begin anew with a rising figure whose notes pulsate in a rapid triplet rhythm.  The strings are supported by active timpani and brief, leaping wind interjections.  The four-part chorus of knights (two tenor parts and two bass parts) enters almost breathlessly with the imperatives of the first line, which are twice sung in block harmonies.  The volume steadily builds.  After the second statement, the strings reach a high point, abandon the pulsation, and play detached notes, the violins plunging downward. 
2:00 [m. 73]--The chorus intones the second line, accompanied by punctuations from strings and timpani on weak beats.  As the tenor parts hold high notes, the bass parts continue to rise, incorporating a repetition of “der Wind.”  The chorus then repeats the second interjection, “Zu der Barke!” beginning with a note held over the bar line.  The full orchestra accompanies this with forceful gestures featuring descending thirds.  This is the first climax of the choral statement.
2:11 [m. 81]--At a quieter level, the chorus restates the second line, now with much more subdued plucked string punctuations and a new, sweeping woodwind line that rises, then quickly falls.  The first tenors reach a higher top note.  The chorus then adds the third line, completing the thought and reaching a weak melodic cadence.  At the arrival here, the strings begin a more steady, narrow, and detached motion, still plucked.
2:21 [m. 89]--The first statement of the last two lines is given to the two bass voices.  The fourth line is presented in two short segments over the new plucked string accompaniment.  Rising horn octaves separate the vocal interjections.  The last line makes an arching motion and a sudden dark harmonic turn to G minor.  Under it, the plucked accompaniment moves back to the weak beats.  The more steady motion resumes in a bridge to the next statement.
2:31 [m. 97]--A second statement of the two lines is presented by all four voices.  It begins in G minor.  The rising octaves are given to the woodwinds instead of horns.  At the last line, the choir becomes more exuberant and, in a complementary move to the first statement, the harmony brightens to major, with the woodwinds joining the full accompaniment.  The goal is B-flat major.  The arrival is delayed by an unexpected held dissonant harmony on the last word, “wir,” under which the bass parts add an extra repetition of “so das Meer.”  The whole last line is then repeated, coming to a full cadence on B-flat.
Second Choral Statement (A’)
2:44 [m. 107]--The strings, again bowed, begin the pulsating motion from 1:47 [m. 63], on the same notes as before, easily pivoting back to E-flat.  The timpani and leaping wind interjections are also present, and the volume swells.  The voices, however, do not enter where they did before, allowing the orchestra to transform the buildup into its own interlude.  When the voices do enter, it is at the high point, with a full, slightly elongated, and more forceful version of the two imperatives from the first line.  The violins plunge downward here, as expected, but a new timpani roll is added for emphasis.
2:58 [m. 119]--The statement of the second line from 2:00 [m. 73] is presented as before, along with the second interjection from the first line, with minimal alterations to the initial upbeat.  The timpani also drop out for a few bars to recover from the powerful roll.
3:09 [m. 127]--The restatement of the second line and the statement of the third line from 2:11 [m. 81] are presented without alteration.
3:19 [m. 135]--Instead of moving to the last two lines, as in the first choral statement, the plucked strings lead the choir into an elaboration of the second and third lines.  The tenor parts begin with the second line, using the now-familiar arching sweep.  The bass parts follow in imitation before the line is finished.  Accompanying are not only the plucked strings, but also the sweeping woodwind line.  The harmony moves from G minor to D minor.  The tenors begin a second statement of the second line a step higher.  The bass imitation, however, is on the third line.  The tenors eventually arrive at the third line, and the basses repeat the words “zu den Rudern” so that they all end together.  A second woodwind seep accompanies this.  The harmony continues to move, from A minor to E minor and finally to G major, where a cadence is reached and the plucked strings lead into the delayed last two lines.
3:33 [m. 147]--The first statement of the last two lines is analogous to 2:21 [m. 89].  The second tenors are added to the basses.  The two short segments for the fourth line and the arching line for the last line are presented as before.  The plucked strings and rising horn octaves are also present as expected.  The harmonic motion is changed, though.  It begins in G major, where the previous passage arrived.  The arching pattern of the last line is subtly altered, and the harmonic turn is not quite analogous.  It ends on C minor, the minor key “relative” to the home key of E-flat.
3:42 [m. 155]--The second statement of the last two lines is analogous to 2:31 [m. 97] and follows the previous pattern more closely.  The motion from C minor to a cadence in the home key of E-flat follows the same path as the previous G—B-flat motion.  The woodwinds not only play the rising octaves (flute, oboe, and horn), but also double the detached plucked string motion (clarinets and bassoons).  Everything is a fourth higher, and the first tenors reach their top note, a thrilling high B-flat, on the word “Meer.”  The held dissonant harmony and the bass word repetition follows the pattern, but the cadence itself is extended for emphasis.  All parts add an extra statement of “das Meer” on a descent, and the final notes are doubled in length.  An arpeggio in the now-bowed strings, along with timpani beats, also add weight to the cadence.
Epilogue
3:57 [m. 167]--As forceful as the preceding cadence is, its arrival is rudely undermined by the foreign note B in the bass.  The remaining voices and instruments drop out immediately, and the string basses alone hold quietly hold this mysterious B.  It begins an interlude that is essentially analogous to 0:31 [m. 16] from the introduction.  With the bass note as B, the key is actually E.  Instead of three rising octaves, there are four: bassoon, clarinet, cellos/violas, and violins/flutes.  As expected, the violins and other strings begin to pulsate, and the flutes hold their chord notes.  The clarinet, now supported by violas, emerges with the hunting horn call.  The oboe takes over from the clarinet on the soaring up and down line.  The overlapping imitations are taken by the flute and then, in its first exposed passage, the piccolo.  The cadence on E coincides with the choral bass entry.
4:27 [m. 183]--This transitional passage is essentially analogous to 0:56 [m. 32] from the introduction, transposed to E and E-flat.  The string pulsations and isolated wind octaves follow from that passage.  But now voices are added to it.  First, the basses alone state the fourth line in unison, following the motion of the low instrumental bass.  Then the tenors join them for another statement, still in unison, as the crescendo begins.  When the labored chromatic ascent follows, the voices break into harmony, with the first tenors roughly following that ascent.  They state the fourth line a third time, breaking it into the two segments.  Finally, the last line follows at the climax, the voices coming back to unison at the end.  The timpani are absent until the line is concluded (they had appeared in the analogous introduction passage). 
4:50 [m. 199]--The violent shift with blasting trumpets, string tremolos, and timpani roll follows, analogous to 1:17 [m. 47].  Because of the transposition, the shift is to C-flat, where the second blast had earlier led.  The tenor then makes his first entrance with his recitative. [End of track: 4:52 (m. 200)]


SECOND SECTION.  Tenor recitative and arioso.  Recit. (continued Allegro).  Recitative and arioso.  C-FLAT MAJOR--A-FLAT MINOR, Cut time [2/2].

German Text: Rinaldo O lasst mich einen Augenblick noch hier! Der Himmel will es nicht, ich soll nicht scheiden. Der wüste Fels, die Wald umwachsne Bucht Befangen mich, sie hindern meine Flucht. Ihr wart so schön, nun seid ihr umgeboren, Der Erde Reiz, des Himmels Reiz ist fort. Was hält mich noch am Schreckensort? Mein einzig Glück, hier hab’ ich es verloren!	English Text (Metcalfe): Rinaldo O leave me still a moment here, I pray; For here by Heaven’s will am I abiding: The desert rock, the wood-embosom’d bay, Arrest my foot, and bid me here to stay. Once were you fair – to terror now converted, The charm of earth, the charm of heav’n is fled; Why haunt I still this place so dread? My only joy, my poor heart here deserted.
English Text (Bowring): Rinaldo Oh, let me linger one short moment here! ’Tis heaven’s decree, I may not hence away. The rugged cliffs, the wood-encircled bay, Hold me a prisoner, and my flight delay. Ye were so fair, but now that dream is o’er; The charms of earth, the charms of heaven are naught. What keeps me in this spot so terror-fraught? My only joy is fled for evermore.	English Text (Evans): Rinaldo O leave me here a moment still to hide! It is not heaven’s will that we should sever. The barren rock, the wood-surrounded bay Confuse me so, I feel that I must stay. They were so fair, tho’ now the charm is waning Of earth and sky and all that I lov’d most. Unholy spot where I have lost My only joy – why am I here remaining?
English Text (Cochrane): Rinaldo Oh, leave me yet a moment here! Heaven wills it not, I must not go! The desolate rock, the wooded creek constrain me, they hinder my flight! You were so lovely once, now everything is changed: the witchery of the land, the fascination of the skies is gone! What holds me still to this place of horror? I have lost my whole happiness here!

TRACK 2
Recitative
0:00 (4:53) [m. 201]--The tenor soloist (hereafter referred to as “Rinaldo”) makes a dramatic entrance, arching high on the first line of the recitative.  It closely follows the plaintive oboe solo from the introduction.  Another blast of timpani, trumpets, and tremolos leads toward E, as had the third blast in the introduction.  Rinaldo’s second line begins with another upward shape, but the following descent is longer, settling down in E minor.  A quiet, dramatic tremolo in the strings underlies the conclusion of his line.
0:17 (5:10) [m. 208]--The next two lines are given in short-breathed statements punctuated by the quiet, dramatic string tremolo.  Each line is split into two segments, a leaping figure and a rising scale.  The harmony gradually rises by half-step, remaining in minor throughout.  The third line lands on F minor, the first part of the fourth on F-sharp, and the end of the fourth on G minor.  An expanded repetition of the fourth line follows.  The first words, “befangen mich,” are stated twice on the leaping figure, the second one elongated.  The rest of the line is more stretched out, with a long high note on “hindern.”  The punctuations from the string tremolo continue.  The harmony continues to shift up, rising through A-flat and A to B-flat.  The line concludes with a  plucked string stroke on B-flat and the onset of a horn octave.
Arioso
0:42 (5:34) [m. 224]--The music from the very opening of the introduction returns.  Over the held horn octave, the bassoons play two rising octaves.  The flutes rise up to their familiar held third and a clarinet joins a horn on the “hunting call” figure.  The clarinet continues this after Rinaldo’s vocal line begins.  The oboe adds a new expressive descending pattern that confirms the return of E-flat major.  The violins begin an oscillating motion over pulsing repeated notes in the low strings.  Rinaldo imitates the oboe line, doubled by a flute, singing the first part of his fifth line.  The clarinet breaks into its familiar upward-soaring line from the introduction.  The remainder of the fifth line is a plaintive stepwise descent that turns to minor.  The first violins play descending syncopated arpeggios as the second violins continue to oscillate.
1:05 (5:57) [m. 236]--The flutes and bassoons, in pleasing two-part harmonies, echo the vocal line in a brief interlude.  The syncopated arpeggios continue in the first violins.  The key changes from E-flat minor to C-flat major.  All instruments except one bassoon pause.  That bassoon reaches upward, then breaks into the “hunting call” figure, joined by the violas.  This continues into the next vocal entry.  At the same point, the violins start their oscillation again, the flutes play their familiar third, and the oboe plays the new expressive pattern that was echoed by Rinaldo, now in C-flat.
1:17 (6:10) [m. 243]--The sixth line, dealing with the lost charms of heaven and earth, is set to music similar to that used for the fifth.  Rinaldo again follows the oboe on the descending line for “der Erde Reiz,” still in C-flat.  Again, he is doubled by a flute.  The upward-soaring line is now on oboe instead of clarinet.  The continuation of the line varies from the previous pattern.  The leap up to “Himmel” is narrower, causing a change of key as well as mode, to B-flat minor.  The descending first violin patterns are no longer syncopated.  The second part of the line is repeated more urgently with string accompaniment, building in volume.  The woodwinds echo the last gesture of this statement.  The last words, “ist fort,” are repeated a third higher.  The woodwind “echo” is also higher, and brings the key back toward E-flat minor.
1:41 (6:34) [m. 257]--Rinaldo breaks off at the climax.  The orchestra  holds a long note (C-flat) before descending, a gesture that confirms the return of E-flat minor.  The resolution downward quickly diminishes.  The violins drop out and the lower strings begin to pulsate, the basses providing a foundation.  The woodwinds echo the climactic long note at a lower level in preparation for the next vocal entry.
1:48 (6:40) [m. 261]--The last two lines are set continuously.  The seventh line arches up and back down over the pulsating lower strings.  The woodwinds and violins, in alternation (the flutes paired with either with the other woodwinds or the violins), continue to echo the “long note” gesture from the orchestral climax.  The last line begins with a descending arpeggio and a key change.  The motion to A-flat minor is in preparation for the succeeding aria, whose principal key is A-flat major.  The words “mein einzig Glück” are repeated on a rising figure.  The lower strings continue to pulsate and the “long-note” gesture is still heard in isolation.  The final line is completed on a diminishing descent to a half-close in A-flat minor.
2:10 (7:02) [m. 273]--The “long note” gesture dominates the postlude.  Violins/flutes are followed by lower winds, then violins alone, then a final, lengthened statement from clarinets and bassoons.  Under this, the lower strings continue to pulsate.  Before the last elongated clarinet/bassoon statement, the violins and violas drop out and the cellos and basses play isolated plucked notes.  With the clarinets and bassoons, they take the music down to an extremely quiet half-close in A-flat minor. [End of track: 2:33 (m. 282)]


THIRD SECTION.  Tenor aria.  Poco Adagio; Un poco Allegretto.  Aria in two parts and four stanzas (Part 2 in ABA form).  A-FLAT MAJOR, 3/4 and 2/4 time.

German Text: Rinaldo Stelle her der goldnen Tage Paradiese noch einmal, Liebes Herz! Ja schlage, schlage! Treuer Geist, erschaff’ sie wieder! Freier Atem, deine Lieder Mischen sich mit Lust und Qual. Bunte, reich geschmückte Beete, Sie umzingelt ein Palast; Alles webt in Duft und Röte, Wie du nie geträumet hast. Rings umgeben Galerien Dieses Gartens weite Räume; Rosen an der Erde blühen, In den Lüften blühn die Bäume. Wasserstrahlen! Wasserflocken! Lieblich rauscht ein Silberschwall; Mit der Turteltaube Locken Lockt zugleich die Nachtigall.	English Text (Metcalfe): Rinaldo Golden days, again o win me, Days of Paradise again; Loving heart; beat, beat within me! Long-lost days, true spirit bring me! Breath of heaven, thou dost sing me Songs of joy and songs of pain. By a noble palace bounded, Gay parterres like jewels gleam; All in scent and hue surrounded, Past the dreamer’s brightest dream. Balconies afar extending Circle round the rainbow flowers; Rose blooms to the earth are bending, Each tree blooming heav’nward towers. Fountains liquid gems are raining, Singing to the wave below; While the turtle-dove complaining Tells the nightingale her woe.
English Text (Bowring): Rinaldo Let me taste those days so sweet, Heav’n-descended, once again! Heart, dear heart! ay, warmly beat! Spirit true, recall those days Freeborn breath thy gentle lays Mingled are with joy and pain. Round the beds, so richly gleaming, Rises up a palace fair; All with rosy fragrance teeming, As in dream thou saw’st it ne’er. And this spacious garden round, Far extend the galleries; Roses blossom near the ground, High in air, too, bloom the trees. Wat’ry flakes and jets are falling. Sweet and silv’ry strains arise; While the turtle-dove is calling, And the nightingale replies.	English Text (Evans): Rinaldo Give me back those moments fleeting. Oh! for paradise again! May the heart so fondly beating, And the voice, with tones out-ringing Through my soul, its sweetest singing, Still unite with joy and pain. Rainbow-like are beds of flowers Girt about the palace round; Rich with fragrance are the bowers, As can but in dreams be found! Round, a gallery encloses All the spacious garden room; Down at earth are buds of roses, High aloft are trees in bloom. Cooling sounds the water falling! Brightly shines as silver grail; Mingling with the turtle’s calling Is the song of nightingale.
English Text (Cochrane): Rinaldo Re-create once more the paradise of golden days! Dear heart, yes, beat, beat! Faithful spirit, fashion them afresh! Free air, your songs are compact of pleasure and of pain! A palace is built around many-coloured, richly-planted beds of flowers. Everything stirs in fragrance and roseate hue, the like of which you never dreamed. All about, galleries surround the broad expanses of this garden; roses bloom upon the ground, rocked in the breezes, trees blossom. Fountain jets! Water drops! A sliver torrent rustles sweetly, with the turtledove’s seductive cooing the nightingale together woos.

TRACK 3
Part 1 (Stanza 1)--Poco Adagio, 3/4 time.
0:00 (7:27) [m. 283]--Prelude.  The last measure before the meter change (m. 282) does not have a final beat.  There is a definite break before the “Poco Adagio, 3/4.”  The prelude begins with an upbeat, which functions as the final beat of m. 282.  The prelude is presented by winds alone, dolce espressivo.  An oboe carries the melody, harmonized by clarinets with the bassoons providing an active bass.  The gentle melody anticipates the tenor vocal line, but diverges upward at the end of the second measure.  After the winds arch back down and come to rest, the flutes enter with an upward line in preparation for the soloist (Rinaldo).
0:20 (7:46) [m. 287]--Lines 1-2.  Rinaldo enters, echoing the beginning of the wind prelude.  He arches up and back down on the two lines.  The winds briefly drop out, passing the accompaniment to the strings, with a flowing viola line providing the active impetus.  After the two lines, flutes and oboes enter for a brief commentary.  Rinaldo then repeats both lines with the exception of the first two words, beginning with “der goldnen Tage.”  He reaches higher and descends with a turn toward a close on the “dominant” harmony (E-flat).  At that point, the strings (except for a held low cello note) drop out and the winds play a brief bridge with flowing bassoon notes.  Flutes and oboes play a harmonized, syncopated descending line that confirms E-flat major.  The horns make their first entry of the aria at the beginning of this bridge.
0:57 (8:23) [m. 294]--Lines 3-4.  As Rinaldo enters, so do the horns, playing a distinctive “heartbeat” rhythm in typical “horn fifth” or “hunting call” harmony.  Rinaldo’s continuation, also representing the heartbeat, utilizes two-note descents with the first note leaning heavily into the second, gradually working downward with string support.  Against this, a flute continues the rhythm introduced by the horns.  This third line remains in E-flat.  A brief string bridge, with descending violins and rising violas/cellos, leads to the fourth line, which follows the basic pattern of the third (including horns and flute) but shifts back to A-flat.
1:14 (8:40) [m. 297]--Lines 5-6.  These lines again diverge harmonically, emphasizing C minor.  Line 5 naturally breaks into two short segments that end with a dotted (long-short) rhythm.  Each is supported by string arpeggios like those of the bridge between lines 3 and 4, and each is echoed by flutes and oboes.  The second makes a brief hint at F major, building in intensity.  Line 6 is a steady stepwise descent from a high A-flat, supported by shorter, wider string figures and coming to rest on C minor, lengthening the word “Lust.”  Fragments in oboes and flutes, over clarinets and the continuing string figures, lead smoothly from C minor back to A-flat major.
1:37 (9:04) [m. 302]--Reprise of lines 1-2.  Rinaldo rounds off the stanza by returning to its important first two lines.  He sings their first statement as he did before at 0:20 (7:46) [m. 287], albeit with a new accompaniment consisting of the continuing short string figures and wind decorations.  After a harmonized oboe echo of this melody, the repetition beginning with “der goldnen Tage” also follows, but now more emphatically, beginning with a leap.  It continues with a forceful descent that avoids a harmonic motion and comes to an emphatic cadence on A-flat.  The wind bridge previously heard at this point follows, also in A-flat.  It is more lightly scored.  The oboes do not double the flutes; instead one of them takes the previous horn line.  The flowing line formerly dominated by bassoons is carried by clarinets.
Part 2--Un poco Allegretto, 2/4 time.
2:18 (9:44) [m. 309]--Stanza 2 (A).  The six-line first stanza is followed by three four-line stanzas.  For them, Brahms changes the meter and the tempo from the first stanza, but retains certain melodic features.  The faster tempo is largely an illusion because the note values are doubled, but the rhythm does have a less leisurely flow.  The first two lines of the stanza use a melody closely related to that of stanza 1, but with more emphasis on the yearning rising line.  They are accompanied by off-beat plucked string chords, although cellos are bowed.  Alternating with bassoons, the cellos provide the foundation.  The second line ends with a very brief chromatic inflection toward C major or F minor, but this is not followed through.
2:29 (9:55) [m. 317]--Lines 3-4 of the stanza are vaguely similar to lines 3-4 of stanza 1 from 0:57 (8:23) [m. 294].  The two-note descent is the link, but here it is followed by a distinctive, somewhat urgent breath pause, which in turn leads to a more rapid descending arpeggio.  The cellos are now plucked as well, but they play on the downbeats, leaving the off-beat punctuations to violins and violas.  Clarinets in two-voice harmony provide a smoother accompaniment.  The lines make a bold key change to E major (notated as F-flat).  They are then repeated, even more urgently.  The plucked strings continue under the repetition, but the clarinets share the smoother accompaniment with flutes and oboes.  The repetition reverses the harmonic motion and turns back to A-flat, where the word “geträumet” is lengthened before a cadence.
2:51 (10:17) [m. 333]--An interlude serves as a bridge to the next stanza.  With the vocal cadence, the clarinets lead an echo of the stanza 2 melody, passing it to flutes and oboes.  The upper strings continue their plucked off-beat figuration through the interlude, but the cellos return to the smooth bowed  phrases that they used in the stanza’s first two lines, again alternating with a bassoon.  The interlude ends with the brief chromatic inflection heard at the end of the second line.
3:01 (10:27) [m. 341]--Stanza 3 (B).  Lines 1-2.  The chromatic inflection serves to pivot to the key of C major, which is the central area of the second stanza.  Line 1 is presented in a broadly arching, very warm melody.  It is accompanied by strings only, playing rising arpeggios beginning off the beat.  Line 2 expands into an upward, yearning arpeggio and a slow, wide downward leap.  The string accompaniment grows to a full arch that is echoed by harmonized oboes.  The first half of the line makes a turn toward F major.  The second half of the line, following a steadily downward moving bass, uses the same gestures, but the vocal arpeggio reaches much higher, the harmony shifts to D-flat, and flutes play the echo of the arching motion.
3:14 (10:40) [m. 351]--Line 3.  Suddenly hushed, Rinaldo sings the third line, beginning with a repeated half-step descent.  The upper strings play off the beats, supported by low strings, clarinet, and bassoon.  After the descents, Rinaldo rounds off the line with a smooth motion back to C, but it is now C minor.  Immediately following the line, the oboe enters, echoing Rinaldo’s melody a step higher and shifting the music toward D minor, harmonized by clarinet and bassoon. 
3:25 (10:51) [m. 359]--Line 4.  After the echo, Rinaldo sings the fourth line to a very widely spaced, yearning melody that arches down and back up.  This melody smoothly re-establishes C major, albeit with coloring from the “relative” A minor.  Against it, the first violins play distinctive descending arpeggios while the second violins and violas play syncopated leaps off the beat.  Rinaldo begins to repeat the line, passionately working upward and adding an additional statement of “in den Lüften,” including a tension-filled lengthening of “in.”  Reaching a high note on “blühn,” he comes to a strong cadence on C major to close the line.
3:46 (11:12) [m. 373]--Line 3 repeated.  The pattern from 3:14 (10:40) [m. 351] is reversed.  The oboe presents the melody with the descending half-steps moving toward C minor, with the same accompaniment Rinaldo had used.  Rinaldo, in turn, sings the echo a step higher that moves toward D minor, and he is doubled by a flute in its high register.
3:56 (11:23) [m. 381]--Line 4 repeated.  This is an intensified version of the statement at 3:25 (10:51) [m. 359].  Rinaldo sings the line to the descending arpeggios that had been played by the first violins.  These, in turn, join the other higher strings on the syncopated off-beat leaps.  A rising line in thirds, passed twice from clarinets to flutes, is added.  The new setting of the vocal line changes the textual repetition.  Rinaldo sings the complete line twice on the descending arpeggios, overlapping the point where the lengthened extra statement of “in den Lüften” had been sung.  He then sings the full line a third time, corresponding to the second full statement earlier.  It is more syncopated and urgent, a wind anticipation is added, and it is lengthened by a measure to add a climactic and decisive turn figure to the already powerful cadence.
4:18 (11:44) [m. 395]--A longer interlude bridges to the last stanza.  Against the huge vocal cadence, the clarinets, in radiant harmony, begin with a remembrance of the main melody from stanza 1 in C major, accompanied by off-beat violin and viola arpeggios.  An oboe enters, overlapping with the clarinet and also stating the melody, but turning toward C minor.  The clarinets continue, also subtly turning to minor.  Finally, the first violins begin the melody in C minor, but make a subtle shift back to A-flat major, the main key of the aria, in a series of upward arpeggios.  Against these, the clarinets and flutes pass gentle ascents, harmonized in thirds and sixths, while the second violins and violas pulsate off the beat.  The volume diminishes and the tempo slows in preparation for the last verse.
4:34 (12:00) [m. 407]--Stanza 4 (A’).  The first two lines are essentially presented as in stanza 2 at 2:18 (9:44) [m. 309], but the alternation of cellos and bassoon is reversed, and a new, gently arching harmonized accompaniment, which largely follows the contour of the vocal line, is added.  It begins in the clarinets for the first line, and is passed to the flutes for the second.
4:44 (12:10) [m. 415]--Lines 3-4, and their repetition, are presented as at 2:29 (9:55) [m. 317], with no changes to the accompaniment.  The lengthening at the end of the repetition is on the final word, “Nachtigall.”
5:06 (12:32) [m. 431]--The interlude, now a postlude, is very similar to that at 2:51 (10:17) [m. 333], but the first clarinet statement of the melody is decorated with a harmonized line from the oboes.  The second statement, previously played by flute and oboe in unison, is led by both flutes, and the oboes repeat their decoration of the clarinet statement.  The cello/bassoon alternation and the off-beat plucked string accompaniment are as before.  The second statement led by flutes does not come to a complete close in A-flat, but it also does not make the previous chromatic inflection. [End of track: 5:16 (m. 438)]


FOURTH SECTION.  Choral interlude with solo tenor response.  Moderato.  Choral interlude in two subsections; tenor solo response with material from the aria.  E MAJOR, 3/4 time.

German Text: Chor Sachte kommt! Und kommt verbunden Zu dem edelsten Beruf! Alle Reize sind verschwunden, Die sich Zauberei erschuf. Ach, nun heilet seine Wunden, Ach, nun tröstet seine Stunden Gutes Wort und Freundes Ruf. Rinaldo Mit der Turteltaube Locken Lockt zugleich die Nachtigall; Wasserstrahlen, Wasserflocken Wirbeln sich nach ihrem Schall.	English Text (Metcalfe): Chorus Softly come! yet pledged in coming Still to follow duty’s call; Spells once magic power assuming Harmless now shall round thee fall. Ah! now heal him, with friends cheering, Truest comfort – words endearing – Sorrow’s cure most magical. Rinaldo While the turtle-dove complaining Tells the nightingale her woe, Fountains liquid gems are raining Echoing to the murmur low.
English Text (Bowring): Chorus Gently come! feel no alarm, On a noble duty bent; Vanish’d now is ev’ry charm That by magic power was lent. Friendly words and greetings calm On his wounds will pour soft balm. Fill his mind with sweet content. Rinaldo Hark! the turtle-dove is calling, And the nightingale replies; Wat’ry flakes and jets are falling, Mingling with their melodies.	English Text (Evans): Chorus Softly come; and come accepting Righteous duty’s noble call! All the evil charm rejecting, Which to magic power doth fall: Warrior strength once more erecting Joy in saddest grief expecting, From the love of comrades all. Rinaldo Mingling with the turtle’s calling Is the song of nightingale. Cooling sounds the water falling, Eddying, bright as silver grail.
English Text (Cochrane): Chorus Gently come, and wedded, come, to the noblest of tasks! Every enchantment witchcraft fashioned has vanished. Oh, upright words and a friend’s summons now heal his wounds and solace his hours. Rinaldo With the turtledove’s seductive cooing the nightingale together woos. Fountain jet, water drops purl in harmony with their notes.

TRACK 4
Choral Interlude
0:00 (12:42) [m. 439]--Transition.  The interlude is extended four bars with more gentle woodwind ascents, harmonized in thirds and passed between the instruments over the continuing off-beat plucked violin notes.  After two bars, the choral basses subtly enter on a unison A-flat with the first word, “Sachte.”  They complete the imperative with the word “kommt” as the key changes to E major and the meter to 3/4, Moderato.  A-flat is re-interpreted as G-sharp to complete this very elegant key change.  The woodwinds drop out, and the low strings (cellos and basses) make another subtle entry, descending from G-sharp to E.   
0:09 (12:51) [m. 444]--After the descending cello/bass lead-in, the strings drop out for sixteen measures.  The full choir, in rich harmony, takes over for the first time after a long period of silence.  The entire first line is sung with only spare accompaniment from horns and bassoons.  The second line is sung completely a cappella and mostly in unison.  The voices split into harmony again with the word “Beruf.”  All winds except flutes (and including trumpets) play a very short three-chord bridge as this word is completed.
0:21 (13:03) [m. 449]--The two lines are repeated, lengthened by brief wind figures that separate the gestures.  The first words, “Sachte kommt,” are sung as before, but the voices break off to allow the winds to continue the previous harmonies.  The succeeding words, “Und kommt verbunden,” are sung to the same rhythm, but at a higher level.  The winds interrupt the voices again, anticipating the unison second line at a higher pitch level.  They break into harmony at the same point.  The choir itself then sings the line on the original notes, still beginning in unison and still harmonizing at “Beruf,” but now with wind doubling.  The continuation follows without a break.
0:37 (13:19) [m. 457]--The next two lines are presented in close imitation between tenors and basses, with the tenors leading.  The tenors are nearly in unison, but the basses are in harmony throughout.  The basses follow the tenors at the close distance of one beat after the tenors begin on an upbeat.  The voices are very hushed and secretive here, with only light bassoon and horn accompaniment under the first tenor entries.  Between the two lines, there is a one-beat break.  The tenors break to allow the basses to complete line 3, and the basses break as the tenors begin line 4.  Line 3 begins in E major, but by the end of line 4, the key has shifted to F-sharp minor.  The basses extend their completion of line 4 by a beat.  As they finish, another brief bridge follows, now including the re-entering strings along with flutes, bassoons, and horns.  This bridge turns F-sharp minor to its ‘relative” major key of A, where the next lines are set.
0:52 (13:34) [m. 463]--The voices warmly come together for the last three lines, which are accompanied by strings with no winds.  Lines 5 and 6 are given in short, hushed interjections, bridged by even shorter two-note echoes from violins and violas.  The cellos and basses provide a solid foundation on a low repeated A.  The last line (line 7) is more continuous and smooth, and it is sung twice (along with an additional statement of the words “gutes Wort”).  It turns back to the section’s main key, E major.  The string accompaniment is also smoother.  Violas and cellos are continuous while the violins still enter off the beat with shorter figures.  As the second statement of the line comes to a full cadence on E, the winds (without clarinets) join the strings.  The bridge, similar to the one after line 4, turns again to A major.
1:17 (13:59) [m.473]--The preceding passage is varied.  The presentation of lines 5 and 6 is reversed.  The strings play the harmonies that had been used for the text, and the choir sings the shorter responses.  The whole lines are not sung, rather short interjections of “Nun heilet” and “tröstet,” each given twice in alternation.  The voices are supported by woodwinds (without clarinets).  Line 7 is sung as before, with the repetitions and the motion back to E major.  The accompaniment is richer.  All strings play continuously, and woodwinds are added.  The winds play the shorter figures entering off the beat that had previously been played by violins.  The clarinets are still absent until the approach to the cadence.  The cadence overlaps with the entrance of the tenor soloist (Rinaldo).
Tenor Solo Response
1:38 (14:20) [m. 481]--The first two lines of Rinaldo’s response are the same as the last lines of his aria, and they are set to the same musical substance, including the “urgent” pauses.  The slower tempo requires faster note values, and the triple meter requires the lines to be separated by two beats.  He begins with another shift to A major, placing his music a half-step above where it was at the end of the aria.  The string accompaniment includes violin chords after the beats and half-beats.  As Rinaldo finishes the first line, the oboe echoes him for the required bridge.  It makes the familiar melodic alteration from the aria.  Rinaldo then follows with the second line, also with the expected alteration.  Instead of changing key, however, he remains in A, but moves to its minor version.
1:49 (14:31) [m. 484]--Overlapping with the end of Rinaldo’s second line, a flute echoes the distinctive sighing gesture from the melody that was used for “zugleich.”  Rinaldo then repeats that word, again echoed by the flute.  He completes the line, resulting in a full restatement except for the first word, “lockt.”  The completion is stretched out with longer notes, becoming ever quieter.  The pulsing string accompaniment continues, but the violins are less detached.  Emerging from this hushed point, an oboe appears like a ray of light, expanding the gesture, then passing it to the flute, which breaks radiantly into E major.
2:04 (14:46) [m. 488]--The last two lines are similar to the first two of the aria’s last stanza.  Accordingly, Rinaldo sings them to the main melody of the aria, with the expansions necessary for the triple meter.  He is in E major, the main key of this section.  The string accompaniment is slower, and the off-beat violins are now plucked.  Flutes, horns, and clarinets add lines of counterpoint, imitating Rinaldo’s melody.  After stretching out “Wasserflocken,” he sings the last line.  He uses a repetition of the word “ihrem” to reach up to a glorious high A.  His joyous cadence, however, is undermined by the low strings, which make a “deceptive” motion up to C to begin the transition, coinciding with Rinaldo’s arrival. [End of track: 2:20 (m. 491)]


FIFTH SECTION.  Tenor aria with choral response.  Allegro; Allegro non troppo.  Tenor aria in ABA’ form; choral response with change of meter.  C MAJOR/MINOR, Cut time [2/2] and 3/2 time.

German Text: Rinaldo Aber alles verkündet: “Nur sie ist gemeinet!” Aber alles verschwindet, Sobald sie erscheinet In lieblicher Jugend, In glänzender Pracht. Da schlingen zu Kränzen Sich Lilien und Rosen; Da eilen und kosen In lustigen Tänzen Die laulichen Lüfte, Sie führen Gedüfte, Sich fliehend und suchend, Vom Schlummer erwacht. Chor Nein! Nicht länger ist zu säumen, Wecket ihn aus seinen Träumen, Zeigt den diamantnen Schild!	English Text (Metcalfe): Rinaldo Ev’ry thing, mov’d by duty, Shines but for her glances; Yet each vision of beauty Does wane as she advances: In youthful charms glowing Her state does she keep. Here lilies and roses In chaplets are wreathing; The air, odours breathing, Rude passion composes, While softly advancing, Caressing and dancing, Now coming, now going, Awaken’d from sleep. Chorus No – no longer – quick, awake him! From the spell that binds him break him, Show the adamantine shield.
English Text (Bowring): Rinaldo But all of them say: Her only we mean; But all fly away, As soon as she’s seen, – The beauteous young maiden, With graces so rife, Then lily and rose In wreaths are entwining; In dancing combining, Each zephyr that blows Its brother is greeting, All flying and meeting, With balsam full laden, When waken’d to life. Chorus No! no longer may we wait; Rouse him from his vision straight! Show the adamantine shield!	English Text (Evans): Rinaldo Yet all but appeareth Of her to be told; And all disappeareth If once I behold Of beauty the treasure She holdeth in store. In garlands entrancing, The lilies combining With roses are twining; While joyously dancing, Both scent of the flowers And breeze of the bowers In gambol seek pleasure Now slumber is o’er. Chorus No!  no more of fruitless seeming! Rouse him from his idle dreaming, Show the shield of diamond bright.
English Text (Cochrane): Rinaldo Everything proclaims, however, that it is meant for her alone; yet all things disappear as soon as she appears in youthful loveliness and radiant splendour! Then lilies and roses twine themselves into garlands; then the cool breezes hasten to caress in joyous measures, awakened from sleep, they come perfume-laden flying from, and seeking, one another. Chorus No, there is not time left to tarry, wake him from his dreams, display the diamond shield!

TRACK 5
0:00 (15:03) [m. 492]--Transition (3/4 time).  With Rinaldo’s arrival, the cadence on E is thwarted by the low strings, which land on C, beginning the transition there.  It is marked “in tempo (accel.),” and it rapidly builds up to the speed and volume of the intense, passionate aria that follows.  The violins and violas play upward rushing arpeggios in quasi-imitation.  These lead to breathless two-note descents in dotted (long-short) rhythm.  The overlapping of the violins parts and violas places these elements in combination.  The winds hold long chords along with the low string bass notes.  The new meter and tempo arrive after four bars.
Tenor Aria--C major, Allegro, Cut time [2/2].
0:07 (15:10) [m. 496]--Stanza 1 (A).  Lines 1-2.  The arrival of the new meter and tempo is almost imperceptible as the string arpeggios continue.  They quickly come together, however, and the dotted rhythm is no longer present.  Punctuating wind chords are heard on the weak beats of the third measure.  Halfway through the fourth measure, Rinaldo enters, beginning with the same rising arpeggio and descending dotted rhythm, his first notes shadowed by flute and oboe.  His expression is extremely passionate.  The violas continue the arpeggios as the other strings come to a stop.  The winds accompany the second line in slower-moving notes.  Rinaldo’s vocal melody seems to make a brief shift to D minor.  After he completes the second line, all the strings again play the rushing upward arpeggios as a bridge.
0:18 (15:21) [m. 506]--Rinaldo sings the third and fourth lines a beginning a step higher.  Line 3 is sung to the same gesture as line 1, but line 4 diverges from line 2, moving down instead of up.  The instrumental accompaniment is also similar, except for a slightly more active bass.  Line 4 is then repeated, including an extra interjection of “sobald.”  This repetition increases the passion with a plunging arpeggio.  The bass and winds become more active as well.  Here, the line makes a definite motion to and cadence in E minor.  The rushing upward arpeggios again act as a bridge, but then the strings imitate Rinaldo’s plunging arpeggio in slower notes as the volume suddenly becomes quiet under a wind chord.  The key moves back to C major.
0:32 (15:35) [m. 518]--Lines 5 and 6 are sung three times in full, beginning in a gentler, but still agitated mood.  The first statement is sung in broad, undulating arpeggios with off-beat violin figures and a descending flute/oboe line.  The second statement rises somewhat more urgently.  The string accompaniment briefly suggests minor as the oboe soars.  Finally, the third statement is passionate and climactic.  The first syllable of “lieblicher” is held for a full measure before the line continues.  Then everything comes to a halt on “glänzender” as the orchestra plays a sharp chord.  Rinaldo then completes the line with a grand C-major cadence.  The rushing arpeggios then lead to a full key change, to E major.
0:54 (15:57) [m. 534]--Stanza 2 (B).  The whole stanza is set in E major.  The first four lines, while still fast, are very gentle.  Rinaldo sings a lilting melody over plucked string chords.  A flute and oboe play a dialogue in triplet rhythm, passing rising figures back and forth.  The melody for lines 1 and 2 is the same as that for lines 3 and 4, and all are sung continuously.
1:05 (16:08) [m. 542]--The last four lines are sung somewhat more urgently.  Rinaldo’s melody works upward using downward-arching arpeggios.  The strings carry the accompaniment, still plucked, with a new rhythm.  This rhythm uses the triplets the flute and oboe had played, but adds a short-long element, creating a driving pulse.  A horn holds long notes.  After the fifth and sixth lines are sung, Rinaldo becomes even more urgent with the seventh and eighth, where his line is more chromatic.  The flutes enter with the rising triplet figures over these lines, and a bassoon doubles Rinaldo’s melody.
1:15 (16:18) [m. 550]--More text repetition follows to close off the stanza.  First, lines 7 and 8 are sung to music similar to that used for lines 5-6 of stanza 1.  The rising triplet figures from stanza 2, however, are heard in the low strings as the winds pause.  Then all of lines 5-8 are sung again.  The melody resembles the lilting one that began the stanza, but lines 5 and 6 urgently linger on repeated high notes.  Flutes and bassoons enter against lines 5 and 6.  At the restatement of lines 7 and 8, the rising triplets pass to flutes and oboe, and the strings again play the plucked chords heard at the beginning of the stanza.  The vocal line ends on a half-close, but the wind triplets and plucked chords continue for two more measures.
1:31 (16:34) [m. 563]--Stanza 1 repeated (A’).  The horns suddenly take up the rising triplets.  They signal a return of the rushing upward arpeggios from stanza 1.  These do begin in the cellos, then in the first violins as the key changes back to C.  The fourth measure has arrived there and is analogous to 0:07 (15:10) [m. 496].  The strings play the same arpeggios, but the winds hold a long chord before their punctuating weak beat chords.  Rinaldo then enters, singing the first two lines as he did before, and with the same accompaniment.  The bridge with rushing arpeggios follows.
1:45 (16:48) [m. 576]--The statement of the third and fourth lines, including the text repetition, is as at 0:18 (15:21) [m. 506], as is the accompaniment and the motion to E minor.  The bridge, however, is altered.  The rushing arpeggios reach higher, and the imitation of the plunging arpeggio in second violins and cellos is coupled with rising notes in winds, first violins, and violas.  These make a motion to F major, where lines 5 and 6 will be sung at a higher level than before.
1:59 (17:02) [m. 588]--The three statements of lines 5 and 6 are combined into two.  The first is similar to that of the previous passage, but the F-major key makes it higher and more ecstatic.  The rising off-beat figures are in violas instead of violins and the descending line is played only by a flute.  The second statement combines the previous second and third statements.  The word “lieblicher” is held as the music becomes more urgent.  The rising off-beat figures pass to the first violins and a clarinet joins the flute.  “Jugend” is also extended.  Finally, Rinaldo reaches an incredibly sustained high A on “glänzender” as the key shifts back to C and the oboe enters with a rising line.  The note is held for three measures before the orchestral chord.  The cadence is extended with another statement of the word.  This is also stretched out longer than it was before, resulting in a huge expansion of a cadence that was already brilliant before.
2:21 (17:24) [m. 602]--Postlude/transition.  The strings ecstatically break into the rushing upward arpeggios at the cadence.  After two bars, the winds enter with sustained chords.  This brilliance continues for ten measures.    At the eleventh measure, there is a sudden and striking change to C minor.  The wind chords hammer at twice the speed over the continuing string arpeggios.  The basses provide a solid foundation.  These four measures lead directly into the incredibly dramatic choral entry.
Choral Response--C minor, Allegro - Allegro non troppo, Cut time [2/2] and 3/2 time.
2:35 (17:38) [m. 616]--The orchestra breaks into sharply hammered chords.  The chorus immediately enters in a powerful unison on the line “Nein! Nicht länger ist zu säumen!”  After the sustained high “Nein!” the unison choir arches downward, powerfully doubled by horns.  When the group reaches “säumen,” it is even more sustained.  The orchestra, without trumpets and timpani, begins to hammer chords again, and their shape is an extreme transformation of the gentle “horn call” figure from the very opening of the cantata.
2:43 (17:46) [m. 624]--The change to Allegro non troppo, 3/2, begins here.  A full fugue exposition, or fugato, is presented on “Nein, nicht länger ist zu säumen.”  The four voice parts each sing a broad, forceful rising line on the words, beginning with the second basses.  They are doubled by violins and a bassoon.  The violas begin to play driving arpeggios.  The first basses enter immediately, even overlapping with the second basses, on the “dominant” minor (G), also doubled by a bassoon and (second) violins.  The second basses continue with the next line, “wecket ihn aus seinen Träumen,” using a prominent dotted (long-short) rhythm.  The driving arpeggios move to the first violins.  The low strings provide a solid foundation.
2:50 (17:53) [m. 628]--The second tenors, without overlap, enter on B-flat, but the tonal center here is still G minor.  They are doubled by a clarinet and first violins, the driving arpeggios now in second violins and violas.  Meanwhile, the two bass parts come together, harmonizing on another statement of the second line.  The entry of the first tenors is delayed by a brief episode in which all three other parts again sing the second line, with the second tenors leading the bass parts (the third statement of the line for second basses, the second time for first basses, and the first time for second tenors).  The horns enter here on the dotted rhythm.  Finally, the first tenors enter, again on C minor, doubled by an oboe.  The three upper string parts now all play the driving arpeggios.  Under this is more second line repetition.  Second tenors sing the whole line a second time, along with an additional “wecket ihn.”  First basses sing a third statement of the whole line.  Second basses (separating from the first basses) add two more interjections of “wecket ihn.”
3:02 (18:06) [m. 634]--The fugato ends, and all voices come together on a grand statement of the second line, followed by the first invocation of the “diamond shield” with the third line.  The full orchestra, including trumpets and timpani, support this huge arrival.  The strings add a triumphantly broad triplet rhythm on the upbeats under the second line.  The harmony makes a brief detour to D-flat.  After the statement of the third line, the orchestra, using the dotted rhythm, plays a one-measure bridge.
3:10 (18:14) [m. 638]--The two bass parts, partly in unison and partly in harmony, return to the first line to the rising melody that was used for the fugato.  The upper winds briefly drop out here.  This statement veers toward G major.  Then the tenors join on another forceful statement of the first line (and the upper winds re-enter).  This moves through E-flat major and back to C minor.  The upper strings return to the driving arpeggios here.  Then all parts return to the second line, singing it twice, with the strings again using the “triumphant” triplet upbeats.
3:26 (18:30) [m. 646]--The choir repeats “seinen Träumen” two more times on very broad, much slower lines.  The first “seinen” is a lead-in on the dotted rhythm.  Then “Träumen” is extended for two measures on long notes in harmony.  Both words are then repeated on the longer notes, but without the extension of “Träumen.”  The winds, second violins, and violas support the voices.  Meanwhile, the first violins and the lower strings begin to pound octaves on the “dominant” note (G) in the dotted rhythm.  Then, in the approach to the most dramatic moment of the cantata, the third line finally appears again.  It is stated once, then fragmented into “zeigt den Schild” and (twice) “den diamanten Schild.”  The dotted rhythm is used in the voices and the strings, hammering with vehemence while the winds provide support in longer notes.  The voices and instruments converge onto unison with the final approach, a stark rising line. [End of track: 3:44 (m. 653)]


SIXTH SECTION.  Dramatic solo/choral dialogue.  Poco sostenuto.  Dialogue between solo tenor and chorus in two parts.  D-FLAT MAJOR/F-SHARP MINOR, 3/2 time.

German Text: Rinaldo Weh! Was seh’ ich, welch ein Bild! Chor Ja, es soll den Trug entsiegeln. Rinaldo Soll ich also mich bespiegeln, Mich so tief erniedrigt sehn? Chor Fasse dich, so ist’s geschehn. Rinaldo Ja, so sei’s! Ich will mich fassen, Will den lieben Ort verlassen Und zum zweiten Mal Armiden, – Nun so sei’s! So sei’s geschieden! Chor Wohl, es sei! Es sei geschieden!	English Text (Metcalfe): Rinaldo Ah! what sight is now reveal’d? Chorus Yes! the spell must now be broken. Rinaldo Must it then by mouth he spoken, That so low Rinaldo fell? Chorus Patience yet, and all is well: Rinaldo Be it so – on fate relying, From my heart’s dear idol flying, Haste I sad and heavy hearted; Be it so – we will be parted. Chorus Be it so – yes, now be parted
English Text (Bowring): Rinaldo Woe! what form is here reveal’d! Chorus ’Twill disclose the cheat to thee. Rinaldo Am I doom’d myself to see Thus degraded evermore? Chorus Courage take, and all is o’er. Rinaldo Be it so! I’ll take fresh heart, From the spot beloved depart, Leave Armida once again, – Come then! here no more remain. Chorus Yes, ’tis well! no more remain.	English Text (Evans): Rinaldo Ah! what is yon horrid sight? Chorus Sight of thy deceit’s unfolding. Rinaldo Can I be myself beholding? Truly – have I sunk so low? Chorus Truly, all hath happened so. Rinaldo Yes, ’tis fixed! my leave I’m taking, And Armida hence forsaking; Her to whom I all confided – Say no more! – I have decided! Chorus Good! so let it be decided!
English Text (Cochrane): Rinaldo Alas, what do I see! What a vision! Chorus Yes, the illusion must be shattered! Rinaldo Must I see myself reflected so deeply degraded thus? Chorus Take firm hold upon yourself, so it will be done with! Rinaldo Yes, so let it be, I will take a hold upon myself, leave the spot I love so well and, for the second time, Armida! So let it be, then, we must be parted so! Chorus Good, so be it: you must part!

TRACK 6
First Section--D-flat major
0:00 (18:47) [m. 654]--As the chorus arrives on “Schild,” there is a sudden key change, cutoff, and diminishing of volume.  The key lurches up to D-flat major and everything cuts off except for the strings, who sustain a soft, ethereal D-flat octave.  The trumpets enter with distant-sounding fanfare that depicts the deployment of the diamond shield.  Oboes then shadow the trumpets on a sustained descending extension harmonized in sixths.  Trombones follow with a slower fanfare.  Finally, the timpanist solemnly beats the rhythm of the trumpet fanfare as the trombones, shadowed by clarinets, play the “descending extension.”
0:21 (19:08) [m. 658]--The trumpet again plays its initial fanfare as the timpani beats dissolve into a roll and the clarinets sustain a harmonized sixth.  The oboes enter where they did before, but now the flutes and piccolo play their version of the fanfare above the “descending extension.”  They play their own such extension over the expected trombone entry.  The timpani beats also come as expected, but the clarinets do not enter, leaving their previous role to the flutes.  The ethereal string octaves, suspended above a single cello playing a low D-flat, is sustained throughout this hushed interlude.
0:42 (19:29) [m. 662]--Rinaldo enters with his first anguished cry after seeing the vision of himself.  Piccolo and trumpet are held over from the winds.  The first violins and the single cello sustain their notes from the octave.  But the other strings, including the basses, suddenly pluck loud, dissonant chords.  The timpani beats again dissolve into a roll.  Rinaldo’s cry is itself dissonant.  He descends, then pauses, and finally repeats “welch ein Bild!” at which point all winds have dropped out.  The repetition further descends to a low C-sharp (re-spelling of D-flat) after the first part of the cry seemed to veer away from the key.  The plucked chords diminish in volume, and the “ethereal” string octaves dissipate downward.
1:00 (19:47) [m. 666]--The trumpet fanfare begins for a third time, and the pattern is similar to that at 0:21 (19:08) [m. 658] with the addition of the chorus and their very solemn unison response to Rinaldo’s first cry.  The clarinets do enter here, taking over the role of the trumpets in the “descending extension.”  The string octaves (expanding to chords), along with the winds/brass (particularly trombones) also become more active at the end, creating a more final sense of motion and resolution to support the statement of the unison choir.
1:21 (20:08) [m. 670]--Rinaldo again disrupts the solemn mood with his second anguished cry.  It is twice as long, but is made to fit the melodic and harmonic pattern of the first cry.  The instrumentation is also the same as it was in that cry.  Rinaldo’s melody is enhanced by the addition and displacement of notes, along with the elimination of the pause and repetition.  The cry is also extended by a bar on the word “erniedrigt,” stretching out the arrival on the low C-sharp to coincide with the next (fourth) trumpet fanfare.
1:39 (20:26) [m. 674]--The second unison response from the chorus also corresponds closely to the first one, with very subtle alterations.  Again, the trumpet fanfare is followed by flutes/piccolo and trombones, but the choir enters a bar later (although their statement is of the same length as the first one).  The orchestra compensates by delaying the motion away from the octave in the strings, adding extra timpani beats on the “dominant” so that the drums can participate in this resolution, allowing the trumpet to play the original “descending extension,” delaying the clarinet entrance, and allowing the winds to also participate more actively in the resolution.  The cadence of the unison choir is thus delayed and arrives with the fifth and final trumpet fanfare.
2:01 (20:48) [m. 678]--The postlude resembles the pattern of the preludes and the interlude, but with richer, slightly more chromatic harmony.  The trumpet fanfare is again followed by flutes/piccolo and trombones, but the “descending extensions” are fleshed out in all instruments, including oboes and clarinets in their expected roles.  The timpani beats are also present from the outset, adding an air of solemnity.  The expanded harmony in the strings is in the second violins, who were absent in the previous similar passages with the octaves.  The final cadence is delayed by a bar, in which the trombones provide an almost reverent benediction.  The last chord is a full cadence on D-flat with timpani roll.  The strings cut off before the winds and timpani.  Brahms indicates a fermata (indeterminate pause) for these latter instruments.
Second Section--F-sharp minor
2:34 (21:20) [m. 683]--Rinaldo emerges from the haze to present his four-line resolution.  He leaps upward in a shift to F-sharp minor.  Strings and bassoon gently accompany him, with the first violins playing more rapid rising plucked arpeggios (the basses are also plucked).  The first utterance of the opening line settles down after the opening leap.  As it ends, the orchestra, with the entry of flutes, oboes, and horns on a similar leaping gesture, makes a “deceptive” shift to D.  He repeats the text from “ich will” (stated twice), on a more dissonant line.  The close of this repetition, while ending on F-sharp minor in Rinaldo’s line, also moves “deceptively” to D in the orchestra, a move confirmed by the following punctuation.  The harmony on D is a mixture of major and minor.
2:46 (21:32) [m. 688]--The continuation of Rinaldo’s lament, which includes the only mention in Goethe’s text of Armida’s name, echoes the preceding flute/oboe punctuation.  The accompaniment is as before, the harmony still vacillating between major and minor.  At the third line with Armida’s name, Rinaldo veers upward and settles on D minor without a cadence.  The punctuation is heard again with slight alteration (clarinets instead of oboes), and Rinaldo repeats the second and third lines, beginning the second line a fourth higher (and briefly suggesting G minor/major).  The third line is only a step higher, with altered contour.  It again vacillates toward major, ending on the “dominant” harmony without a cadence.
3:10 (21:57) [m. 697]--The “dominant” in D is the same as the “relative major” in F-sharp minor.  For Rinaldo’s last line, expressing his resolve, he shifts back to that key.  He forcefully and painfully sings it, supported by the winds and timpani.  The strings continue with their pattern, although the basses are now bowed.  As he concludes, the chorus, still in unison, overlaps with their variation of the line, which concludes the dialogue.  They are supported by trumpets and trombones, along with timpani.  They make a strong motion to the “dominant” of F-sharp minor.  This is C-sharp major, equivalent to the D-flat major of the first part.  The entire sequence is then repeated, with Rinaldo’s F-sharp-minor entry overlapping with the C-sharp-major cadence of the chorus.
3:34 (22:21) [m. 705]--As the chorus completes its second cadence, the winds forcefully enter on F-sharp minor for the third time, but this time without Rinaldo.  The following postlude, though, settles strongly back on C-sharp major.  The timpani beats and rolls continue, with the winds and brass alternating on cadence gestures.  Everything diminishes in volume.  The plucked violin arpeggios gradually become slower (one of Brahms’s typical “notated” ritardandos, where the note values and rhythms are gradually lengthened).  The continuing timpani beats, supported at the end by bassoons, then plucked cellos and basses, bring the highly dramatic passage to a close.  As with the first part, it ends with a fermata on a rest. [End of track: 3:54 (m. 710)]


SEVENTH SECTION.  Chorus.  Allegretto non troppo.  Three refrains and coda.  A MAJOR, 2/4 time.

German Text: Teil des Chores (Brahms: Einige) Zurück nur! Zurücke Durch günstige Meere! Dem geistigen Blicke Erscheinen die Fahnen, Erscheinen die Heere, Das stäubende Feld. Chor (Brahms: Alle) Zur Tugend der Ahnen Ermannt sich der Held.	English Text (Metcalfe): Semi-chorus (Brahms: Some) Oh haste thee, returning The Ocean’s might braving; For hearts that are burning With valour, there gathers The strife: flags are waving O’er hostile arrays. Chorus (Brahms: All) The might of his fathers The hero displays.
English Text (Bowring): Semi-chorus Away then! let’s fly O’er the zephyr-kiss’d ocean! The soul-lighted eye Sees armies in motion, See proud banners wave O’er the dust-sprinkled course. Chorus From his forefathers brave Draws the hero new force.	English Text (Evans): Small Chorus Return then, oh return, then; The sea stands inviting! With joy he will burn, when, In glory to revel, All armed for the fighting To battle he hies. Chorus To his sire’s brave level The hero will rise.
English Text (Cochrane): Semi-chorus (and chorus) Back then! back, back across propitious seas! To the inner eye, the standards, the armies, the dusty field appear! Chorus By the virtue of his ancestors the hero recovers his mettle.

TRACK 7
First Refrain
0:00 (22:42) [m. 711]--Measure 710 is notated with only five quarter notes in 3/2, leaving “space” for an upbeat.  The eighth note in 2/4 is equivalent to the quarter note in 3/2.  Thus, the eighth-note upbeat that opens this section belongs to m. 710.  The clarinets and bassoons quietly begin with an introduction, a jaunty, almost lusty harmonized melody with dotted rhythms.  The character is that of a sea shanty.  In the first three measures, the strings add fanfare-like figures that land on the weak beats.  They join the clarinet/bassoon rhythm for the two measures that complete the melody.  After this, the fanfare-figure is isolated and moves to flutes, oboes, and horns.  These are in dialogue with plucked strings on downbeats.
0:09 (22:51) [m. 719]--As prescribed by Goethe, Brahms assigns the entire first refrain to a partial chorus, indicating “einige” (“some”).  The basses begin with the intonation of the first two lines, including a reiteration of “zurück” after the second line that will become typical.  The woodwinds, now including flutes and oboes, play the melody from the introduction, which the vocal lines only partially double, otherwise pausing or shadowing.  The strings play the off-beat fanfare figures where they did before, including one after the basses finish the line.  The statement ends on the “dominant” harmony.
0:16 (22:57) [m. 725]--Now the tenor parts begin the two lines a third higher, with a brief turn to C major.  The accompaniment is similar to that of the previous bass statement.  After the first line, the basses join the tenors for the remainder of the statement to create four-part harmony.  The key quickly moves back to A major.  The tenors reach a high A at the end of the second line.  The basses do not sing the last “zurück.”  Instead, they lead the tenors (who briefly pause) in a repetition of the line, including an extra reiteration of “durch Meere” (the tenors omit the word “günstige”).  The cadence on A with the high tenor A is reiterated.
0:25 (23:06) [m. 734]--Still at a hushed level, the basses, in harmony, sing the third and fourth lines, doubled by bassoons and accompanied by plucked strings in groups beginning after the downbeat.  The lines move toward the “dominant” key, E major.  The tenors enter for the fifth and sixth lines, and at the same time, a crescendo is indicated.  These lines, in four-part harmony, introduce a jubilant triplet figure in the tenor voices that is doubled by the horns, then clarinets and bassoons.  The strings continue their plucked figures.  Lines 5 and 6 are then repeated at full volume and more severely, moving toward C-sharp minor.  The lower strings stop plucking and introduce a descending scale in triplet rhythm.  Flutes and oboes enter, also taking turns at the jubilant triplets.  Horns begin the fanfare figure, continuing with strings in the bridge to the next refrain (similar to the end of the introduction, with winds playing the former plucked string figures).  The key again quickly moves back to A major.
Second Refrain
0:41 (23:22) [m. 750]--Brahms deviates slightly from Goethe here in repeating all six “semi-chorus” lines with the full choir.  This is part of his plan for a gradual buildup to the climax on the last two lines, indicated for full chorus.  The statement of the first two lines is essentially a repetition of 0:09 (22:51) [m. 719], but sung forte by the whole choir, with all four voice parts.  The participation of the tenors expands the harmony at the end of the second line.  The woodwinds are scored somewhat differently here for a fuller and richer sound.
0:47 (23:28) [m. 756]--Restatement of the material from 0:16 (22:57) [m. 725], with all four voice parts participating from the outset.  The main change in the scoring is an expansion of the string fanfares so that they are passed between the strong and weak beats, from lower strings to violins.
0:56 (23:38) [m. 765]--Restatement of the material from 0:25 (23:06) [m. 734].  The tenors participate in the statement of lines 3 and 4, expanding the harmony.  The clarinets are added to the bassoon doubling.  The plucked string figures are as before.  After this, the winds generally are more thickly scored, including octave doubling on the jubilant triplets.  Most strikingly, the bass voices join the low strings in the powerful descending triplet octave scale in the repetition of lines 5 and 6 moving to C-sharp minor.  The violins begin to play with bows earlier here.  Also new is the participation of the trumpets on the returning fanfare figure.  The instruments change roles in the bridge passage.  The winds and brass, including trumpets (and soon timpani), play the fanfares, and the downbeat figures move back to the strings (now bowed).  This re-scoring provides an effective buildup for the climactic third refrain.
Third Refrain
1:13 (23:54) [m. 781]--Now fortissimo, with trumpets blaring and timpani thundering, the chorus storms toward its climax.  The first two lines are sung as at 0:41 (23:22) [m. 750].  The melodic accompaniment played by the winds in both previous refrains is now given to the strings (and partially to clarinets and bassoons).  The winds, brass, and timpani almost continuously blast out the off-beat fanfare figure.
1:19 (24:00) [m. 787]--The repetition of the lines is presented by the choir as at 0:47 (23:28) [m. 765].  The strings continue to have the lead on the melodic accompaniment, but the fanfare is now more sporadic.  The winds participate in some of the melodic accompaniment.
1:28 (24:09) [m. 796]--Brahms avoids completing the stanza a third time, skips lines 3-6, and arrives at the climax.  The chorus shouts out the two lines actually indicated for full chorus by Goethe.  The fanfare is blasted out by trumpets, timpani, and strings.  The remaining winds follow the voices.  The first statement of these two lines begins in C major, but works back to A major by the end.  Under the second line, which includes a reiteration of “ermannt sich,” the fanfare only remains in the timpani, the strings moving to an accompaniment figure typical of the first two refrains.  They return to the fanfare for the repetition of the lines.
1:36 (24:17) [m. 804]--The second statement of the two climactic lines begins higher and is more extended, with very prominent first tenors.  It starts in F major, without trumpets on the fanfare.  Timpani and strings play it as before.  The first of the two lines is repeated in full, now incorporated into the musical substance of the second line. The strings play the same accompaniment figure under this extension, which includes the second line and the reiteration of “ermannt sich.”  Again, the key works back to A major.  There, the climax is punctuated and rounded by a sudden return of the choir’s first word, “Zurück.”
Coda
1:46 (24:28) [m. 814]--The choir returns to the opening gesture and the first line.  The fanfare is in the strings and timpani, the melodic accompaniment in the winds.  The orchestra rapidly thins out as the music backs away from the climax.  The accompaniment is reduced to clarinets and violas, the fanfare to timpani and cellos.  The word “zurück” is uttered by the basses , almost in awe of the sudden diminuendo.  Then the violas and timpani also drop out, leaving the argument to the low strings and woodwinds (who all re-enter with part of the familiar wind melody).  The full choir, now completely hushed, breathes out “zurücke.” (The basses, delayed a beat, omit the extra syllable and only breathe “zurück.”)
1:56 (24:37) [m. 823]--The tenors drop out for good.  The clarinets and violas again take up the main instrumental melody, adding colorful chromatic notes borrowed from minor in their lower harmonies.  Their statement is fully rounded.  Under it, the timpanist resumes the last vestiges of the fanfare figure.  The bassoon adds a counterpoint.  The basses, almost whispering, state the words one more time: “Zurück nur,” then, as the bassoons take over from violas and clarinets and the timpani beats fade, a final “zurücke.”  Everything dies away, melting into the next section in A minor. [End of track: 2:03 (m. 829)]


EIGHTH SECTION.  Tenor aria with choral interjections.  Andante con moto e poco agitato.  Two verses and extension.  A MINOR, 6/8 time.

German Text: Rinaldo Zum zweiten Male Seh’ ich erscheinen Und jammern, weinen In diesem Tale Die Frau der Frauen. Das soll ich schauen Zum zweiten Male? Das soll ich hören, Und soll nicht wehren Und soll nicht retten? Chor Unwürd’ge Ketten!	English Text (Metcalfe): Rinaldo Again appearest Hither returning, Still weeping, mourning, Thou fairest, dearest, Of earth’s fair creatures. With tear-worn features Now thou appearest And must I hear thee. Thus be near thee, And no aid find thee! Chorus Unworthy bonds bind thee!
English Text (Bowring): Rinaldo With sorrow laden, Within this valley’s All-silent alleys The fairest maiden Again I see. Twice can this be?* What! shall I hear it, And not have spirit To ease her pains? *Bowring conflates the sixth and seventh lines. Chorus Unworthy chains?	English Text (Evans): Rinaldo I see the morrow Of grief now dawning, This vale with sorrow And signs of mourning, Lost love now filling. Should I be willing To face such morrow? Stand fearing, hearing An anguish nearing Which might be savèd? Chorus Be not enslavèd!
English Text (Cochrane): Rinaldo For the second time I see the fairest of all women appear, and lament and weep in this vale! Must I behold this twice? Must I hear it and not prevent it, afford no help? Chorus Shameful bonds!

TRACK 8
0:00 (24:45) [m. 830]--Introduction.  The 6/8 meter is propelled by the viola line, a series of winding arpeggios beginning after the downbeats (which are provided by low plucked strings).  Violins play the yearning melody, which also avoids the downbeat.  Second violins play the background harmony.  The melody works upward over the steadily moving bass line and the flowing viola arpeggios.  The melody is dynamic, venturing frequently toward other keys (B-flat major most prominently at the outset), but always circling back to A minor.  As the violin melody begins a long descent, a flute begins to echo it above, the first entry of a wind instrument in this introduction.
0:08 (24:53) [m. 838]--The winding, sinuous arpeggios move from the violas to the first violins.  The violas join the lower strings on the plucked bass foundation, playing on the second half of each measure (with the second violins) after the cellos and basses play the downbeats.  The harmonic background moves to the bassoons and horns.  As the flute finishes its descent, an oboe continues the yearning melody, which becomes more urgent, touches some downbeats, and is broken into shorter fragments.  The oboe melody continues at some length.  It begins a second phrase in which it turns toward the closely related (“minor dominant”) key of E minor in preparation for Rinaldo’s entry.
0:25 (25:09) [m. 854]--Verse 1.  As Rinaldo enters,  the winds exit.  The violin arpeggios are less jagged under his singing, changing to oscillations or arches.  The other strings take up their bows and provide the harmonic background.  Rinaldo enters with the first three lines of his lament upon seeing Armida for the second time.  The first two lines are sung to a gently arching melody.  When he reaches the colorful words “jammern” and “weinen,” he lingers on long high notes before resolving downward.  Here, woodwinds provide light support and the violin arpeggios widen.  He touches on C major, F major, and C minor.
0:34 (25:19) [m. 862]--Rinaldo repeats the two words “jammern, weinen” on a more decisive descent, under which the arpeggios move again to violas and the first violins begin the oboe portion of the introduction melody, again establishing the A-minor key.  Horns enter in the background.  Rinaldo continues with the fourth and fifth lines, completing the verse at the lament’s halfway point.  He sings these lines to short phrases above the continuing violin melody, soaring questioningly at the end.  The violin melody matches the first oboe phrase from the introduction.
0:43 (25:28) [m. 870]--Interlude.  The pattern from the latter part of the introduction is slightly varied.  First violins take the arpeggios while basses, second violins, and violas return to their plucked foundation.  The oboe continues its melody as it did in the introduction, but now it is doubled by cellos.  It is also imitated at the distance of one measure by flute and clarinet.  After five bars, at the turn to E minor, the brief imitation ends and the melody is expanded.  Still doubled by cellos, the oboe extends the previous line and changes to E-major (still as a “dominant” key).  Second violins then join the firsts on the arpeggios, creating harmonies on these active lines.  Clarinets, harmonized in thirds, briefly join the violin figures.  The oboe/cello melody slows in preparation for the next vocal entry.
0:56 (25:41) [m. 882]--Verse 2.  Lines 6-8 are sung to a vocal line similar to the beginning of the first verse at 0:25 (25:09) [m. 854].  The harmony is quite different, however, touching on D major instead of C.  The accompaniment is similar, with violin arpeggios over a string background and light woodwinds (flutes and clarinets).  Line 8 is somewhat similar to the long notes previously used for “jammern” and “weinen,” but instead of downward leaps for the resolution, this line is set to an anguished descent of three half-steps.
1:05 (25:50) [m. 890]--Lines 9-10 are a more direct transfer of the vocal line from 0:34 (25:19) [m. 862].  The repetition is different here, as he does not repeat words from line 8.  Instead, line 10 is sung twice to the same melodic line that was used for lines 4-5.  The introduction melody is even more prominent, and is doubled in all violins and cellos.  The violas still play the arpeggios as they did before.  The winds now participate fully to provide a harmonic background, since so many strings are playing the melody.  All of this creates a more expressive, full sound in the orchestra.
1:14 (25:59) [m. 898]--Extension.  An interlude seems to begin, with the melody still doubled in all violins and cellos.  But it reaches higher than before, creating tension and moving toward D minor.  Then the winds briefly answer.  The choir enters with its one-line response.  “Unwürdige Ketten” is set to dissonant harmonies moving downward in parallel chords.  Pulsing strings beginning after the downbeat accompany.  Rinaldo treats this as an interruption and returns to his last two lines, overlapping the choral injunction with a long high note (G) on “soll.”  The second of his lines (line 10) returns to the original melody.  The familiar accompaniment returns in flute and oboe, and the familiar arpeggios in the violas, with a plucked background from low strings and violins.
1:28 (26:13) [m. 910]--The same interlude begins, with the same brief wind answer.  The choral entry, however, leaps higher before the descent in parallel chords.  The harmony appears to touch on C minor.  The pulsing accompaniment remains.  The vocal lines are varied, with second tenors adding more motion.  Rinaldo’s overlapping entry occurs a measure later and is extended, stretching out line 10 and making an anguished, sustained descent to a cadence in A minor.  The viola arpeggios and plucked strings are still played under him, but the wind instruments do not play the familiar melodic accompaniment.  Instead, they provide a sustained background, with a flute doubling Rinaldo’s melodic line.
1:47 (26:32) [m. 924]--Postlude.  The music of the introduction to this section returns, but a solo clarinet now takes the lead instead of the violins.  The viola arpeggios, already in force, continue as they did in that introduction.  The other strings continue the previous plucked pattern.  Bassoons provide background harmonies.  The flute has the same role it did in the introduction, echoing the clarinet’s melody.
1:56 (26:40) [m. 932]--Where the oboe had taken over before, as the flute finishes its echo, both clarinets now continue, the second leading the first.  Instead of continuing the yearning melody, they help to settle the music down to the section’s conclusion.  The violins take their bows and begin to play long cadence figures while the cellos play a sustained low A.  As the first clarinet takes over from the second, the two bassoons imitate them with the same lines.  The music steadily diminishes.  The violins drop out after their cadence gestures, then the low strings, and finally the viola arpeggios.  The second bassoon is left alone and exposed to reiterate the desolate closing cadence. [End of track: 2:11 (m. 943)]


NINTH SECTION.  Tenor aria with choral interjections (continued).  Allegro con fuoco.  Ternary form (ABA’) with long postlude.  C MINOR, Cut time [2/2].

German Text: Rinaldo Und umgewandelt Seh’ ich die Holde; Sie blickt und handelt Gleichwie Dämonen, Und kein Verschonen Ist mehr zu hoffen. Vom Blitz getroffen Schon die Paläste; Die Götterfeste, Die Lustgeschäfte Der Geisterkräfte, Mit allem Lieben Ach, sie zerstieben! Chor Ja, sie zerstieben!	English Text (Metcalfe): Rinaldo A cruel changing Seizes the charmer, All love estranging; In deed and seeming Now like a demon. Hopeless all pity! The haughty city To doom is hasting, The God’s high feasting, The sweet enjoyment Of mind’s employment, All love’s befriending, All, all is ending. Chorus Yes, all is ending.
English Text (Bowring): Rinaldo And now I’ve see her, Alas! how changed! With cold demeanour And looks estranged,* With ghostly tread, – All hope is fled, Yes, fled for ever. The lightnings quiver, Each palace falls; The godlike halls, Each joyous hour Of spirit-power, With love’s sweet day All fade away! Chorus Yes, fade away! *Bowring renders the text with one additional line.	English Text (Evans): Rinaldo Now fill’d with ire She dread appeareth; With glance of fire And fury painting, No mercy granting, Naught is forgiven. By lightning riven The princely towers Of festal hours, The blissful bowers, The god-like powers I once enjoyed Are now destroyed! Chorus Yea! all destroyed.
English Text (Cochrane): Rinaldo (and chorus) And I behold the fair one transformed, she looks and acts exactly as devils do, and no sparing can be hoped for more! The palaces already struck by storm, the feasts of the gods, the pleasurable employment of the powers of the spirit, together with all love, alas, they are scattered as dust!

TRACK 9
A Section
0:00 (26:56) [m. 944]--Winds, brass, and timpani solemnly intone the note C.  Beginning pianissimo, it swells rapidly.  The strings begin to play a transformed, but very familiar theme: a stormy, minor-key version of the horn-call introduction from the very beginning of the cantata.  The shape is unmistakable, but  it now has a tortured, chromatic character.  After making the familiar ascent over an “augmented” triad, the strings plunge precipitously and then begin to churn violently.  Brass and timpani briefly drop out while the woodwinds play urgent rising lines.  The depiction of the storm and Armida’s destructive transformation has begun.  A timpani roll, supported by horns and trumpets, ushers in Rinaldo’s terrified entry.
0:11 (27:07) [m. 956]--Rinaldo’s entry on his first two lines is hushed, but fearful, and intensely chromatic.  The string texture thins, but the violins continue to churn.  The winds support his line.  They also provide an echo/bridge to his next two lines, which are shouted out in short, anguished rising lines that also ratchet the harmony up by half-steps.  The fifth and sixth lines tumble downward, gradually slowing and moving to a half-close on G minor (the minor version of the “dominant”).  The churning strings again diminish to pianissimo.
0:28 (27:24) [m. 974]--Brahms departs from Goethe here in having the chorus echo Rinaldo’s lines.  Here, they abbreviate his last-sung to “Kein Verschonen ist zu hoffen.”  The utter it in very detached chords over a lighter, more intermittent string background, and are doubled by clarinets and bassoons.  They remain in G minor.  This brief confirmation of Rinaldo’s terror is followed by another powerful instrumental bridge reminiscent of the introduction to the cantata.  There is some imitation on the “horn call” figures between low strings and violins.  These are then transferred to the winds as the timpanist thunders and the strings begin a syncopated background with the top violins hovering on a high G.  The instruments again plunge downward, remaining in G minor.
B Section
0:43 (27:39) [m. 990]--Rinaldo moves to his seventh and eighth lines, again on a cascading descent from a high G.  The strings move to more ominous tremolos that begin with a loud punch, then fade.  The choir, supported by horns and trombones, overlaps with Rinaldo as it begins its own statement of the lines.  The string tremolo continues.  The choir rapidly diminishes in volume on the eighth line.  The chorus leads the key to E-flat major, the “relative” key of C minor (the main key of this section).
0:55 (27:51) [m. 1003]--Rinaldo’s presentation of the remaining lines (9-13) is more subdued.  He begins with a more tuneful melody in E-flat major as the strings all begin to pluck in typical figuration, with the low strings on the downbeats and upbeats, the violins and violas filling the middle of the measure.  The winds initially drop out.  By the third of these lines (line 11), Rinaldo has already turned to E-flat minor.  The winds, now entering, led by flutes, attempt to restore the tuneful major key, but Rinaldo quickly shifts back to minor with a longer arch on line 12.  After two bars, he continues with his last line, descending back to a cadence on the previous key, G minor.  All remains relatively calm and placid, however.  After this last line, the strings continue the plucked figuration, fading away in a brief bridge.
1:21 (28:17) [m. 1028]--The choir, again rousing Rinaldo out of his haze, very suddenly emerges in a terrifying cry that reiterates Rinaldo’s last line.  This line is the only one in this section that Goethe actually assigned to the choir.  The singers powerfully shoot upward, reaching another G-minor cadence.  Woodwinds support them as the strings, equally suddenly, take up their bows and again begin to churn.  After the choral cadence, the churning strings quickly descend back into the long-absent C minor key.
A’ Section
1:25 (28:21) [m. 1032]--The first two lines are set as at 0:11 (27:07) [m. 956], without the initial upbeat “und.”  Rinaldo continues with line 3 as before.  But before he finishes, the choir unexpectedly enters with an intensification of the line, supported by trombones.  This choral interjection fills in the echo/bridge and  speeds up the half-step harmonic motion.  Thus, Rinaldo’s fourth line is a half-step higher than before.  The choir continues, entering with its intensification of the line as it did with line 3 and again shifting up the half-step motion.  The first tenors reach higher than Rinaldo did.  Rinaldo begins the tumbling, diminishing motion on the fifth and sixth lines a full step higher, now outreaching the first tenors.  Line 5 predictably veers to A minor instead of G minor, but line 6 continues the faster tumbling motion instead of slowing to the half-close, and shifts the harmony yet again toward F minor.
1:41 (28:37) [m. 1048]--The chorus presents its subdued, detached echo as at 0:28 (27:24) [m. 974], but the string motion is different, using more active arching figures.  The second half of the interjection also subtly moves a half-step downward.  The second tenors and second basses are more static, changing the harmony, and all parts end on a unison G.  This functions as a “dominant” leading to the section’s main key, C minor, where the previous instrumental bridge now follows as a beginning to the postlude.  It is essentially a direct transposition of that passage from G to C, the only real differences being the participation of the trombones and the continuation of the syncopated strings under the wind motion at the end.
1:56 (28:52) [m. 1064]--The postlude is extended beyond the previous interlude.  The familiar horn call figures are blasted out from winds and strings in syncopation while the timpani continue to thunder.  The rising figures and the churning strings, all derived from the cantata’s introduction, follow.  When the churning strings begin, wind blasts originally punctuate them.  But as the strings move lower, they diminish in volume.  The winds and timpani drop out.  The strings stall on the “dominant” of C.  As they reach piano, they slow to a gentle rocking and the bass moves to C.  A quiet timpani roll on C also begins, and the horns, bassoons, clarinets, and flutes gradually enter.  The harmony in this preparatory passage is not definitively major or minor, but its gentle nature lays the ground for the following C-major chorus, which closes the cantata’s main section. [End of track: 2:19 (m. 1087)]


TENTH SECTION.  Chorus with tenor solo (conclusion of main portion).  Andante.  Chorus with solo responses in two subsections.  C MAJOR, 4/4 time.

German Text: Teil des Chors (Brahms: Einige) Schon sind sie erhöret, Gebete der Frommen! Noch säumst du, zu kommen? Es fördert die Reise Der günstige Wind. Chor (Brahms: Alle) Geschwinde, geschwind! Rinaldo Im Tiefsten zerstöret, Ich hab’ euch vernommen; Ihr drängt mich, zu kommen. Unglückliche Reise! Unseliger Wind! Chor Geschwinde, geschwind!	English Text (Metcalfe): Semi-chorus (Brahms: Some) The prayers of the holy E’en now are prevailing: Dost still stay our sailing, Our fair-omen’d journey, With favouring wind? Chorus (Brahms: All) Oh haste thee, oh haste! Rinaldo Heart-broken and slowly I join in your sailing, Your words are prevailing: Oh! ill-fated journey! Oh! thrice fatal wind! Chorus Oh haste thee, oh haste!
English Text (Bowring): Semi-chorus Already are heard The prayers of the pious. Why longer deny us? The favouring zephyr Forbids all delay. Chorus Away, then! away! Rinaldo With heart sadly stirr’d, Your command I receive; Ye force me to leave. Unkind is the zephyr, – Oh, wherefore not stay? Chorus Away, then! away!	English Text (Evans): Small Chorus The prayers are now heard, Which saints have been praying. So, no more delaying: E’en now for the voyage The wind bloweth fair. Chorus Prepare now! Prepare! Rinaldo In all deeply stirred, Your meaning I ponder; You beckon me yonder, But fateful the voyage, When tempest we dare. Chorus Prepare now! Prepare!
English Text (Cochrane): Semi-chorus The prayers of the pious are granted favourable hearing already. Do you still delay coming? The following wind favours the voyage. Chorus Quickly, quickly! Rinaldo Blighted in the depths I perceived you. You urge me to come, unlucky voyage, fatal wind! Chorus Quickly, quickly!

TRACK 10
0:00 (29:16) [m. 1088]--First susection.  The choir begins midway through m. 1087 with the word “schon,” the half-note there functioning as a quarter-note upbeat to the slower 4/4 meter that begins in m. 1088.  The smaller semi-chorus solemnly intones the first two lines in C major with pure wind accompaniment and majestic timpani beats.  Rinaldo immediately responds with his first two lines  In contrast to the choir, his line is anguished and inflected to minor.  He is accompanied by strings instead of winds, and the timpanist plays unsettled rolls instead of steady beats.  The string accompaniment includes restless syncopation.  Brahms effectively uses the choir’s and Rinaldo’s identical rhyme schemes to mix Goethe’s text.
0:29 (29:46) [m. 1096]--The semi-chorus, again with wind accompaniment, sings its third line in major.  Rinaldo, again with parallel text, responds with his third line after a horn/clarinet bridge.  While inflected to minor again and changing from wind to string accompaniment, he adopts more of the choir’s contours, and the timpani accompany him with beats instead of rolls.  After completing the line, Rinaldo finishes his stanza with the fourth and fifth lines.  The last two lines of the semi-chorus are delayed.  Rinaldo sings them to an anguished chromatic line that steadily builds upward with repeated notes and half-step motion.  He is still accompanied by strings alone.  The chromatic line moves the key to an unexpectedly dark B minor as Rinaldo repeats the last line.
0:57 (30:13) [m. 1103]--In this section, Brahms strictly follows Goethe’s “chorus” and “semi-chorus” directions.  The full chorus sings the first invocation of “Geschwinde, geschwind,” still in the dark B minor.  Following the pattern, the choir is accompanied by winds, although low strings (cellos and basses) are added.  The choral basses are a beat behind the tenors.  Rinaldo, with the upper strings, follows them with another cry of “unseliger Wind.”  The choir insistently repeats “Geschwinde, geschwind” at a higher level.  The basses, again following the tenors, make a half-step shift that moves the key back to C major., confirmed by a very brief string bridge and solemn timpani roll.
1:16 (30:32) [m. 1108]--The semi-chorus again intones the third line with the winds as it did before.  Now, at the end of the line, Rinaldo does not respond.  Violins and violas tentatively enter, but only violas continue.  The semi-chorus finally sings its final two lines.  The choral singers use a harmonized variant of the highly chromatic line Rinaldo used for his last two lines, building upward with repeated notes and half-step motion.  Like him, the choir repeats the last line.  But the choir does not make a harmonic motion, instead coming to a clear cadence in C major.
1:37 (30:53) [m. 1113]--The full choir again enters with “Geschwinde, geschwind,” the basses still following the tenors, and now in C major.  Winds and strings finally come together on the accompaniment.  Rinaldo protests with another “unseliger Wind,” but the choir will not allow him to move to minor again.  The chorus reiterates its injunction to make haste as it did before, again at a higher pitch level. 
1:50 (31:06) [m. 1116]--Overlapping the basses, Rinaldo again protests, returning to two full statements of his last two lines, “Unglückliche Reise, unseliger Wind!”  For the first time in the section, Rinaldo and the chorus sing together.  Reduced again to the semi-chorus, the singers lose all patience with Rinaldo and reiterate their last two lines, which are parallel to his (including the words “Reise” and “Wind”).  This time, the tenors follow the basses, who in turn follow Rinaldo.  The basses sing the full two lines twice, and the tenors only repeat “günstigste.”  The strings take over the accompaniment here, clarinets and bassoons briefly doubling the bass voices before dropping out.  Timpani and horns enter as the lines conclude.
2:05 (31:21) [m. 1121]--Second subsection.  Brahms now departs from Goethe and repeats the text of the semi-chorus (except the third line) using the full chorus.  The first bass part has a slight alteration that speeds up its statement of “Gebete.”  The first two lines are sung as at the beginning of the section, with wind accompaniment.  The instruments are slightly more active in this statement, befitting the full choir.  Rinaldo, as before, responds with his first two lines in minor.  His statement is extended with a higher leap on “vernommen” and a repetition of the word.  His accompaniment is largely the same as before.  Before he can reach a full C-minor cadence, however, the choir enters again, overlapping with him.**
2:41 (31:57) [m. 1129]--The intense buildup to the close of the chorus and the main portion of the cantata begins.  The basses begin reiterating the fourth and fifth lines beginning with “es fördert die Reise.”  The tenors and Rinaldo follow them.  In the voices and orchestra, especially the strings, an urgent triplet pulse begins to be introduced as a contrast to the prevailing rhythm.  The violins play tremolo figuration.  Rinaldo remains in minor against the major of the chorus.  The basses state both lines twice along with a third statement of the fourth line.  The tenors do not sing the fourth line, but twice sing “der günstigste, günstigste Wind.  Rinaldo sings “unselig, unseliger Wind” twice.
2:55 (32:11) [m. 1133]--As all voices, including Rinaldo, close on the word “Wind,” the orchestra begins a very solemn, triumphant statement of the main choral melody of the section.  The strings pulsate with triplet rhythms and violin tremolos while the winds carry the argument, along with rolling timpani.  Rinaldo’s role as a soloist is now complete.  His appearance in the final chorus is even optional.  The choir, with the tenors following the basses, twice sings “Geschwinde, geschwind” against the triumphant wind melody and pulsating strings.
3:09 (32:26) [m. 1137]--As the choir finishes its second invocation of “Geschwinde, geschwind,” the first violins leave the pulsations of the remaining strings and join gloriously in the presentation of the main choral melody.  The chorus enters again two measures later with an apotheosis of “Geschwinde, geschwind,” singing the word a total of six times in succession (with the first tenors absent until the third one).  As they do, both their parts and the orchestra march triumphantly upward, using the triplet rhythm sparingly as a propulsive force on upbeats.  The last three statements of the word are on longer held chords and thunderous timpani beats.  The last syllable is held as the orchestra plays a final C-major chord three times, and for the first time in the cantata, there is a real break in the music.
3:37 (32:54)-END OF MAIN PORTION [1144 mm.]

**At this point, the first edition includes ten measures that were crossed out by Brahms in his personal copy.  The Breitkopf & Härtel Sämtliche Werke observed this cut, although all editions published in Brahms’s lifetime included the ten measures in question, and they appear in published piano/vocal scores to this day.  In the Sämtliche Werke, they appear as a supplement in the prefatory Editor’s Notes.  Editor Eusebius Mandyczewski’s reliance upon the personal copies as final, definitive versions has been called severely into question.  It remains to be seen whether the new Brahms Gesamtausgabe being published by Henle and researched in Kiel will include the ten measures as integral, as an optional cut, or as a mandatory one.  Of the recordings I have surveyed, five observe the cut, including the DG Sinopoli/Kollo version used for this guide.  The others are Abbado/King (Decca), Rilling/Süss (Hänssler), Botstein/Cole (American Symphony Orchestra), and Leibowitz/Kerol (Vox).  Two recordings, Albrecht/Andersen (Chandos) and De Billy/Botha (Oehms), restore the ten measures.  They are described below and add about 40 seconds.  They would be mm. 1129-1138, and if they are included, ten measures must be added from m. 1129 (as described above) to the end of the main section, for a total of 1154 measures.  The material is largely new, and Rinaldo reaches a high B-flat, which may have induced Brahms to consider making the cut.

[mm. 1129-1138 in first edition]--The first tenors and first basses enter, overlapping Rinaldo’s arrival with a new lilting phrase in C major, in harmonies of thirds and sixths.  They are accompanied by woodwinds (except flutes), horns, and violas, which are marked dolce.  They sing their third, fourth, and fifth lines, repeating “günstigste.”  The phrase moves toward G major at the end.  Rinaldo responds with his version of the lilting phrase, also using his last three lines, repeating “unseliger.”  He is accompanied and harmonized by strings and flutes.  He moves to E minor, and closes there with an arrival colored by a suggestion of the “Phrygian ” mode.  The reduced choir once again intones the third line in C major, repeating “zu kommen.”  Finally, Rinaldo responds in F minor with his third and fifth lines, leaping to a high B-flat on a syncopated descent over “unseliger.”  That word is repeated in a longer motion to C minor, where the cadence is overlapped by the entry of the full choir in C major (as at m. 1129 above, which in this version would be m. 1139).

---

FINAL CHORUS: “Auf dem Meere” (“On the Sea”).  Allegro; Un poco tranquillo; Vivace non troppo.  Chorus in double binary form (ABA’B’) with double coda.  E-FLAT MAJOR, Cut time [2/2] and 2/4 time.

German Text: Chor Segel schwellen. Grüne Wellen, Weiße Schäume! Seht die grünen Weiten Räume Von Delphinen Rasch durchschwommen! Einer nach dem andern (Brahms: Einige und Andre) Wie sie kommen! Wie sie schweben! Wie sie eilen! Wie sie streben! Und verweilen So beweglich, So verträglich! Zu zweien (Brahms: Einige and Andre) Das erfrischet Und verwischet Das Vergangne Dir begegnet Das gesegnet Angefangne. Rinaldo Das erfrischet Und verwischet Das Vergangne. Mir begegnet Das gesegnet Angefangne. (Wiederholt zu dreien) Alle Wunderbar sind wir gekommen, Wunderbar zurück geschwommen, Unser großes Ziel ist da! Schalle zu dem heil’gen Strande Losung dem gelobten Lande: Godofred und Solyma!	English Text (Metcalfe): Chorus (On the Sea) Sails are swelling Us impelling Homeward roaming; Through the billows, Sparkling foaming, As o’er pillows, Dolphins sporting. One after another (Brahms: Some and Others) Hither darting, Here now heaving, On they hurry, Blue waves cleaving; Then they tarry, Where they glanced, All entranced. Some (Semi-chorus) (Goethe: A pair [of soloists?]) He that grieved Is relieved: Past all sorrow, All forgotten, Joy begotten Of new morrow. Rinaldo He that grieved Is relieved: Past all sorrow, All forgotten, Joy begotten Of new morrow. (Goethe: Repeated as a group of three) All Wonderful, our glad returning, Wonderful, good fortune earning: Our blest goal we reach this day! Set the sacred shore a-ringing, Signal to the glad land bringing, Godofried and Solyma!
English Text (Evans): Chorus Sailing, sailing, Ocean hailing! Wavelets green! White the spray! Here are seen Dolphins gay Swiftly running! One after the other See them coming! See them gliding! Nothing fearing. See them hiding, Now careering All so madly, Yet so gladly! For two Joy renewing, In thus viewing Conquered sorrow; On thee tending, Blessed sending, Waits the morrow. Rinaldo Joy renewing, In thus viewing Conquered sorrow; On me tending, Blessed sending, Waits the morrow. (Repeated for three) Chorus Grandly o’er the waves we’ve travelled, Grandly all our cares unravelled, Trials to our goal have led. Shout unto the blessed strand, Signal to the Holy Land, Solyma and Godofred!	English Text (Cochrane): Final Chorus (On the high seas) Swelling sail, green waves! White spume! See the broad green expanses skimmed swiftly through by dolphins. Semi-chorus How they come! How they hover! How they hasten! How they strive! And linger, so nimble in movement, and so sociable! Semi-chorus It refreshes and blots out what is past. You meet with blessed beginning. Rinaldo (with semi-chorus) It refreshes and blots out what is past. I meet with blessed beginning. All Marvellously have we come, marvellously sailed back. We have reached our great goal! Let the battle-cry of the Promised Land ring out to the sacred shore: Godfrey and Solyma!

Bowring did not translate the final chorus.  “Godofred”=Godfrey of Bouillon.  “Solyma”=Jerusalem

Measures are numbered separately for the final chorus.  There are musical, practical, and dramatic reasons for the break.  Brahms composed the chorus significantly later than the rest of the cantata.  In some Goethe sources (such as Bowring), it is not included with the rest of the text.  The dramatic action has a different physical and temporal setting from the main portion.  Brahms closed the main portion in C major, not the cantata’s opening key of E-flat.  The final chorus returns to E-flat, rounding the work tonally.  In this recording, it is split between two tracks.  I continue to provide a running total time for the cantata.
TRACK 11
A Section
0:00 (32:55) [m. 1]--The opening of the chorus uses extended repetition of the first two lines, presented in three waves and three different keys.  The home key of E-flat is not definitively reached until measure 43.  At the beginning, the violins and violas establish their pulse of repeated octaves (or sixths) in quarter-note triplets.  The first beat is punctuated by a wind chord.  The key is F minor.  First tenors enthusiastically sing out the first two lines, rising high on arpeggios and supported by horns.  As they finish “Wellen,” the other three parts enter below them on arching arpeggios, supported by winds.  The first tenors re-enter for a reiteration of “grüne Wellen” to complete the phrase.  The second parts also repeat “grüne.”  At the end of the statement, the pulsations move while the low strings and winds shift the key from F minor to C minor.
0:10 (33:05) [m. 10]--A second wave begins in C minor.  This time, the first basses lead, beginning their rising arpeggio as the first wave concludes.  The other parts follow.  The presentation and repetition are similar, but the key shift at the end is of a different nature.  Instead of a “dominant”-type motion, the low strings and winds (which include a prominent trumpet entry, this time with timpani) move down a step, to B-flat major.
0:18 (33:12) [m. 18]--The third wave in B-flat major is more extended.  As in the second, first basses are now the leading voice.  This time, however, the second tenors follow them in a brief imitation before the two outer parts come in on the arching arpeggios.  This also results in more text repetition in the first basses, who add “grüne, grüne Wellen.”  The second tenors, finishing early because of their early entry, begin yet another statement as the other three parts sing “Wellen.”  The other three parts immediately follow, and the second tenors only reiterate “grüne.”  In this wave, the punctuating figure from low strings, brass, and timpani is heard twice, and the upper string pulsations are more active.  There are also minor-key inflections and hints of B-flat functioning as a preparation for the home key of E-flat.  But all the voice parts and instruments come to a close on B-flat major as the pulsations move to a lower octave.
0:28 (33:22) [m. 29]--Suddenly receding, the second tenors and second basses move up by half-step, somewhat ominously.  They are followed by the two first parts, and rapidly swell.  The triplet rhythm of the pulsations is now heard in rising woodwind arpeggios and timpani beats.  The trombones make their first entry.  All four parts finish “Segel schwellen” together, then briefly pause.  The rising arpeggio is heard in the strings, culminating in an almost triumphant long-short rhythm.  The key seems to have moved again to C minor.  Now all choir parts together intone line 2 over the long-short rhythm in the strings and long chords in woodwinds and brass.  Then all parts finally move to the third line, “weiße Schäume,” as the key finally moves toward E-flat, and they hold a long chord at the climax.  The voices and all winds cut off, and the strings plunge downward on a scale in the triplet rhythm.  This scale heralds the arrival of E-flat major.
0:41 (33:35) [m. 43]--All of the preceding music has essentially been an introduction.  With the arrival of E-flat, the choir and orchestra become boisterous in their depiction of the voyage.  Timpani and lower strings establish a thumping reiteration of the arrival with incessant motion from the “dominant” note (B-flat) to the keynote, as if to make it abundantly clear that E-flat is the home key.  The choir sings the first three lines again to this exuberant new music, including two statements of “Segel schwellen.”  The singers begin their interjections halfway through each measure.  The winds play joyous harmonized “horn calls” in triplet rhythm.  On “grüne Wellen,” the first tenors reach a high B-flat for the first time since the opening chorus.  The third line concludes with a trumpet blast, drum roll, and sweeping upward violin scale.
0:49 (33:43) [m. 51]--The sung text ventures beyond the third line for the first time.  All four remaining lines of the stanza are quickly presented by the choir, and the “horn call” triplets are heard in violins as well as winds.  The timpani and low strings continue their thundering reiterations.  The harmony, however, makes an unexpected change to the minor key.  At the mention of the dolphins (“Delphinen”), syncopation is introduced, as is a more triumphant instrumental motion that abandons the triplet-rhythm calls.  The last line, “rasch durchschwommen,” is stated again, with the tenors leading the basses, and the key makes a brighter turn, using E-flat minor to pivot to C-flat major.
0:58 (33:52) [m. 60]--The fourth and fifth lines are sung again, with the tenors leading the basses.  The tenors begin on the upbeat, the basses on the downbeat.  The lines are reiterated for a total of three statements.  The tenors hold their first notes and add an extra reiteration of “seht die grünen,” so the basses are actually ahead of them on the text.  The lines are sung to a bouncy dotted rhythm, mostly remaining in C-flat major, but moving back to E-flat minor at the end.  Strings and woodwinds support the prevailing rhythm.  Trumpets and timpani enter against the last statement.  The basses hold their last “Räume” so that the tenors can catch up.
1:05 (33:59) [m. 67]--Having arrived back at E-flat minor, the last two lines about the dolphins are again sung in a very dramatic setting.  The triplet rhythm is again introduced in violins, violas, and timpani.  The first tenors and first basses also sing this rhythm, resulting in two full statements of the lines against a single statement in longer notes in the second tenors and second basses.  All voice parts come together for a final reiteration of the last line, “rasch durchschwommen,” which reaches a full close on E-flat minor.  The orchestra lingers for a brief postlude, hammering home the cadence on the triplet rhythm before receding to a simple pulse on E-flat.  The volume diminishes in preparation for the B section.
B Section--Un poco tranquillo
1:15 (34:09) [m. 77]--For the stanza expressing the wonder at the sight of the swimming dolphins, Brahms uses his semi-chorus to approximate Goethe’s direction “One after the other.”  More accurately, he uses each half of the choir in alternation, creating a sort of call and response.  The first tenors and first basses of Group 1 begin to sing a lilting melody harmonized in radiant thirds.  As the second line concludes, the second tenors and second basses imitate them.  They are harmonized in sixths, moving out from the first parts.  All strings except cellos provide a steady plucked background.  The divided cellos double and support the voices and are bowed.  The flutes, horns, and timpani play a contrasting, but gentle dolce harmonized counterpoint that uses the almost ever-present triplet rhythm.
1:24 (34:17) [m. 83]--Overlapping with the second parts, the first parts sing the third and fourth lines to a more downward-reaching melody that moves to the “dominant” key, B-flat major.  The first parts sing in sixths.  The second parts, however, again overlapping at the end, diverge not only from the first parts, but from each other in a more active harmony that leads back to the beginning of the melody.  The second tenors sing the two lines faster than the second basses, the latter using their extended text as a bridge to the coming restatement of the melody.  The accompaniment follows the pattern of the first two lines.
1:32 (34:26) [m. 89]--The entire sequence is restated with the other half of the choir, Group 2 (Brahms indicates the groupings as “Some” and “Others”).  The first overlapping statements of the first two lines are given as they were before in the voice parts, but the accompaniment is significantly richer.  All violins join the cellos in supporting the voices, leaving the violas and basses as the only plucked strings.  After all woodwinds briefly enter at the bridge, the clarinets continue, playing with flutes, horns, and timpani on the dolce accompaniment with triplet rhythm.
1:41 (34:35) [m. 95]--The third and fourth lines are sung in overlapping statements from Group 2 as they were from Group 1, except that the second basses do not extend their setting of the text and instead move with the second tenors and come to a complete close on B-flat.  The expanded accompaniment pattern continues.
1:51 (34:44) [m. 101]--The remaining three lines of the stanza are given an extremely atmospheric setting.  The woodwinds take over the lilting dolce melody, and the oboes make their first prominent contribution to the stanza, taking the melodic lead.  The key makes a very colorful shift to G-flat major.  The accompanying figures with the triplet rhythm move to the strings, now all plucked. The choir (presumably still Group 2), sings the fifth and sixth lines to long, mildly syncopated harmonies that seem to float.  The sixth line makes another key shift, up another harmonic level to C-flat.  Then the seventh and last line brings everything smoothly back through G-flat to E-flat with a magical modulation and cadence with a yearning extension on “verträglich.”
2:06 (34:59) [m. 111]--Re-transition.  After the beautiful cadence, the lilting melody of the B section is taken over by the first violins.  The winds and timpani move back to the light accompaniment with triplet rhythm, along with the second violins and violas, who take up their bows with the first violins.  The cellos take their bows two bars later, playing a counterpoint to the violin line.  The string basses are still plucked.  Suddenly, the melody begins to expand and build in volume.  The excitement increases, then the violin melody suddenly adopts the triplet rhythm in arching lines and the winds begin to play syncopated chords.  The timpani drop out.  The buildup eventually reaches the F-minor harmony that opened the final chorus, confirmed by a plunging arpeggio in cellos and (now bowed) string basses.
A’ Section
2:26 (35:19) [m. 128]--The pulsing triplet rhythm from the beginning of the final chorus is now heard in the woodwinds as the strings finish their previous motion.  This is a reversal from the opening.  An abbreviated version of the extended presentation of the first two lines as heard at the beginning follows.  The score does not explicitly indicate a return to the full choir here, but it can be reasonably assumed.  As before, the first tenors begin with their high shout in F minor.  But only the second tenors and second basses follow with arpeggios.  They only sing “Segel schwellen” as all strings prematurely make the shift to C minor.  Then the first basses begin their C-minor statement much earlier than before.  The pulsations move to the upper strings.  First tenors and second basses follow with a rising arpeggio on “Segel schwellen.”  The winds now take their turn at a key change, using G major as a new bridge to B-flat.
2:35 (35:28) [m. 137]--This passage corresponds to the B-flat-major wave at 0:18 (33:12) [m. 18], but only reaches an exactly analogous point after three measures.  The first three bars are a detour through G major, where the second tenors begin an extended statement of the lines.  The first basses reiterate “Segel schwllen” after they begin.  The pulsations move back to the winds and the strings pause.  The second tenors are alone for one measure on the word “grüne.”  After that, the key moves to B-flat major and the passage corresponds to the earlier one, with the pulsations moving back to the strings and staying there.  The only textual difference is that the second tenors are singing “Wellen” at that point instead of “schwellen.”  From there, everything follows the pattern, including the new statement led by second tenors (who thus lead both statements here), and the low string/brass/timpani punctuations.
2:45 (35:39) [m. 148]--This passage corresponds closely to 0:28 (33:22) [m. 29], in both the vocal and instrumental parts, but there are some significant differences that change the character, making it more atmospheric and less ominous.  The initial half-step motion in the second parts is eliminated, and they remain static.  B-natural is notated as C-flat, which facilitates a detour to C-flat major before E-flat major arrives.  The second tenors divide here, which they did not do before, creating a five-part texture.  The trombones enter as expected, and the orchestration is very similar, but the first timpani beats in the triplet rhythm are absent because of the new harmonies.  The timpanist only enters on a roll approaching the statement of “Weiße Schäume,” where E-flat arrives.  The plunging triplet scale is heard in woodwinds instead of strings, and the strings add an upward flourish to the arrival, making it even more triumphant.
2:57 (35:51) [m. 160]--The voyage music begins again.  This passage is analogous to 0:41 (33:35) [m. 43].  For now, the voice parts are the same as before, including the first tenor rise to the high B-flat, but the accompaniment is thinner.  The woodwinds are entirely silent, and the “boisterous” accompaniment with the “horn call” triplets is played by the upper strings (who were absent in the previous analogous passage).  The timpani and lower strings have the hammering “dominant”-keynote motion as before.  The horns and trumpets add new fanfare-like support.  The sweeping upward scale at the end is played by the woodwinds, who enter to play it with the drum roll.  It is a third higher than it was before.
3:05 (35:59) [m. 168]--Analogous to 0:49 (33:43) [m. 51].  The vocal and instrumental lines are similar, but the minor key at the outset is G minor rather than E-flat minor.  In an interesting reversal, this makes E-flat major the goal of the pivot, so essentially the G-minor detour brings the music back home instead of the minor version of the home key moving away.  The timpani part is thinner.  In an interesting, subtle change, the vocal bass parts add rising triplet arpeggios at the mention of the dolphins, imitating motion heard in the accompaniment.  They did not do this before.  The first tenors reach to another high B-flat, their last.
3:13 (36:07) [m. 177]--Analogous to 0:58 (33:52) [m. 60], again with significant alterations.  Most importantly, the first of the three “statements” is instrumental.  The tenors again lead the basses on the last two statements.  The textual overlap is not the same as it was before.  The only text repetition in any parts is a reiteration of the first word, “Seht,” so this time the tenors remain ahead of the basses on the text.  This results in the basses being “late” instead of “waiting” for the tenors.  When they reach their last “Räume,” the tenors and the instruments have moved to the next phrase.  The key relationships are the same, and E-flat major now leads back to G minor.  The B’ section will be set in G major, so this prepares for that.  The orchestration is similar, but trombones are now used, while trumpets and timpani do not enter.
3:20 (36:14) [m. 184]--Analogous to 1:05 (33:59) [m. 67].  The setting is in G minor instead of E-flat minor.  The basses are still singing their last “Räume” as the tenors begin the dramatic statement.  The triplet rhythm is present in violins and violas, as before, but the voice parts do not utilize it.  In fact, all parts state the two lines two full times in straight rhythms.  The basses are a measure behind the tenors, so the tenors reiterate “rasch durchschwommen” as the basses reach it the second time.  This last reiteration is broader than it was before.  The wind scoring is slightly different.  Trombones again replace trumpets and timpani.  The pounding triplets at the last “rasch durchschwommen” are present in winds and strings, as before, and the diminishing transitional passage is also almost the same, diminishing to a pulse on G. [End of track: 3:30 (m. 193)]
TRACK 12
B’ Section--G major, Un poco tranquillo.
0:00 (36:24) [m. 194]--Analogous to 1:15 (34:09) [m. 77].  Again, Brahms follows Goethe’s unusual directions in a way.  The stanza “for two” and Rinaldo’s stanza are the same except for one personal pronoun (second vs. first person) and even those words rhyme.  The “some” and “others” semi-chorus setting is again used, but this time Brahms indicates that Rinaldo can sing the first tenor line (ad lib.), and he almost always does this in performance.  In this recording, he sings it alone, with the the first semi-chorus on the other three parts.  In the higher key, the vocal parts follow the analogous passage closely.  The stanza is one line shorter.  Brahms repeats the first line, “Das erfrischet,” instead of setting two lines.  The scoring is different.  All strings are plucked, and the upper strings play the accompaniment with triplet rhythm.  Bassoons double and support Rinaldo and the first basses, clarinets and horn the second parts.
0:08 (36:32) [m. 200]--Analogous to 1:24 (34:17) [m. 83].  Lines 2-3.  The pattern closely follows the analogous passage, with Rinaldo singing the first tenor line and with the new scoring.  Again, the key moves toward the “dominant” (here D major), and the second basses lengthen their text setting as a bridge back.
0:17 (36:41) [m. 206]--Analogous to 1:32 (34:26) [m. 89].  The pattern is repeated with the other semi-chorus, and Rinaldo does not sing.  The repeated first line, “Das erfrischet,” is again sung here.  As before, the accompaniment is richer.  The first parts are supported by oboes and (departing from the rest of the strings and returning to a former role) the cellos.  The cellos continue with the second parts, to which flutes are added to clarinets and horn.  The plucked accompaniment with triplet rhythm continues in the upper strings.
0:26 (36:50) [m. 212]--Analogous to 1:41 (34:35) [m. 95].  The accompaniment pattern continues for the restatement of the second and third lines.  The voice parts reach a close in D major, but the plucked strings bridge back to G for the following passage.
0:35 (36:59) [m. 218]--In some ways, the first setting of the last three lines is analogous to 1:51 (34:44) [m. 101], but the vocal parts follow the usual pattern instead of moving to the floating, syncopated harmonies.  The score is unclear, but it seems that at this point, Rinaldo is again intended to sing with a semi-chorus, although it is possible the full choir (Goethe’s “group of three?”) is intended. In any case, he again sings the first tenor line here on this recording.  The key makes the analogous shift to the corresponding passage in the first B section (to B-flat major, then E-flat).  The accompaniment pattern follows that used from 0:17 (36:41) [m. 206], but now timpani are added to the triplet rhythms of the plucked strings.  The usual alternation between first parts (with Rinaldo) and second parts happens for the fourth and fifth lines.
0:44 (37:07) [m. 224]--Departing from the alternation, Brahms uses all four voice parts here and all of the last three lines.  Overlapping with the conclusion of the second parts, Rinaldo (and/or first tenors) sings the fifth and sixth lines (repeating the fifth).  The first basses, in longer notes, return to the fourth line.  They do not sing the last two lines here.  As the first tenor line reaches the single word of the last line, “Angefangene,” both second parts also join on that word.  The first basses are still finishing “begegnet.”  The accompaniment is slightly adapted.  Cellos continue the doubling/supporting role as they have been doing.  Oboes and clarinets begin the supporting lines, then flutes with bassoons enter as the second parts come in on “Angefangene.”  The key returns to G major.
0:49 (37:13) [m. 227]--The sequence on the last three lines is set again, with a different harmonic structure.  Rinaldo continues to sing on the first tenor line.  It is unclear, again, whether the full choir or the semi-chorus is used here, and if the latter, which of the two groups it is.  The fourth and fifth lines are set similarly, with the same alternation and accompaniment, now in G major with a slight diversion to C major on the fifth line.
0:58 (37:22) [m. 233]--The fifth line, which grammatically belongs with the one-word sixth (“das gesegnet Angefangene” is the subject of the sentence), is paired with it in a new and extended setting after it had been paired with the fourth line (the predicate of the sentence).  The accompaniment follows the established pattern and doubling, but bassoons, horns, and timpani add weight.  Rinaldo (the first tenor line) and the first basses begin.  They are back firmly in G major.  The melody has a more conclusive shape, and the first tenor line (with Rinaldo) has a “turn” figure at the close.  In the usual overlapping statement, the second parts follow.  The second basses are divided here, perhaps indicating that it is the full choir, not a semi-chorus.  The cellos are briefly in three parts.  The second parts veer toward E-flat major, foreshadowing the return of the home key, but quickly move back to G.
1:08 (37:32) [m. 239]--The first parts, with Rinaldo, overlap the seconds again with a full statement, leading to a rich cadence in G major.  The first tenor line is divided.  Rinaldo sings the top part, and the choral first tenors the bottom.  The ending, including the “turn” figure on Rinaldo’s line (with cello and oboe doubling), is stretched out with longer note values, adding an extra measure.  The cadence brings the B’ section to a satisfying conclusion, but it is disrupted by the suddenly stormy onset of the coda.
Part 1 of Coda
1:17 (37:41) [m. 243]--Transition.  The strings suddenly become animated and intense.  The key signature changes back to E-flat, but that key does not definitively arrive.  Instead, G remains in force for most of the transition in a major/minor mix.  The low and high strings pass jagged turn figures and arpeggios back and forth, rapidly building from the serene cadence to an intense climax.  Wind instruments support them with swelling long notes, and a roll from the timpani also intensifies.  At the climax, the strings tumble down in their jagged figuration, moving away from G but not unambiguously to E-flat.
1:22 (37:46) [m. 249]--Brahms boldly calls for double men’s choir in this first part of the coda, but the two “semi-choruses” already used can fill those roles.  Choir 1 enters ecstatically on an E-flat chord with “Wunderbar!”  Choir 2 overlaps with them on the same chord.  The chord is supported by trumpets and trombones.  The woodwinds play an exuberant triplet rhythm reminiscent of the “voyage” music from the A sections.  The strings continue to play passionate arpeggios.  But the bass foundation of the strings, also in the triplet rhythm, is a low D-flat, foreign to E-flat major and suggesting a pull toward A-flat.  After a quick break, the choirs have another alternation on “Wunderbar!” that seems to be shifted to C major.  But again, the harmony is not clear and it could be F major.  Then another quick break.
1:33 (37:58) [m. 261]--Now the double choir completes the two lines beginning with “Wunderbar,” singing both in a real eight-part texture.  The first tenors of choir 1 extend “Wunderbar” while the other parts sing the whole lines.  The setting is very exuberant, and ventures yet again harmonically.  It is in D-flat, coming to a half-close there on both lines.  The first line is in major, and the second is inflected to minor.  Otherwise, all eight parts and the instrumental parts are essentially the same for both lines.  The upper strings continue to play the passionate arpeggios, which merge into upward chromatic scales at the end of each line.  The low strings and the woodwinds again play the “voyage” triplet rhythms, while horns and trombones support the vocal lines.
1:41 (38:05) [m. 269]--For the third line of the last stanza, the choirs make another bold harmonic shift, this time to B major, using A-flat as a pivot and notating it as G-sharp.  They sing the line twice.  The first time, it is in block chords.  The parts of the two choirs join for this statement except for the first basses, who are still separated into two parts.  The upper strings continue their churning motion, now in downward and upward leaps.  The low strings, woodwinds, and trombones support the choral chords.  The second statement is lengthened and again in eight parts.  The second tenors of both choirs and the second basses of choir 1 sing the whole line.  Both first tenor parts and the choir 1 first basses omit the word “großes.”  The basses of choir 2 omit “ist da!”  The first basses repeat “unser” and the second basses “unser großes.”
1:49 (38:13) [m. 278]--The eight parts suddenly come together on a powerful unison statement of “ist da!”  It is a half-step motion from E to F, doubled by woodwinds.  As they hold the F, the strings and brass blast a chord on F that functions as the “dominant” of B-flat, a half-step shift from B.  The double choir then harmonizes on another jubilant shout of “da!”  The chord underneath them, played by all instruments, is a B-flat chord functioning as the “dominant” of E-flat.  The preparation creates an intense sense of anticipation for the final, much-delayed arrival of E-flat.
Part 2 of Coda--Vivace non troppo, 2/4 time.
1:55 (38:18) [m. 282]--Everything is rushed from here to the end in shorter measures.  The arrival of E-flat is heralded by trumpet and horn fanfares against rushing upward strings arpeggios in fast triplet rhythm.  The choir, again united as a single four-part group, quickly sings lines 4 and 5 of the stanza, which rhyme.  Woodwinds provide support to the voices.  Quickly singing these two lines moves the focus to the extended treatment of the distinctive final line that will follow.  A tiny pause and a quick string flourish lead into that final line.
2:01 (38:25) [m. 295]--The last line, “Godofred und Solyma,” is repeated many times to end the chorus and the cantata.  The first two statements are in unison, establishing the long-short rhythm and a basic melodic pattern.  The first unison shout is over block chords, while the second adds rushing string scales in the triplet rhythm.  Horns, trumpets, and then woodwinds add support. 
2:05 (38:29) [m. 303]--After the unison statements, the strings begin a tremolo.  Then second tenors and first basses begin another unison statement, supported by trombones.  As they end, first tenors and second basses enter against them in harmony, as do the rest of the winds and timpani.  From there, all parts sing “Godofred” three times before completing the line.  First tenors and second basses lead the middle parts (who are still in unison).  The outer parts hold their last “Godofred” so that the middle parts can catch up.  The harmony has chromatic inflections toward A-flat and C (as at the “Wunderbar” shouts), but the line quickly and powerfully ends back in E-flat.
2:11 (38:35) [m. 315]--Two more sequences follow over a string tremolo.  In the first, the middle parts, beginning in unison, lead the outer parts.  The middle parts sing the whole line, punctuated at the end by the outer parts shouting “Godofred” in harmony with wind support.  The second is similar, but higher.  The unison tenors lead, and the basses punctuate the end in harmony with “Solyma.”  In these two sequences, the harmony veers from E-flat to E to C.
2:15 (38:39) [m. 323]--At last working toward the final cadence, the outer parts sing a lengthened statement of the line with a repetition of “Solyma.”  At the same time, the middle parts, again in unison, sing it faster twice, the second time repeating “Godofred.”  The middle parts sing a downward chromatic line on their first statement, then help the outer parts to reach a huge cadence in E-flat on the second.  The full orchestra, with continuing string tremolo, supports this grand statement.  A horn/trumpet fanfare with swirling strings punctuates the end of the phrase.
2:21 (38:45) [m. 336]--The choir comes together in one last statement of the full line, stretched out in longer notes.  Swirling triplet-rhythm string arpeggios, continuing fanfares, and drum rolls punctuate this last utterance.  On the last syllable, the first tenors soar to the third of the E-flat chord, G, crowning a tremendous conclusion to the cantata.  The voices cut off before three final orchestral chords.
2:37 (39:01)--END OF FINAL CHORUS [346 mm.] (Total time of final chorus: 6:07)
END OF CANTATA [1490 (or 1500) mm. total]


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