SCHICKSALSLIED (SONG OF DESTINY) FOR CHORUS AND ORCHESTRA, OP. 54
Recording: Ernst Senff Choir (Chorus Master: Ernst Senff); Berlin Philharmonic, conducted by Claudio Abbado [DG 435 683-2]
 Published 1871.

In the summer of 1868, Brahms visited his friend and fellow composer Albert Dietrich at Willemshaven on the North Sea.  While there, he found a book of poetry by Friedrich Hölderlin and was deeply impressed by “Hyperions Schicksalslied,” which originally appeared in Hölderlin’s novel Hyperion from 1797-99.  The contrast depicted between the celestial existence of the divine beings and the grim reality of the human experience was impossible to resist.  In setting the poem as a succinct one-movement work for chorus and full orchestra, he effectively invented a new genre, smaller than a cantata or choral ballad, a type of dramatic “choral overture.”  Initially, he conceived the piece in a ternary form, with a full return of the opening music and text.  He saw the problems with this, as it would undermine the stark ending of the poem, but felt the musical structure demanded some sort of return.  He abandoned work on the setting and turned to another short vocal work with orchestra, the Alto Rhapsody for soloist and men’s choir, in 1869-70.  The conductor Hermann Levi finally suggested that instead of a full return of the opening “celestial” vocal music, the piece should end with just the orchestral introduction.  This satisfied Brahms, who completed and published the Schicksalslied in 1871, but the result is something most unusual in his output.  The first section of slow material depicting the divine state of being is in the noble, radiant key of E-flat major.  The turbulent and greatly extended second section changes meter and key, to 3/4 and the “relative” C minor.  But when the opening orchestral music comes back in the end, it is not in E-flat, but C major, the key center associated with the fate of humanity.  The message is ambiguous.  By setting this music in C and ending the piece there, was he bringing the divine beings closer to humanity or emphasizing their distance and untouchability?  At any rate, this was one of only three times he ended a discrete piece of music on a different key center from where it began.  The slow movement of the early F-minor piano sonata, Op. 5, and the main portion of the cantata Rinaldo (whose final chorus returns to the initial key) are the others.  The composition is one of his most enduring and popular, not just among his vocal pieces, but his entire output, easily the most frequently performed of the short choral/orchestral works, and among his choral music, only the German Requiem is more well known and beloved.  The later Nänie, Op. 82 and Gesang der Parzen, Op. 89 would follow in its footsteps, both using classical poetry and depicting a contrast between the mortal and the divine.  The latter piece has a particular kinship to the Schicksalslied, and its message is even darker, but it lacks the contrasting textual and musical elements that make the earlier work so profound and thought-provoking.  It is orchestrally conceived throughout, and the use of wind instruments is extremely idiomatic, along with a sensitive deployment of trombones and timpani.  The contrast between the slow, rarefied music of the first section and the passionate second section with its many “diminished” harmonies is extreme.  The “Allegro” includes two full statements of the third stanza, plus a central developmental episode on the first two lines, creating its own small ternary form within the larger structure.  The voices end in hushed despair, leaving the orchestra to provide perhaps not hope, but closure in its recapitulatory epilogue, varied not only by key but also in its colorful reorchestration.  Both short and monumental, the Schicksalslied is a landmark of 19th-century symphonic choral music.

Note: The link to the English translation of the text is from Emily Ezust's site at http://www.lieder.net.  For the most part, the translation is line-by-line, except where the difference between German and English syntax requires slight alterations to the contents of certain lines.  The German text (included here) is also visible in the translation link.

IMSLP WORK PAGE
ONLINE SCORE FROM IMSLP (Second Edition from Sibley Music Library--Note that soprano, alto, and tenor clefs are used in the voice parts.  Includes English text underlay and French translation.)
ONLINE SCORE FROM IMSLP (First Edition Vocal Score [piano reduction] from Brahms-Institut Lübeck--regular vocal clefs)
ONLINE SCORE FROM IMSLP (From Breitkopf & Härtel Sämtliche Werke)

Schicksalslied (Song of Destiny).  Text by Friedrich Hölderlin.  Langsam und sehnsuchtsvoll (Slowly and longingly) – Allegro – Adagio.  Two sections with orchestral introduction and epilogue.  E-FLAT MAJOR--C MINOR/MAJOR, 4/4 and 3/4 time.

 German Text (the staggered placement of lines within the stanzas comes from a primary source):
Ihr wandelt droben im Licht
  Auf weichem Boden, selige Genien!
    Glänzende Götterlüfte
      Rühren euch leicht,
        Wie die Finger der Künstlerin
          Heilige Saiten.

Schicksallos, wie der schlafende
  Säugling, atmen die Himmlischen;
    Keusch bewahrt
      In bescheidener Knospe,
        Blühet ewig
          Ihnen der Geist,
            Und die seligen Augen
              Blicken in stiller
                Ewiger Klarheit.

Doch uns ist gegeben,
  Auf keiner Stätte zu ruh’n;
    Es schwinden, es fallen
      Die leidenden Menschen
        Blindlings von einer
          Stunde zur andern,
            Wie Wasser von Klippe
              Zu Klippe geworfen,
                Jahrlang in’s Ungewisse hinab.

English Translation

First Section.  Langsam und sehnsuchtsvoll, E-flat major, 4/4: Introduction and Stanzas 1-2
INTRODUCTION
0:00 [m. 1]--The violins immediately begin with a yearning (“sehnsuchtsvoll”), expressive line, played in octaves between first and second sections.  Underpinning everything, however, is an ominous constant rhythm in the timpani, with a triplet on the second beat of each measure.  The timpani are played on the keynote E-flat, the “dominant” note B-flat, and D, another note belonging to the “dominant” chord.  The woodwinds offer harmonic support, as do the violas, but the cellos have pulsating notes (doubled by held notes in the basses).  After two upward gestures in four measures, the violins turn down as the harmony moves away from an E-flat bass.  The line then works back up, moving toward the “subdominant” A-flat.
1:01 [m. 11]--The violins reach a high E-flat over A-flat harmony and hold it.  Bassoons pass a harmonized line in triplet rhythm to the clarinets.  The violins then arch downward, leading to a lower held note (B-flat), with similar bassoon/clarinet triplets and then another broad downward arch.  The timpani rhythm is changed, with a rest on the third beat and the triplet on the fourth beat.  The cellos no longer pulsate.  Two gestures using a dotted (long-short) rhythm add violas to the melodic doubling.  The subtly entering horns take up a triplet pulsation on E-flat and pass it to the timpani on B-flat.  A third gesture builds in volume and pitch to a high point on the third beat of a measure, then recedes and descends with woodwind support.
1:32 [m. 17]--The first violins and violas are now doubled on the melodic line.  Two rising gestures are each preceded by an upbeat that anticipates the gestures and jumps down to them.  The second is a third lower, but its upbeat is only a step lower.  The other instruments except the upper woodwinds, who have dropped out, punctuate the first and fourth beats of each measure.  A third upbeat is heard, but instead of another rising gesture, it leads to a downward leap and a short descent.  The first violins are now doubled by bassoon.  There is a general pause on the downbeat of the next measure, then the descent is reiterated a third higher.  This leads to a broad cadence gesture in the strings and a strong arrival on E-flat.
2:08 [m. 23]--At the arrival, the second violins and violas have a mildly syncopated, downward moving harmony while the first violins move to the opening gestures.  The opening timpani pattern also returns.  After the first upward gesture, the flutes and bassoons enter with a gentle descending line, which the violas join after a measure.  Then the second gesture leads to another arrival on a high E-flat in the first violins, who are again doubled an octave below by the second violins.  After this arrival, the timpani pattern changes, removing the triplet, and an arpeggio with a triplet is passed from the cellos to the clarinets.  A similar exchange then happens between the violas and flutes.  This leads to the vocal entry.
STANZA 1
2:39 [m. 29]--Lines 1-2.  The altos alone have the first presentation of the main vocal melody, a gentle sempre dolce rise and fall followed by a leap to a mildly dissonant D-flat for the second line and a descent back to E-flat, all discreetly doubled and shadowed by a horn.  All strings except the cellos (who are holding a low E-flat) drop out.  The flutes and first oboe provide a “heavenly” accompaniment with dolce triplets and pleasing harmonies, descending, rocking, and moving back up, led by the first flute.  The clarinets join at the end of line 1 (using a straight rhythm that clashes with the flute triplets).  The low E-flat in the cellos ends before the second line is sung.  The oboe takes up the triplet before the cadence.
3:03 [m. 34]--The full choir now sings the lines, sempre dolce, with the sopranos on the melody just sung by the altos.  The harmony in the lower parts is mostly note for note, although the altos have a moving, gently rocking eighth-note rhythm against the second line.  The altos and tenors have the colorful chromatic note D-flat before a mild syncopated motion under “Licht,” and the basses arch up and back down broadly under the second line.  The woodwinds all now drop out, and the statement is accompanied by strings, with a “walking” pizzicato motion in the cellos and basses that has many octave leaps.  The strings echo the line 1 melody in a two-bar extension after the vocal cadence.
3:36 [m. 41]--Lines 3-4.  The choir turns strikingly and directly to C major for line 3, which begins unaccompanied with a rising melody.  The woodwinds, now with trumpets, enter at the second measure with radiant long-short-short chords.  With the fourth line, “rühren euch leicht,” solemnity is increased by the entry of the trombones on the long-short-short rhythm.  They are supported by bassoons and pizzicato strings.  The woodwinds then echo the rising melody used for line 3, whereupon line 4 is repeated by the choir with the trombones, who are now joined by horns and timpani along with plucked strings.  This repetition moves back to E-flat major, where the woodwinds again play the harmonized rising melody.
4:02 [m. 47]--The tenors enter early, on the last beat of the measure held into the next one, for another full statement of the two lines.  The other voices join them on the downbeat.  They move to the “dominant” key of B-flat, and the sopranos leap to a high G for a descent on “Götterlüfte.”  The sopranos have an extra anticipatory “rühren” after their faster notes on the descent, but the other voices do not, instead only completing line 3.  The plucked strings continue to accompany.  The flutes, clarinets, and bassoons echo the descent, harmonized in thirds.  Another descent on the full statement of line 4, beginning a third lower, is also echoed by those woodwind instruments.  The harmony remains in the “dominant” B-flat major.
4:26 [m. 52]--Lines 5-6.  The first violins begin a new arching countermelody on the downbeat.  They are bowed, but the other strings continue to be plucked, now playing arpeggiated double and triple stops.  The voices enter on the second beat with line 5, still in B-flat, but the sopranos have the prominent color note D-flat on “Künstlerin.”  The flutes, clarinets, and bassoons continue to provide support.  The sopranos leap up to a syncopated note held over a bar line on line 6 (‘heilige Saiten”), the other voices entering on the downbeat.  The new violin countermelody continues with its arching line, and the key remains B-flat.  The cellos take up their bows and the arching melody as the line is completed.:
4:48 [m. 57]--The words “wie die Finger” are repeated twice beginning with an upbeat.  The sopranos have a rising line on that upbeat, the tenors a descent and the altos and basses a syncopation.  All arrive on the downbeat on “Finger.”  The violin countermelody now becomes the soprano melody and doubles it, the cellos now playing counterpoint on arching lines.  The second repetition of “wie die Finger” reaches higher, introduces a chromatic G-flat and D-flat in the harmony, and shifts the key center up to F major.  The singers complete the line with “die Künstlerin as the violins break away again and soar higher.  Flutes, bassoons, and horns have soft longer notes.  This passage is the first major buildup and crescendo.
5:05 [m. 60]--A forte climax is reached with the arrival on F major for a restatement of the sixth line, “heilige Saiten.”  The sopranos reach up and dramatically descend, supported by the lower voices.  The arching line in the cellos stops, and the accompaniment thins to plucked string chords against long bowed low string notes.  A second descent begins a third lower with a reiteration of “heilige” and diminishes in volume before a drawn-out, extended cadence in F major on “Saiten
5:25 [m. 64]--As the voices reach their cadence, the flutes and oboes play the “heavenly” dolce triplet material that accompanied the first vocal entry of the altos at 2:39 [m. 29] as a horn plays the original vocal melody.  The oboe takes over the leading triplet line from the flute, and then it is passed to the entering clarinet, the bassoons coming in for support.  The clarinet extends a figure with a quarter note held into a turning triplet instead of the continuation heard before with an upward-winding line in triplets.  The clarinet leads the key back to B-flat as the trombones and timpani enter solemnly, the latter with a quiet roll.  The trombones and horns then shift the key back another level to the home key of E-flat for the next stanza.
STANZA 2
5:51 [m. 69]--Lines 1-2.  The setting here is much like the choral presentation at 3:03 [m. 34], especially the first two measures, but the rhythm and declamation are faster, and the phrase is two measures shorter.  It is marked dolce, like the earlier passage, and is accompanied by strings only, including the pizzicato bass with octave leaps.  The colorful D-flat is heard in the altos and tenors at the end of the second measure, but it is not melodically present in the sopranos as it was before.  The voices move together, and the ending has a new upward turn.  The strings echo the last two vocal measures.
6:20 [m. 75]--Lines 3-4.  An abrupt harmonic turn comes with the entry of the trombones and oboes on C major, functioning as a “dominant” in F major.  These instruments recall the rising vocal motion from 3:36 [m. 41].  The voices sing on long notes, including a slow long-short-short pattern.  The remaining winds and brass enter in the second measure with the rising motion in the flutes, and the strings, now all plucked, return in the third.  All quickly move to off-beat punctuation.  As the second line concludes, there is another harmonic turn toward the “subdominant” A-flat major.  The voices begin to swell in volume. 
6:38 [m. 79]--Lines 5-6.  The voices are now unaccompanied, with the sopranos on descents like those at 4:02 [m. 47].  The buildup reaches forte on a repetition of “ewig,” the sopranos reaching to their highest note A-flat.  The tenors sustain the word rather than repeat it.  The harmony moves back to E-flat.  As the voices reach their conclusion, the orchestra re-enters.  A solo flute, doubled by a solo horn, presents the melody heard in the strings at 4:26 [m. 52], now in E-flat major and with bassoon support.  The violas and cellos have a flowing accompaniment in triplets, mostly rising arpeggios.  They are bowed, but the violins still have plucked punctuation.  Oboe and clarinets come in at the end, and the tenors begin line 7 early.
7:06 [m. 85]--Lines 7-9.  After the “premature” tenor entry, the sopranos begin on the melody just heard in horn and flute, beginning a fourth lower but still centered on E-flat.  The basses and altos make staggered entries.  All arrive on “Augen” on the next downbeat except the altos, who are still behind on “seligen.”  The first violins, now bowed, double the sopranos.  The violas join the plucked second violins, leaving the cellos on the arpeggios.  The flute and horn, still in unison, have a more independent line.  In the third measure, they take over the melody, joined by oboe, then clarinet, as the sopranos become static and the altos catch up, omitting “stiller.”  After a quiet vocal cadence, the strings, all bowed, trail for one measure.
7:35 [m. 91]--Now unaccompanied and very quiet, the choir repeats lines 8-9, adding the chromatic inflections of D-flat and the minor-flavored G-flat.  All except the sopranos repeat “blicken” and omit “stiller,” coming together on “ewiger.”  The cadence on “Klarheit” is exquisitely drawn out, with chromatic motion in the lower three voices.  The cellos and basses discreetly enter to underpin the arrival.
8:04 [m. 96]--At the cadence, the orchestra enters with the music from the end of the introduction at 2:08 [m. 23].  There are some subtle but important differences.  The timpani pattern is mostly the same but includes a cadential drop to B-flat and ends a measure earlier.  At the second rising gesture, the woodwinds do not enter, but the trombones do, and the lower strings have a more chromatic descent.  The closing arpeggios are in straight rhythm with no triplets and are passed from the cellos to the violas without woodwinds.  The doubling pattern of the first violins includes octaves and harmonies.
8:35 [m. 102]--Transition.  As the violas reach their closing note, the calm is disturbed by an entry from woodwinds, horns, and trumpets on a quiet but terrifying “diminished” chord.  The trombones take over after a half-measure, supported by an ominous roll on the timpani.  The chord is heard a second time, and the trombones are now joined by clarinets to increase the dark color.  This twofold “diminished” chord serves as the only transition between the calm of the first section and the sudden storminess of the coming “Allegro” section.
Second Section.  Allegro, C minor, 3/4: Stanza 3 - Adagio, C major, 4/4: Epilogue
STANZA 3
8:43 [m. 104]--Lines 1-2.  In C minor, “relative” to E-flat major, the strings powerfully rush forth in 3/4 meter.  In unison with some octave displacement and at first without basses, the violins and violas playing tremolo, they rapidly sweep up and work their way down.  Along the way, the brass instruments punctuate the fourth measure with a “diminished seventh” chord, then repeat it in the sixth, seventh, and eighth measures.  At that point, the voices enter in a forceful unison on an upbeat and sing the first two lines in surging, swaying motion.  The string basses enter to join the swirling strings, and the woodwinds double the unison voices.  After holding out “Stätte,” they sing the color note D-flat and reach a brief pause.
9:02 [m. 122]--Lines 3-4.  The voices are still in unison, singing huge downward leaps on “es schwinden” and “es fallen.”  The strings now arch continually up and down, and the winds, now joined by horns and trombones, accompany the downward leaps with chords, still using the unstable “diminished seventh” sonority.  The voices pause on B-natural at the beginning of line 4, then surge forth with a syncopation over a bar line on a repetition of the word “leidenden.”  The woodwinds and trombones continue to double and harmonize the voices, clashing with them rhythmically on an implied 3/2 measure hemiola against the first “leidenden,” and the strings continue to surge with rising arpeggios before falling.
9:14 [m. 132]--Lines 5-6.  The voices finally break into harmony (of course on a “diminished seventh”) with a fortissimo outburst on “blindlings.”  The strings continue to surge up and down, and the woodwind/brass chord is joined by rolling timpani.  The voices remain in harmony as “blindlings” is repeated and the text continues with swaying motion, supported by the winds, brass, and low strings and suggesting B-flat major.  The color note G-flat is prominent.  The whole text of the lines is then sung again to a similar musical line that moves toward the “dominant” harmony in G minor.
9:29 [m. 146]--Lines 7-8.  A new texture is introduced to illustrate the comparison to water thrown over cliffs.  The voices sing each clipped note before a rest, creating a two-beat pattern that disrupts the 3/4 flow and implies 3/2.  The sopranos leap up and down, supported by the other voices.  The basses have octave leaps.  The orchestra underpins the metric disruption with woodwind chords, timpani beats, and downward leaping eighth note figures in the first violins, supported by violas and string basses.  Only the second violins and cellos maintain the 3/4 flow with detached arching arpeggios.  The soprano leaps gradually move upward chromatically.  The pattern ends on D-major harmony before a full-measure general pause.
9:38 [m. 154]--Line 9.  The voices have another passionate “diminished seventh” outburst with “jahrlang,” supported by woodwinds, brass, and timpani.  The strings move back to tremolo arpeggios.  After the stretched-out “jahrlang,” the voices suddenly quiet down and build again for the rest of the line, “ins Ungewisse hinab.”  The winds and brass drop out here, and the arpeggio is only heard in the cellos, the other strings softly supporting the voices.  The line is completed on another loud “diminished seventh” as the winds, brass, and timpani forcefully enter again, and the string arpeggios surge up and down.
9:50 [m. 165]--The words “ins Ungewisse hinab” are sung again on the same notes, but now stretched out, first by the addition of a full measure rest, during which the basses hold their note, having delayed their motion off the first syllable of “Ungewisse.”  The accompaniment is reduced to strings only, propelled by continuing arpeggios in the cellos.  The statement is stretched out another measure by the lengthening of notes on the word “hinab.”  Instead of ending on the “diminished seventh,” the phrase now concludes again on the “dominant” harmony in G minor.  This harmonic arrival is extended by the strings with two broad motions in the first violins to C-sharp and back to D, the cello arpeggios continuing.
10:04 [m. 178]--The cellos suddenly slow down their motion and begin to arch up and down on quarter notes, subtly shifting the low note D from the first to the last beat of the measure.  After two such arches, the arpeggio, now rising, is passed from violas to second violins to first violins, all sempre pianissimo.  The arpeggio is curious, clearly the “dominant” in G minor, but omitting the note F-sharp, the leading tone, from the harmony based on D.  The arpeggio is passed back to the cellos and finally arrives on pure G minor.  This is passed again up through violas, second violins, and first violins.  A third sequence changes to a “diminished” arpeggio, which leads back to the realm of C minor and its “relative” E-flat major.
10:24 [m. 194]--There is now an extensive developmental section using only lines 1-2.  The strings briefly drop out as the basses enter on an upbeat, singing the melody used for the lines, but extending it.   The woodwinds enter with a decorative line harmonized in thirds (in flutes and oboes).  The tenors now enter in imitation a fourth higher, supported by the entry of the horn on the decorative melody.  The cellos and first violins enter, the cellos sustaining long notes and the violins doubling the flute on descending arpeggios.  Finally, the altos, then the sopranos enter, beginning with “auf keiner.”  The basses sing “keiner” three times, the tenors twice.  The chromatic harmony has moved from C minor/E-flat major toward F major.
10:38 [m. 206]--All voices arrive together on the word “Stätte” and complete the line with “zu ruhn.”  The motion in all voices has been highly chromatic, but the direction has tended strongly toward F major.  The first violins continue the descending arpeggios, but the flute does not, and harmonies are sustained in clarinets and bassoons.  As the voices arrive on “zu ruhn,” F major is confirmed by another arpeggio sequence moving up from cellos through violas, then second and first violins.  The “sighing” motion on “zu ruhn” is repeated, but now inflected to F minor, as is the reiterated string arpeggio sequence.  A third non-vocal sequence moves to a “diminished” arpeggio.  The flutes subtly enter, sustaining harmony of a third.
10:56 [m. 222]--The altos begin another imitative passage that moves to B-flat minor.  The tenors follow them after two measures.  The woodwinds, first oboes, then flutes and clarinets, have the decorative, gently sighing downward motion harmonized in thirds.  The altos sing the full text with a new, faster descent at the end.  The tenors only finish line 1.  The basses now enter, also only singing line 1.  At the same time, the tenors repeat “doch uns” and stretch out the word “uns.”  The strings now join the woodwinds with the harmonized accompaniment lines, now rising.  Finally, the sopranos enter on a leaping upbeat with “doch uns” and hold it while the altos, who began the passage, reiterate those words.  There is a quick buildup.
11:08 [m. 232]--Suddenly reaching forte, the vocal parts join together, all but the altos reiterating “doch” and all continuing with “uns ist gegeben.”  The sopranos reach high with the melody, and the descent, touching on D-flat major (“relative” to B-flat minor) sounds surprisingly soothing in the environment, but this does note last.  The woodwinds drop out as the voices come together, and they are only supported by strings.  A second reiteration of “uns ist gegeben” remains in D-flat major before quickly sliding home toward C minor.  The lower voices finish this statement after the sopranos, who take a brief pause.
11:20 [m. 241]--All voices sing “auf” on a full measure, and then there is a descending chromatic statement of the full second line like that at 10:38 [m. 206] and the four measures before it.  The difference is that the voices are already together on “auf keiner.  The accompaniment, still strings only, is also static, following the harmony of the voices, without the arpeggios heard before.  The harmony is also at home in C minor, initially with major inflection.  The familiar arpeggio sequence beginning in the cellos does appear as expected, however, first on C major.  The second violins are skipped, the first violins instead entering earlier, and the original first violin continuation is omitted, resulting in a short break in the arpeggios.
11:35 [m. 253]--With the expected reiteration of the “sighing” motion on “zu ruhn,” the change from major to minor occurs, as do the arpeggios.  The second violins are again omitted, but this time the first violins play two measures of arpeggios, including the original second and first violin entries.  There is not a third sequence on a “diminished” arpeggio like there was before.  Instead, after the first violins complete their arpeggio and the voices have dropped out, the cellos and basses very quietly drop down to a low C, the string basses having subtly made their first entry since the passage before 10:04 [m. 178].
11:45 [m. 261]--The voices, now in unison, have two isolated, desolate statements of “doch uns” on a descending half-step, the first one on B-flat and A and the second a fourth higher on E-flat and D.  An arpeggio sequence begins under the second note of each, in violas followed by first violins, continuing for two measures after the voices.  Brahms directs that only two of each should play.  The cellos and basses descend under the first one.  Both arpeggios are “diminished” like the third sequence in the previous passage.  Under the second statement, an ominous and extremely quiet (triple piano) timpani roll begins on D.  It continues after the arpeggio while bassoons and horns enter to support a slow cello/bass descent.
12:00 [m. 273]--Reprise.  Lines 1-2.  The entire “Allegro” section is like a small-scale sonata or ternary form.  The extended treatment of lines 1-2 just heard was like a “development” section.  Here is the “recapitulation,” corresponding to 8:43 [m. 104], but without the initial instrumental measures.  The first word “doch” is set to a full measure instead of a single upbeat, and there is a mighty crescendo from the previous extremely quiet music.  Brahms withholds the full woodwinds to help with the crescendo, bringing in the flutes and clarinets two measures later.  After the full measure note on “doch,” the unison voices, swirling strings, and woodwinds continue as at the beginning of the section.
12:12 [m. 284]--Lines 3-4.  This setting mostly matches 9:02 [m. 122], but timpani rolls are added to the downward leaps on “es schwinden” and “es fallen,” and the horns continue after they had dropped out before, through the hemiola and the end of the line.
12:23 [m. 294]--Lines 5-6.  Here there is a significant deviation from 9:14 [m. 132].  The first outburst of “blindlings” is as it was there, but the string arpeggio breaks at the top and does not turn back down.  The second “blindlings” is at the level it was before, but it does not continue with the rest of the text.  Instead, there is another break, with the upward string arpeggio cutting off.  Only with a third statement of “blindlings” another step lower does the text continue with the swaying motion, and a key center of A-flat minor/major is suggested before a quick turn back to C minor with the usual “diminished” harmonies.  The full line is only sung once, with “andern” and the bridging strings stretched to four measures.
12:35 [m. 306]--Lines 7-8.  Again, the derivation from 9:29 [m. 146] is apparent, but it is much altered.  The voices still have the two-beat patterns, but they are not as strongly supported.  Only the woodwinds, trumpets, and low strings punctuate the two-beat units, there are no timpani beats, and the violins and violas all continue the swirling 3/4 patterns.  The top soprano line is also changed, with the top notes moving by whole step instead of mostly by half-step and remaining static on the second “Klippe.”  The bass voices do not have octave leaps.  The harmony strongly suggests E minor, but “diminished” sonorities undermine it at the end.  The full measure pause follows as it had before.
12:45 [m. 314]--Line 9.  The first statement resembles 9:38 [m. 154].  The loud “diminished seventh” harmony on “jahrlang” is shifted up from its location there, as is the top soprano note.  The arpeggios in violins and violas are now all descending meter-disrupting three-note patterns, the whole texture zigzagging down.  The low strings hold a C.  The violas drop out after the loud outburst, and the violins continue the descending arpeggios as the line is completed, still in tremolo, unlike the previous more subdued cello arpeggios.  The low strings move to B.  There is the expected quick buildup to another loud “diminished seventh” with full orchestra on D-sharp.  The violins and violas plunge down over a low string C and B.
12:58 [m. 325]--The words “ins Ungewisse hinab” are quietly repeated like they were at 9:50 [m. 165], and stretched out similarly, now with the divided tenors and the basses simply holding out the last syllable of “Ungewisse” as the sopranos and altos rest before “hinab.”  All winds and brass are absent, but the churning arpeggios continue in the second violins and violas, the former passing them to the latter, then punctuating the continuing viola murmur.  The cellos hold a long low C to emphasize the keynote, despite the chromatic inflection D-flat leading to C in the sopranos and altos.  The string motion breaks at the end, which it did not do before, and a sustained timpani pulsation on C begins with the last unison vocal C.
13:07 [m. 333]--In a new element, a series of detached rising fourths is heard in various instruments over the continuing “pedal point” low C and drum roll.  These rising fourths, each of which happens over two measures, are like a grim “last trumpet” call.  First, the violas, which were the last active instruments on the churning motion, are doubled by a horn on the notes G-C.  A bassoon then plays E-flat to A-flat, holding the A-flat as the horn drops out and the violas move to F.  An oboe plays C-F, holding the F, the bassoon dropping to D-flat.  Finally, a flute plays A-flat to D-flat, holding the D-flat, the oboe dropping to B-flat.
13:16 [m. 341]--Flute, oboe, and bassoon hold their notes as the sopranos and tenors in unison sing a third statement of “ins Ungewisse hinab,” with a full measure pause before “hinab.”  The foreign “Phrygian” D-flat remains very prominent, the voices rising to that note on “Ungewisse.”  The descent on “hinab” is F to C.  The three wind instruments shift before the vocal pause, creating another “diminished seventh” sonority as the timpani and cellos remain anchored on the low C.  The violas, flute, and oboe drop to C as “hinab” is completed (the bassoon to G), then these instruments cut off, leaving the timpani and cellos.
13:25 [m. 349]--Another sequence of rising fourths follows, this time only threefold.  The “trumpet” call is now played by an actual trumpet on G-C (that instrument’s most prominent moment in the whole piece), doubled by violas (which hold the C) as the bassoon enters with a held G.  The now muted second violins play A-flat to D-flat as the oboe enters on a held A-flat.  The first violins, also muted, play F to B-flat, the flute entering with a high held F.  The bassoon drops to F, then D-flat as the trumpet and violas move down to B-flat and drop out.  The clarinets enter in harmony on B-flat and F.    The oboe falls to G and drops out.  This leaves a briefly sustained harmony of B-flat minor over the continuing C in cellos and timpani.
13:35 [m. 357]--The flute, clarinets, bassoon, and violins shift to a C-major harmony, then all drop out, leaving only the sustained C in cellos and timpani.  The final vocal entry is a fourth statement of “ins Ungewisse hinab,” now in unison altos and basses, a third lower than the soprano/tenor statement.  There is a prominent drop from F to D-flat at the end of “Ungewisse,” before the pause preceding “hinab.”  The second violins and violas (the latter now also muted) enter with a harmonic third on these notes, D-flat and F.  The last sung notes in the entire piece are the “Phrygian” D-flat to C on “hinab.”  Thus, with more than three minutes left, the choir is finished, concluding with a very hushed descending half-step.
13:42 [m. 364]--As the voices conclude, the cellos finally move off the held C, leaving only the rolled timpani to sustain it.  The strings overlap the vocal cadence with a loud arpeggio on a “dominant” chord based on C.  This suggests not C minor, but F minor, which is even more apparent with an added descending half-step, again D-flat to C, after the arpeggio.  The arpeggio with the half-step is twice as fast in violas and cellos, which drop out as the violins (doubled by oboes) complete the slower arpeggio and half-step.  Flutes, clarinets, bassoons, and horns enter with a sustained chord supporting the “dominant” harmony on C.  All drop out except for timpani for two measures.
13:48 [m. 368]--The arpeggio is heard again, now with the “faster” version only in cellos and the slower one in bassoons, oboes, and first violins, with only bassoons playing the first note.  Second violins, violas, and horns sustain the harmony.  The timpani rolled C again continues for two measures alone.  There are then two isolated descents after the downbeat on D-flat and C in the first violins, against a harmony supporting F major in flutes and violas, quickly shifting to F minor on the second descent.  The cellos again enter with the held C against these descents.  The first descent has an upper octave doubling, the second does not.  The timpani roll continues for one measure after this.
13:59 [m. 376]--The flutes shift to a G, then drop out.  The violas move to harmony on C and G.  The cellos break their held C.  In the timpani, the rolled C changes to a throbbing quarter-note beat.  As the violas sustain their open fifth, the first violins and cellos play an isolated plucked C against the second and fourth measures of the ominous quarter-note beats from the timpani.  In this desolate manner, the huge 3/4 “Allegro” section concludes before the highly enigmatic closing 4/4 “Adagio” in C major.
EPILOGUE
14:07 [m. 380]--After the bleak conclusion of the “Allegro,” this epilogue restates the “celestial” 4/4 introduction in full, but Brahms retains the key center, C, of the “Allegro.”  Besides the transposition to C major, the music is scored entirely differently.  The melody previously played by violins is now taken by a solo flute.  The other woodwinds, horns, and trombones provide support, but the trombones drop out after the two rising gestures.  The ominous timpani are absent.  The muted strings have a series of descending arpeggios, constant in second violins and violas, but alternating between first violins and cellos.  These thin out, with syncopated second violins, then speed up to triplets at the upward turn, now toward F major.
14:58 [m. 390]--Corresponds to 1:01 [m. 11].  The timpani have entered with a triplet on the preceding upbeat, and then move to a steady roll on a C.  The scoring here more closely matches the introduction, with the melodic line and descending arches passed from the solo flute to the first violins.  The upward arpeggios in triplets are played by bassoons and clarinets, as they were there.  Trumpets and trombones are added, however, to lend a greater air of solemnity.  String basses enter here for the first time since dropping out at 12:58 [m. 325].   After the first two arching gestures, the cellos join the first violins on the yearning figures with dotted rhythm.  Horns, timpani, and middle strings introduce triplet rhythms in the buildup.
15:32 [m. 396]--Corresponds to 1:32 [m. 17]--After the climax, with the timpani moving to G and back to C, the next passage is much like the introduction, the only major differences being the presence of the trombones on the punctuating chords, the lack of doubling from the violas (the first violins instead playing in octaves), and the absence of the bassoon doubling the violins after the downward leap.  There is an expected strong arrival on C major.
16:08 [m. 402]--Corresponds to 2:08 [m. 23].  The strings are scored like the introduction, and a lighter version of the original timpani pattern returns.  The gentle descending line from the woodwinds is moved to divided second violins.  After the first violins arrive on their final high C, there are no triplet arpeggios in the lower strings.  Instead, they support the C-major harmony.  The arpeggios, in straight rhythm only, are passed from horns to clarinets to flutes.  At the point where the choral altos entered before, all winds and brass join on a solemn and achingly beautiful closing chord, with two last punctuations from trombones, timpani, and lower strings, bringing this amazing gem of the choral/orchestral repertoire to a close.
16:59--END OF WORK [409 mm.]


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