NÄNIE FOR CHORUS AND ORCHESTRA, OP. 82
Recording: Berlin Radio Chorus (Chorus Master: Dietrich Knothe); Berlin Philharmonic, conducted by Claudio Abbado [DG 435 683-2]
 Published 1881.  Dedicated to Councilwoman Henriette Feuerbach.

Brahms’s last two works for chorus and orchestra are one-movement pieces reminiscent of the Alto Rhapsody, Op. 53 and the Schicksalslied (Song of Destiny), Op. 54.  The two are connected both to each other and to the earlier Schicksalslied, both musically and thematically.  For them, Brahms turned to the two great German classical poets.  While the Gesang der Parzen (Song of the Fates), Op. 89, to words of Goethe, takes an even grimmer view of fate than does the Schicksalslied, the Nänie is a more hopeful elegy, almost like a much shorter and secular version of the German Requiem.  It is one of only two settings by Brahms of Friedrich Schiller, the poet whose “Ode to Joy” was set by Beethoven in his Ninth Sympony (the other is the vocal quartet Op. 64, No. 2).  “Nänie” is a Germanized version of the Latin “nenia,” meaning a funeral ode.  Schiller’s words make references to three stories from classical mythology: Orpheus and Eurydice, Venus (Aphrodite) and Adonis, and the death of Achilles, in that order.  Brahms’s setting was a response to the death of his friend, the painter Anselm Feuerbach, at age 50.  Feuerbach’s subjects were often based on Greco-Roman myths.  It is dedicated to the painter’s stepmother.  The piece is exceedingly beautiful, with a lush choral and instrumental sound.  Brahms found Schiller’s long hexameters difficult to set, and typically split the lines into two poetic phrases.  The 6/4 meter of the main sections fits the text well, and the possibility for cross-rhythm, particularly for cadences at the ends of lines, is exploited.  The middle section, beginning with the description of Thetis and the Nereids rising from the sea to mourn Achilles, is in the remote and warm key of F-sharp major, in a slower 4/4 meter.  The return is abbreviated, focusing on the hopeful penultimate line and its last word, “herrlich” (“glorious”).  The orchestration is rather unique.  While Brahms takes full advantage of the harp, which he only used here and in the German Requiem as an orchestral instrument, and pulls in three trombones along with timpani, he curiously omits trumpets.  The oboe is the leading voice in the extended orchestral introduction.

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 (First Edition from Brahms-Institut Lübeck--Note that soprano, alto, and tenor clefs are used in the voice parts.  Includes English text.)
ONLINE SCORE FROM IMSLP (First Edition [monochrome] from Debrecen University, Hungary--see above notes)
ONLINE SCORE FROM IMSLP (From Breitkopf & Härtel Sämtliche Werke)

Nänie (Elegy).  Text by Friedrich von Schiller.  Andante – Più sostenuto – Tempo primo.  Large ternary form with abbreviated return.  D MAJOR, 6/4 and 4/4 time.

German Text:
Auch das Schöne muß sterben! Das Menschen und Götter bezwinget,
Nicht die eherne Brust rührt es des stygischen Zeus.
Einmal nur erweichte die Liebe den Schattenbeherrscher,
Und an der Schwelle noch, streng, rief er zurück sein Geschenk.
Nicht stillt Aphrodite dem schönen Knaben die Wunde,
die in den zierlichen Leib grausam der Eber geritzt.
Nicht erretet den göttlichen Held die unsterbliche Mutter,
Wenn er, am skäischen Tor fallend, sein Schicksal erfüllt.
Aber sie steigt aus dem Meer mit allen Töchtern des Nereus,
Und die Klage hebt an um den verherrlichten Sohn.
Siehe, da weinen die Götter, es weinen die Göttinnin alle,
Daß das Schöne vergeht, daß das Vollkommene stirbt.
Auch ein Klaglied zu sein im Mund der Geliebten, ist Herrlich,
Denn das Gemeine geht klanglos zum Orkus hinab.

English Translation

First Section (A).  Andante, D major, 6/4; Lines 1-8
0:00 [m. 1]--INTRODUCTION.  The principal oboe begins its long, beautiful melody, dolce espressivo, with three descending notes supported by plucked strings, flutes, and horns.  These notes recall Beethoven’s “Lebewohl” (“Farewell”) motive from the Piano Sonata, Op. 81a.  It then begins its yearning, winding line against a responsive counterpoint from the two clarinets in pleasing harmonies.  The melody retains a 6/4 flow with two groups of three beats per measure.  As the melody unfolds, the other woodwinds add support.
0:25 [m. 7]--The violins and violas tentatively enter with descending lines as the oboe melody briefly pauses.  The melody then continues with mild minor-key inflections.  All the woodwinds join in two measures of gently bouncing harmonies that swell briefly in volume.  Plucked string chords add support in the second of these measures.  The oboe, still the leading voice, holds its note over the bar line.  The harmonies are sweetly chromatic.
0:40 [m. 10]--The strings drop out, and the oboe once again becomes intensely lyrical.  The melody now features long half-measure notes followed by yearning, reaching upbeats.  The most prominent counterpoint here is provided by the horns (supported by bassoons), which take the responsive role.  The clarinets also subtly sneak in a response.  After three measures, the oboe continues in its established metric flow while the clarinets, bassoons, and horns add chords in a two-beat cross rhythm.
1:00 [m. 15]--The plucked strings enter again, under another set of gently bouncing woodwind chords.  Twice, a group of bouncing chords becomes more halting in the following measure, with added rests.  The harmonies again are again sweetly chromatic, with a brief hint of G major.
1:17 [m. 19]--The oboe, beginning off the downbeat, begins the closing passage of the introduction with more of the yearning, reaching motion in arpeggios, still supported by the other winds (minus the flutes here).  After two measures, the lower strings (all but violins), take up their bows for an imitative response in unison.  Finally, the trombones make an extremely quiet, but dramatic entrance with chords that build intense anticipation and expectation.  The oboe trails and slows down, its last long notes ending on the leading tone over a plucked low string beat.
1:41 [m. 25]--LINES 1-2.  Brahms makes the most of the opening line’s first half, the exclamation that articulates the poem’s thesis.  The sopranos begin, gently reaching upward before breaking into a winding, reaching motion that subtly begins to resemble the oboe melody from the introduction.  The sopranos are supported by strings, bassoons, and horns in syncopated octaves.  They sing at a constant piano level, with no increase in volume.
1:59 [m. 29]--The altos enter in imitation before the sopranos finish their extended embellishment of the word “sterben,” beginning against a syncopated soprano note held over the bar line  They begin a fifth lower than the sopranos, but the line is similar.  Bassoons and horns drop out, as do the cellos, so only violins and violas accompany here.  The sopranos continue in counterpoint with another statement of the line, beginning on a syncopated upbeat.  Both parts end up moving on another widely embellished statement of “sterben.”
2:16 [m. 33]--The tenors and basses now enter, the basses following the tenors at a distance of a half-bar.  Their imitation is essentially a much closer version of what the sopranos and altos have just sung.  The two female parts then pass shorter interjections of the word “sterben” between themselves three times, with the altos leading.  These interjections are syncopated, beginning on weak beats with held notes.  The volume builds, and clarinets, bassoons, cellos, and basses join in the accompaniment.  Before the basses finish the word “sterben,” the tenors begin another widely reaching statement of the word.  The altos, after the three syncopated interjections of the word, return to the beginning of the line, again on a syncopated upbeat.
2:37 [m. 38]--The repeated statements of the opening exclamation reach their climax.  Oboes, then flutes join the accompaniment.  The sopranos, who have briefly paused, begin their final statement on another syncopated upbeat, forte.  The other voices also reach that level.  The basses, after finally finishing their first statement, launch right into another full one.  The altos, who have already started, add two repetitions of “das Schöne.”  Finally, the tenors do not state the whole line again.  They follow their first long repetition of “sterben” with another one.  Syncopation and leaping octaves now appear in the orchestra.  All four parts come together for a powerful conclusion of “sterben” on the anticipatory “dominant” harmony.
2:49 [m. 41]--The choir, still forte, finally comes together on an upbeat to complete the first line.  Brahms creates a direct enjambment with the entire second line referring to the god of the underworld.  The entire statement is a cappella except for brief lingering horn calls at the outset and again at the end.  While the voices begin together, the men pause, then follow the women.  There is no text repetition in any of the voices, despite their overlap.  At the end, at the reference to the “Stygian Zeus,” there is a regrouping of the 6/4 bar into three groups of two beats (implied 3/2), or hemiola.  The horn calls support this.  As the choir forcefully reaches the word “Zeus” on the “dominant” harmony, the strings: cellos, violas, then first violins, play a softly rising arpeggio as a lead-in to the next passage.
3:15 [m. 47]--LINE 3.  This line is treated like the initial exclamation, with much repetition and overlapping entries.  It is first stated by the basses, beginning piano.  The statement starts with the arpeggio just heard from the strings.  It then begins to wind and reach, as did the melody for the opening exclamation as well as the oboe line from the introduction.  The line, which refers to Orpheus in the underworld, is treated very tenderly.  Clarinets, bassoons, and all strings accompany the basses.
3:33 [m. 51]--The sopranos and altos, in close succession, imitate the bass statement of the line before it fully completes.  The sopranos lead, and their statement is a fifth higher than the alto one, which in turn is exactly the same as the bass statement, but an octave higher.  The soprano statement is on the “dominant” level.  As the women enter, the basses continue their line with a repetition of “den Schattenbeherrscher” that plunges downward.  The accompanying winds are now flute and clarinet.  Finally, the tenors enter shortly after the altos with a descending arpeggio that inverts the opening gesture of the other voices.  Their line pauses after “erweichte die Liebe,” and repeats the word “erweichte.”
3:49 [m. 55]--Here, the volume begins to build while the remaining woodwinds and horns join.  Before the altos finish their full statement of the line, the basses enter again with the words “die Liebe den Schattenbeherrscher,” sung to a line that works upward, then slowly descends on the last word.  The altos immediately follow their statement with a repetition of “den Schattenbeherrscher.  The tenors, who have briefly paused, make a brief entry on “die Liebe.”  Finally, the sopranos, after a longer pause, sing “den Schattenbeherrscher” at the climax.  They are followed by all the other voices on these words, tenors, then altos and basses.  Only the basses do not pause before this last repetition of “den Schattenbeherrscher.”  With this climax comes prominent syncopation in the orchestra, with octave leaps in the violins.
4:06 [m. 59]--LINE 4.  The altos and basses reach the conclusion of the last line on the downbeat, overlapping with the beginning of this line in the sopranos and tenors.  This “mixed” downbeat is a strong “dominant” chord, after which the orchestra drops out for the entire line.  The entries on this line are staggered, and the repetition varies between parts.  All state it forcefully, with the same basic rhythm.  The basses, then the altos, follow the sopranos and tenors.  These latter parts only repeat “der Schwelle.”  The tenors repeat a bit more, “an der Schelle noch,” and the sopranos are the same, but add a second statement of the word “streng.”  The staggered timing and varied repetition allow the two male parts to reach the second part of the line, beginning with “rief,” as the women hold out the word “Schwelle.”
4:18 [m. 62]--The line before now has borne resemblance to the passage at 2:49 [m. 41], but the correspondence becomes more explicit from this point.  The sopranos and altos catch up to the tenors and basses in the last part of the line, as the basses hold a long note over a bar line and the tenors repeat the words “rief er zurück.”  The word “rief” is always set in syncopation, with a stress on a weak beat.  All the voices come together on the last words, “sein Geschenk.”  The line concludes in a very severe manner, with a forceful 3/2 grouping as previously heard at “stygischen Zeus.”  As in the previous passage, the arrival is marked by a softly rising arpeggio as a lead-in, but now it is played by strings and winds.
4:32 [m. 65]--LINE 5.  The rising arpeggio makes a sudden pivot in a dramatic change of key and character.  It veers to the unexpected key of F major, where an instrument vital to the work’s character, the harp, is introduced.  It is paired with clarinets in thirds and plucked strings.  The tenors and basses, with a subtle cross-rhythm, intone the vision of Aphrodite and the wounded Adonis.  They rise with the clarinets, and are overlapped by the sopranos and altos, who imitate their lines directly, doubled by the bassoons.  At this point, the harp moves from block chords to a rippling texture with arpeggios and repeated pedal points.  The soprano/alto imitation follows the tenor/bass pattern exactly until the end, where there is a detour.
4:55 [m. 71]--LINE 6.  The setting of this line has similarities to 2:49 [m. 41] as well as line 4 at 4:06 [m. 59], but whereas those passages were forceful, this one is very gentle and even marked dolce.  All four voices, with a syncopated anticipation from the tenors, tenderly oscillate on the words describing the attack of the boar.  The harp continues its rippling arpeggios, and the woodwinds, led by clarinets, join the oscillation.  The key moves away from F major, first to G and then back toward the “dominant” harmony in the home key of D.  A very similar hemiola to those at the end of the previous passages is used for the last  two words, and as in those passages, it ends on the “dominant” harmony in the home key.
5:08 [m. 74]--LINE 7.  As line 6 is completed, there is a sudden, dramatic buildup and key change, beginning with a timpani roll.  The strings reach upward in figures beginning off the beat.  The key pivots from the “dominant” A-major harmony to the related F-sharp minor.  With a powerful crescendo, the men lead the women in the depiction of Thetis and her inability to save Achilles.  The forceful vocal lines are supported by the winds while the strings continue their off-beat interjections.  The harp now plays full block chords.  The trombones also enter here.  The sopranos and altos trail after the tenors and basses.  With leaping octaves in the violins, there is a brief hint back at the home key of D.
5:25 [m. 79]--LINE 8.  The tenors and basses begin this line on a weak syncopated beat as the sopranos and altos are finishing the previous line.  The women follow closely thereafter.  Most wind instruments briefly drop out.  The strings continue to play leaping figures.  While the tenors and basses leap up and down, adding a reiteration of “wenn er,” the women, in unison, move upward and re-establish F-sharp minor.  All voices come together in a strong syncopation on “fallend.”  This is repeated at a higher level before the completion of the line as the wind instruments re-enter.  The last two words are set to another hemiola like those that ended lines 2, 4, and 6.  At that point, the harmony brightens dramatically to F-sharp major, the key of the middle section.  A timpani roll, then rich harp chords and descending strings mark this arrival.
Second Section (B).  Più sostenuto, F-sharp major, 4/4; Lines 9-12
5:52 [m. 85]--LINE 9.  The change in meter is marked by throbbing timpani beats and harp arpeggios in triplet rhythm, along plucked upper strings in “straight” rhythm.  The voices, supported by woodwinds, rise in a very dramatic unison to describe Thetis and her sisters rising from the sea to mourn Achilles.  At the word “Meer,” the choir breaks into block harmonies and the trombones enter.  The 4/4 meter assists in this more opulent and emphatic presentation.
6:10 [m. 90]--LINE 10.  The characteristic syncopation from the first part is retained here, and all voices use it here.  The sopranos begin, followed by altos and tenors together, then basses.  Still, they do not diverge much, and there is no text repetition.  The plucked arpeggios in the harp and strings continue.  The winds still support the vocal parts, and again the trombones punctuate the end of the line.  The line closes with a strong arrival on the “dominant” harmony in F-sharp major.  The woodwinds, in unison, then play a winding upward arpeggio as a transition into the change of mood for the next lines.  This arpeggio is passed to the strings on the last beat.
6:36 [m. 97]--LINE 11.  Suddenly hushed, the choir intones this most vivid image of Schiller’s poem, that of the weeping gods.  The basses enter a measure after the other voices.  The sopranos have a striking octave leap on “weinen.”  The line is punctuated by brief rising arpeggios from both strings and woodwinds in alternation.  The volume rapidly builds for the second half of the line, and all voices speed up.  The sopranos have another octave leap, and the basses have one on “Götter.”  The words are stretched out differently in the voices, so that the two female parts repeat “die Göttinnen alle,” the tenors only “alle,” and the basses nothing.  The string figures become narrower, and the winds plunge downward.  The key makes a detour to A major, ending on its “dominant” harmony.
7:08 [m. 104]--After the climax and the end of the line, the voices and winds drop out, and the strings alone play a rapidly diminishing transition.  The cellos and basses are in straight rhythm, but the violins and violas are syncopated.  All of them settle into a gentle oscillation.  The key moves back to F-sharp, but it now has a minor flavor.
7:24 [m. 107]--LINE 12.  The clinching line of the lament begins with a hushed a cappella setting.  The interlude ended on the “dominant” of F-sharp minor.  The key now makes a full pivot there, actually changing to C-sharp major.  In that key, and in full harmony, the voices intone the first phrase of the line, reaching a full cadence.
7:34 [m. 109]--As the voices reach their cadence, the low strings and winds enter.  The winds gently descend as the voices begin the completion of the line, still in C-sharp major.  The lower three voices begin a full two measures before the sopranos.  The upper strings subtly join in, and the winds drop out.  There is a great deal of text repetition.  The altos and tenors repeat the entire phrase as the late-entering sopranos finish their first statement.  The tenors omit the initial “daß” in their repetition (the first two words are homophones).  The basses, meanwhile, have a pause when the sopranos enter, then they begin a full repetition, and are in the middle of the word “Vollkommene” as the upper voices reach a cadence.
8:00 [m. 115]--At this cadence, the winds enter again, the basses leap up an octave, and all three upper   voices complete another repetition of “das Vollkommene stirbt,” with the basses simply finishing their full repetition.  Another full cadence on C-sharp major is expected, but as the voices reach “stirbt,” this is dramatically thwarted with an sudden lurch back to F-sharp via a dissonant “diminished seventh” chord.  The trombones mark this striking moment with a forceful entry, then the strings quietly descend in a syncopated arpeggio.
8:18 [m. 119]--LINE 11 REPEATED.  Line 11 is repeated in its entirety to the same lush music used for line 9 at 5:52 [m. 85].  The sopranos have virtually the same line as they did there, but the lower voices are more active, particularly the basses, who have prominent octave leaps on the words for “gods’ and “goddesses.”  This rising line had previously been in unison, and now it is harmonized with dynamic lower parts.  The plucked string arpeggios are also more active, being played in triplet rhythm.  They thus reverse rhythms with the harp, whose previous arpeggios were in triplets and are now replaced by chords and lower notes in straight rhythm.  The timpani beats are again present, but drop out sooner.
8:37 [m. 124]--LINE 12 REPEATED.  This corresponds to the statement of line 10 from 6:10 [m. 90].  The vocal parts match that line through the first phrase.  The reversal of rhythms between plucked strings and harp continues, although the triplet-rhythm strings now play oscillating leaping figures instead of arpeggios.  The second phrase (to the same music that had been used for the second phrase of line 10) is subtly altered, especially in the soprano and bass vocal parts, so that it ends on the home “tonic” harmony in F-sharp major instead of on its “dominant” chord.  The ensuing wind arpeggio, again taken up by the strings at the end, is also altered in pitch.  Instead of leading directly into the mysterious statement of line 11, the arpeggio turns downward in syncopation, as before 8:18 [m. 119], and toward the home key of D.
9:14 [m. 133]--The voices now repeat line 12 for a third time.  The first phrase is mostly a cappella, and mysterious, although the trombones support the beginning.  The tenors and basses, beginning on a syncopated upbeat, are followed closely by altos, then sopranos, but there is no text repetition, only faster declamation in the upper parts with the sopranos omitting the initial “daß.”  While it is chromatic and mysterious, the passage is clearly in the home key of the piece, D major, not the key of the B section.  Another slow, syncopated downward string arpeggio (matching the one before 8:18 [m. 119]) leads back to F-sharp minor, the B section’s key.  It is colored by trombones.
9:37 [m. 137]--This is the quietest, most otherworldly passage in the piece, reserved for the final statement of line 12’s pivotal second phrase.  Other than the trombones, who linger for a measure, it is entirely a cappella and pianissimo.  Although is is in F-sharp major, pointing toward a cadence there, it is extremely chromatic, especially the rising soprano line.  The expected transfigured cadence in F-sharp does not arrive, however.  The last word, “stirbt,” makes a magnificently “deceptive” motion to the home key of D major, juxtaposed exactly with the return of 6/4 meter and the music of the introduction for the third section.
Third Section (A’).  Tempo primo, D major, 6/4; Lines 13-14
10:01 [m. 141]--The last section is introduced by a considerably abbreviated version of the introduction.  The winds, including the leading oboe line, follow the first four measures exactly.  After the plucked string figures that support the opening “Lebewohl” motive, Brahms adds brief rising arpeggios in the cellos that were not present in the original introduction.  After the first four measures, the next four are new and conflate the remainder of the introduction.  At the beginning of these measures, the strings add another plucked “Lebewohl” figure.  The oboe still leads the new lead-in to the choral entry.
10:37 [m. 149]--LINE 13.  The entire line is presented in a similar manner to the first half of line 1, beginning at 1:41 [m. 25].  As they had there, the sopranos present the line alone at first, to the same long-breathed, winding melody.  The accompaniment is different, now being given to woodwinds, with violins joining at the very end of the statement.  The declamation is also altered, as several syllables are now set to the notes that were used originally for the elongated presentation of “sterben.”  This line is a parallel counterpart to line 1 in textual as well as musical ways, providing comfort and reasoning.
10:55 [m. 153]--The other three voices all enter as the sopranos are finishing the pivotal word “herrlich.”  The previous contrapuntal entries are thus also dispensed with in another abbreviation.  The altos enter on the upbeat, followed immediately by tenors and basses.  The altos and tenors, along with the continuing sopranos, simply reiterate “ist herrlich” three times to the winding melody, which now harmonizes the soprano line (the altos adding an extra “herrlich”).  There is some imitation between altos and tenors.  The basses, however, sing the entire line to a transposition of the soprano melody.  Full strings and woodwinds accompany, and the volume rapidly builds to a climax, marked by triumphant chords and a timpani roll.
11:19 [m. 158]--LINE 14.  Brahms does not focus on the rather negative final line, only stating it once in all voices in a subdued manner.  The timpani roll quickly fades, and the voices state the line to a quiet, slowly descending pattern that reflects the “descent” of the text.  All voices state “denn” together, then the women lead the men on the remainder.  Other than a brief trailing string line at the outset, it is a cappella.  The harmonies have minor-key tinges.  At the cadence, the women use a stretched-out cross rhythm similar to those seen before, but the men do not.  The basses finish early, and their return to line 13 overlaps with the last syllable in the other three parts.
11:40 [m. 162]--LINE 13 REPEATED.  Brahms ends with an extended repetition of the hopeful and pivotal penultimate line.  The instrumentation is solemn.  A throbbing timpani pedal point on D begins, supported by trombones, horns, and plucked low strings, which join the timpani (but twice as slowly) in the throbbing pedal point.  The basses begin in quiet solemnity, followed by the altos and tenors.  The two inner voices complete a full statement of the first half (ending with “sein”), but the basses stretch out “Klaglied” and then repeat “ein Klaglied.”  The harmony is mildly chromatic.
12:00 [m. 166]--As the sopranos enter, the altos and tenors finish the first half of the line, and the woodwind instruments make their entry.  The violins are still silent.  The basses finish their own statement of the words while the inner parts repeat the entire text under a long soprano note.  The low strings and timpani continue to thump the pedal point D, and the volume steadily builds.  When the inner parts reach “Klaglied” on their repeated statement, the harmony is a pungently dissonant “diminished seventh” chord, but this quickly resolves.  The upper three parts reach “sein” together, as the basses have ended early.
12:17 [m. 170]--The instruments all suddenly drop out, and the voices erupt into a glorious a cappella peroration on “im Mund der Geliebten,” repeating the words three times in a joyfully swaying motion.  The inner voices enter early on a longer upbeat.  The tenors only repeat “der Geliebten” once, and continue in front of the other parts with “ist herrlich.”  On the third statement, the sopranos reach a jubilant high A and use the familiar 3/2 cross-rhythm.  Then all the voices, with divided basses and trailing tenors, complete the line on a warm, rich “herrlich,” reaching a full D-major cadence.  Horns enter at the end, trailed by oboes in a rising bridge.
12:52 [m. 176]--The final bars are devoted to the word “herrlich.”  The tenors start on a syncopated upbeat, followed by altos and basses, then sopranos.  The tenors, altos, and sopranos sing a descending line in succession.  Plucked strings punctuate the warm and gentle repetitions, and then the harp enters with its own rolled chords, supported by timpani beats.  The active accompaniment is provided by woodwinds.  All voices except sopranos sing the word twice
13:12 [m. 179]--The voices reach an incomplete cadence.  The low strings take their bows and play a slow rising arpeggio, which is then taken by the harp in a faster statement.  The winds now hold long chords.  All four parts sing one last transfigured “herrlich” as the violins finally join the rising arpeggio.  The last chord, in which the sopranos sing on the third, F-sharp, rather than the home “tonic” of D, is punctuated by a harp arpeggio, a timpani roll, and a held chord in all winds and strings.
13:58--END OF WORK [181 mm.] (Runoff after chord ends at 13:45)


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