December 1, 2014.More of Brahms’s late piano music.In recent months we’ve written about Johannes Brahms’s two sets of piano music, Seven fantasies, op. 116 and Six Piano Pieces, op.118.Today we continue with the middle opus, Three Intermezzos op.117, which Brahms, in a letter to a friend, called “lullabies of my sorrow.”Intermezzos were written in 1892, during the period of great personal loss.As always, we illustrate the pieces withmusic from our library.The pianist in these recordings is Yael Kareth.Yael was born in Jerusalem in 1986.She studied at the Tel Aviv Music Academy and then continued in London with Murray Perahia.She participated in the Itzhak Perlman Project in Israel and the US, the Aspen and Ravinia Festivals, and the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra under Daniel Barenboim.She also performed as a soloist with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under Zubin Mehta.Currently Yael lives in Berlin where she studies with Dmitri Bashkirov and Daniel Barenboim.The article follows.
In contrast to the neighboring opp. 116 and 118, Brahms comprised op. 117 of only three intermezzi.However, these three works are of an unmistakably greater import than the similar works of those two collections (except, of course, the grim E-flat minor Intermezzo).Despite their subdued tone, they carry a weight that could hardly be found within either op. 116 or op. 118, yet together form a fulfilling whole.Continue here.
The outer pieces span complete ternary forms, while the middle piece traces a terse, yet rich, sonata design. They also hearken back to the earlier Ballades in the weight and manner of their discourse, with the first taking its cue from an actual Scots lullaby. The first of the triptych of intermezzi is in E-flat major (here). Heading this gentle Andante is the opening lines of “Lady Anne Bothwell’s Lament,” taken from Johann Herder’s German translation: “Schlaf sanft mein Kind, schlaf sanft und schön! Mich dauert’s sehr, dich weinen sehn” (“Sleep sweetly my child, sleep sweetly and beautifully! It grieves me much to see you weep”). The opening melody, presented in a middle voice and cradled between gently rocking octaves, could not be a more apt fit for Herder’s lyric. After an initial statement, Brahms begins to restate the melody. However, as the harmonies begin to change so does the melody. The cadence in the fourth measure is changed, passing briefly into the key of the dominant, before returning to the tonic of E-flat in the next. Instead of proceeding with the rest of the melody, Brahms presents a varied statement of the melody’s first four measures, which is now accompanied by gently syncopated chords in a 3/4 meter against the melody’s 6/8. Though the rhythmic disturbance evaporates in the next cadence, the music modulates without warning into the key of A-flat minor, and the opening phrase of the melody is the presented in austere octaves. This sudden melancholic passage serves as a transition into the doleful central episode. The minor key is maintained, yet the tempo slackens somewhat. Arpeggios in the low register of the piano accompany a melodic motif cleverly extracted from the second measure of the principal melody. During the course of the episode, the melody’s initial stepwise descent also returns against eerie harmonies that suggest a return to E-flat, but maintain the shadowy hues of the minor by the obstinate presence of D-flat. Four times this head motif returns of which the last once again ever so slightly disturbs the rhythmic feel of the music and inevitably brings about the reprise of the opening section. While the form of the opening is followed, the reprise is varied. The melody first appears in octaves and is passed between hands, as the accompanying chords pass from the resonant low register to the ethereal treble, but then later is embellished modestly with sixteenth notes. Interestingly, the rhythmic disturbance of contrasting meters is, in the reprise, nearly eliminated, appearing only in a single measure before a brief coda. In place of the austere minor statement that presaged the episode, the major key is maintained as Brahms makes use of the melody’s memorable cadential figure to bring the lullaby to a close.
The middle piece, in B-flat minor (here), Brahms referred to as “the lullaby of all my griefs.” It grows out of an arpeggio figure and a distinctive descending second. With the plasticity of such a motif, Brahms finds it easy to stretch and even venture from the initial B-flat minor tonality. A particularly poignant passage comes during the second statement of the principal melody, as the arpeggio motif is used to outline a sequence of dominant seventh harmonies that ultimately lead into the key of the dominant. Perfectly suited for the motif is the sonata form of the piece. From the outline of the principal melody, Brahms creates a secondary lyrical tune in D-flat major. Despite its major tonality, it is stilled imbued with a sense of melancholy. As this secondary idea comes to a close, the music promptly returns to the tonic of B-flat minor and begins to develop the arpeggio motif. The development section, strictly speaking, is brief. It comprises mostly the arpeggio motif against its own inversion, and soon after leads into a lengthy arpeggio on a diminished seventh chord that signals the reprise of the exposition. However, as Brahms was sometimes wont to do, the development overlaps into the recapitulation, essentially fusing the two sections of the sonata form. As the principal melody continues to be developed, it reaches its climax in the key of B major, which Brahms promptly uses as a Neapolitan harmony to return to B-flat. The reprise of the lyrical secondary theme follows over a dominant pedal. Yet, the appearance of the tonic major does little to expel the melancholy of the piece. The music here is uneasy, as the key wavers between B-flat and D-flat despite the pedal point. In the end, neither key wins out, and the music slips dolefully back into the minor for the closing measures.
The final piece continues the darker tone of the B-flat minor Intermezzo (here). Presented in austere octaves and specially marked “molto piano e sotto voce sempre,” the principal theme is of a particularly Brahmsian cut. It winds its way slowly up through the scale only to fall quickly downward, as it subtly feints towards the key of B major, to close with a half cadence in the tonic. Following a restatement of this material and a more definitive cadence into the key of the dominant, a new phrase emerges which by its conclusion begins to alleviate the severity of the monophonic treatment of the theme. Brahms then repeats the entire theme, accompanied now with a richer harmonic background, yet relegated to an inner voice. The previous somberness, however, returns in the latter half of the theme, as it is forced to proceed without adornment. A five-measure passage, marked Poco più lento, presents an elongated and dramatized version of the theme’s opening measures, and brings the first section of the piece to a close on a lengthy fermata. The central episode, on the other hand, is of a different character. Marked to be played Più moto ed espressivo, and with the further direction of dolce, the uneasy theme of this section is displaced across several octaves, while its syncopations create a beautiful harmonic landscape of dusky hues. Curious also is the cadential figure that emerges out of the middle of the texture, and ever so slightly hints at the opening tones of the principal melody. Following the episode, a tenebrous passage forms the transition back to the music of the opening. A ghastly descent through the dominant of C-sharp minor hints at the principal theme. However, it unexpectedly finds itself moving towards the key of B minor, prompting it to start again a tone higher so as to end in the “correct” key of C-sharp. From there, Brahms abandons the initial presentation of the theme in bare octaves, and instead presents the listener with only the harmonically embellished version as a reprise. The same Più lento section also serves as the ending for the piece, but is now further drawn out and harmonized with even more dramatic chords.
Johannes Brahms, op. 117
December 1, 2014. More of Brahms’s late piano music. In recent months we’ve written about Johannes Brahms’s two sets of piano music, Seven fantasies, op. 116 and Six Piano Pieces, op. 118. Today we continue with the middle opus, Three Intermezzos op.117, which Brahms, in a letter to a
friend, called “lullabies of my sorrow.” Intermezzos were written in 1892, during the period of great personal loss. As always, we illustrate the pieces with music from our library. The pianist in these recordings is Yael Kareth. Yael was born in Jerusalem in 1986. She studied at the Tel Aviv Music Academy and then continued in London with Murray Perahia. She participated in the Itzhak Perlman Project in Israel and the US, the Aspen and Ravinia Festivals, and the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra under Daniel Barenboim. She also performed as a soloist with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under Zubin Mehta. Currently Yael lives in Berlin where she studies with Dmitri Bashkirov and Daniel Barenboim. The article follows.
In contrast to the neighboring opp. 116 and 118, Brahms comprised op. 117 of only three intermezzi. However, these three works are of an unmistakably greater import than the similar works of those two collections (except, of course, the grim E-flat minor Intermezzo). Despite their subdued tone, they carry a weight that could hardly be found within either op. 116 or op. 118, yet together form a fulfilling whole. Continue here.
The outer pieces span complete ternary forms, while the middle piece traces a terse, yet rich, sonata design. They also hearken back to the earlier Ballades in the weight and manner of their discourse, with the first taking its cue from an actual Scots lullaby. The first of the triptych of intermezzi is in E-flat major (here). Heading this gentle Andante is the opening lines of “Lady Anne Bothwell’s Lament,” taken from Johann Herder’s German translation: “Schlaf sanft mein Kind, schlaf sanft und schön! Mich dauert’s sehr, dich weinen sehn” (“Sleep sweetly my child, sleep sweetly and beautifully! It grieves me much to see you weep”). The opening melody, presented in a middle voice and cradled between gently rocking octaves, could not be a more apt fit for Herder’s lyric. After an initial statement, Brahms begins to restate the melody. However, as the harmonies begin to change so does the melody. The cadence in the fourth measure is changed, passing briefly into the key of the dominant, before returning to the tonic of E-flat in the next. Instead of proceeding with the rest of the melody, Brahms presents a varied statement of the melody’s first four measures, which is now accompanied by gently syncopated chords in a 3/4 meter against the melody’s 6/8. Though the rhythmic disturbance evaporates in the next cadence, the music modulates without warning into the key of A-flat minor, and the opening phrase of the melody is the presented in austere octaves. This sudden melancholic passage serves as a transition into the doleful central episode. The minor key is maintained, yet the tempo slackens somewhat. Arpeggios in the low register of the piano accompany a melodic motif cleverly extracted from the second measure of the principal melody. During the course of the episode, the melody’s initial stepwise descent also returns against eerie harmonies that suggest a return to E-flat, but maintain the shadowy hues of the minor by the obstinate presence of D-flat. Four times this head motif returns of which the last once again ever so slightly disturbs the rhythmic feel of the music and inevitably brings about the reprise of the opening section. While the form of the opening is followed, the reprise is varied. The melody first appears in octaves and is passed between hands, as the accompanying chords pass from the resonant low register to the ethereal treble, but then later is embellished modestly with sixteenth notes. Interestingly, the rhythmic disturbance of contrasting meters is, in the reprise, nearly eliminated, appearing only in a single measure before a brief coda. In place of the austere minor statement that presaged the episode, the major key is maintained as Brahms makes use of the melody’s memorable cadential figure to bring the lullaby to a close.
The middle piece, in B-flat minor (here), Brahms referred to as “the lullaby of all my griefs.” It grows out of an arpeggio figure and a distinctive descending second. With the plasticity of such a motif, Brahms finds it easy to stretch and even venture from the initial B-flat minor tonality. A particularly poignant passage comes during the second statement of the principal melody, as the arpeggio motif is used to outline a sequence of dominant seventh harmonies that ultimately lead into the key of the dominant. Perfectly suited for the motif is the sonata form of the piece. From the outline of the principal melody, Brahms creates a secondary lyrical tune in D-flat major. Despite its major tonality, it is stilled imbued with a sense of melancholy. As this secondary idea comes to a close, the music promptly returns to the tonic of B-flat minor and begins to develop the arpeggio motif. The development section, strictly speaking, is brief. It comprises mostly the arpeggio motif against its own inversion, and soon after leads into a lengthy arpeggio on a diminished seventh chord that signals the reprise of the exposition. However, as Brahms was sometimes wont to do, the development overlaps into the recapitulation, essentially fusing the two sections of the sonata form. As the principal melody continues to be developed, it reaches its climax in the key of B major, which Brahms promptly uses as a Neapolitan harmony to return to B-flat. The reprise of the lyrical secondary theme follows over a dominant pedal. Yet, the appearance of the tonic major does little to expel the melancholy of the piece. The music here is uneasy, as the key wavers between B-flat and D-flat despite the pedal point. In the end, neither key wins out, and the music slips dolefully back into the minor for the closing measures.
The final piece continues the darker tone of the B-flat minor Intermezzo (here). Presented in austere octaves and specially marked “molto piano e sotto voce sempre,” the principal theme is of a particularly Brahmsian cut. It winds its way slowly up through the scale only to fall quickly downward, as it subtly feints towards the key of B major, to close with a half cadence in the tonic. Following a restatement of this material and a more definitive cadence into the key of the dominant, a new phrase emerges which by its conclusion begins to alleviate the severity of the monophonic treatment of the theme. Brahms then repeats the entire theme, accompanied now with a richer harmonic background, yet relegated to an inner voice. The previous somberness, however, returns in the latter half of the theme, as it is forced to proceed without adornment. A five-measure passage, marked Poco più lento, presents an elongated and dramatized version of the theme’s opening measures, and brings the first section of the piece to a close on a lengthy fermata. The central episode, on the other hand, is of a different character. Marked to be played Più moto ed espressivo, and with the further direction of dolce, the uneasy theme of this section is displaced across several octaves, while its syncopations create a beautiful harmonic landscape of dusky hues. Curious also is the cadential figure that emerges out of the middle of the texture, and ever so slightly hints at the opening tones of the principal melody. Following the episode, a tenebrous passage forms the transition back to the music of the opening. A ghastly descent through the dominant of C-sharp minor hints at the principal theme. However, it unexpectedly finds itself moving towards the key of B minor, prompting it to start again a tone higher so as to end in the “correct” key of C-sharp. From there, Brahms abandons the initial presentation of the theme in bare octaves, and instead presents the listener with only the harmonically embellished version as a reprise. The same Più lento section also serves as the ending for the piece, but is now further drawn out and harmonized with even more dramatic chords.