I just came home from a rehearsal (with Jennifer Gill, mezzo-soprano and Janet Coleman, piano) of the Two Songs, Op 91 of Johannes Brahms. What a great gem of the repertoire these two songs are! The two songs are Gestillte Sehnsucht (Satisfied Longing) and Geistliches Wiegenlied (Heavenly Cradle Song).
As a set, they cover polar opposites of love (both lower- and uppercase): earthly or physical love and heavenly or divine Love.
The first song is in ABA (song) form, with the agitated ‘B’ section corresponding to the second verse which refers to the stirrings of the narrator’s physical urges.
The second song is in a modified song form, roughly AAABA, with the gently rocking 6/8 meter giving way to an inexorable 3/4 meter when the verse refers to a fierce, cold wind. In each song, the viola is heard first, performing the introductory role that would normally be taken up by the piano.
In both of the songs, there is much interplay between the two leading voices, with the viola punctuating the beginning and end of each phrase, sometimes commenting on or interacting with the vocal line elsewhere. The piano’s role is relegated to the background, though it provides nearly constant rhythmic tension against both voices. These two songs are fully mature works, written around 1884, in the same highly-prolific period as the Third Symphony, op. 90, the Fourth Symphony, op. 98, the Double Concerto for violin and cello, op. 102, the two String Quintets, opp. 88 & 111, C-minor Piano Trio, op. 101, Clarinet Quintet, op. 115 and the Clarinet Trio, op. 114! All this – works any one of which would by themselves be the magnum opus of any lesser composer – written between 1882 and 1891!
If your interest has been piqued, the three of us will be performing these songs, along with works of Falla, Reynaldo Hahn, and others, on Jennifer Gill’s recital at the Old Church (1422 SW 11th Ave, Portland), Wednesday, March 7th at 7:30 p.m. Admission is $10 at the door.
Gestillte Sehnsucht (Satisfied Longing)
Steeped in a golden evening glow,
how solemnly the forests stand!
In gentle voices the little birds breathe
into the soft fluttering of evening breezes.
What does the wind whisper, and the little birds?
They whisper the world into slumber.You, my desires, that stir
in my heart without rest or peace!
You longings that move my heart,
When will you rest, when will you sleep?
By the whispering of the wind, and of the little birds?
You yearning desires, when will you fall asleep?Alas, when no longer into the golden distance
does my spirit hurry on dream-wings,
when no more on the eternally distant stars
does my longing gaze rest;
Then the wind and the little birds
will whisper away my longing, along with my life.
– Friedrich Rückert (1788-1866); translated by Emily Ezust.
Geistliches Wiegenlied (Heavenly Cradle Song)
You who hover
Around these palms
In night and wind,
You holy angels,
Silence the treetops,
My child is sleeping.You palms of Bethlehem
In the roaring wind,
How can you today
Bluster so angrily!
O roar not so!
Be still, bow
Softly and gently;
Silence the treetops!
My child is sleeping.The child of heaven
Endures the discomfort,
Oh, how tired he has become
Of earthly sorrow.
Oh, now in sleep,
Gently softened,
His pain fades,
Silence the treetops!
My child is sleeping.Fierce cold
Comes rushing,
How shall I cover
The little child’s limbs?
O all you angels,
You winged ones
Wandering in the wind.
Silence the treetops!
My child is sleeping.
– Emanuel von Geibel (1815-1844); translated by Lena and Daniel Platt.