By the release of the Nine Songs, Op. 69, Brahms had distanced himself from the language of the folk song. Some aspects, however, remain in his Five Romances and Songs, Op. 84, such as diatonic melodies, repetition of the last words of a verse, consistent rhythmic patterns and the lack of lengthy piano introductions. Three of the five texts are by Hans Schmidt; the last two are traditional Lower Rhenish poems. Although intended for two singers, the five songs of Op. 84 can be performed by a single soloist; the characters alternate, much as in Schubert's Erlkönig.

Schmidt's "Sommerabend" (Summer Evening) is an exchange between a mother and her daughter. It seems the mother knows that a lover waits outside for the daughter, whom the mother implores to go to sleep. The mother tells the daughter that whoever is outside will cry his eyes wet with the coming dew, but the daughter replies that the moon is out, and the "one for whom its beams shine will soon dry his tears." Only the accompaniment varies among the verses in Brahms' strophic setting, which shifts between D minor and D major to convey the optimism of the daughter and the warnings of the mother.

"Der Kranz" (The Wreath) draws a parallel between a wreath of roses woven by a boy for a girl and the girl's infatuation with the boy. She cannot get the wreath out of her hair or the boy out of her head. Brahms' ternary setting remains in G minor throughout, although the mother's speech, telling the daughter to simply forget about the boy, emphasizes the dominant, D major.

A love-hungry daughter and an overprotective mother are the subjects of "In den Beeren" (Among the Berries). Brahms' modified strophic setting alternates between E flat major and B major.

"Vergebliches Ständchen" (Fruitless Serenade) relates the plight of a man who woos a woman unsuccessfully. The characters alternate verses in A major, although when the man complains about the chill of the night there is a shift to A minor.

In "Spannung" (Tension), accusations of unfaithfulness bring two lovers together. In A minor and strophic ternary form, the first two verses are set to the same music, while the next two move to the dominant. The final two verses return to the music of the first two, closing, as the lovers are reconciled, on A major.

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4.Vergebliches Ständchen

This bemused and amusing song quickly became a favorite with the public in Brahms' own time and has not loosened its grip in the intervening decades. With text drawn from the collection known as the Deutsche Volkslieder, the lyric from the Lower Rhine was designated as a duet by the composer, although it is rarely performed as other than a solo piece today. Vergebliches Ständchen (Unsuccessful Suit) is a humorous dialogue between a young man, described by accompanist Gerald Moore as "a country bumpkin not over-burdened with wit," and his intended, a clever woman several cuts above her suitor's station. Verses one and three are his, verses two and four are hers. "Good evening my dear, my child," he calls. "I'm here since I love you, Ah, open your door to me." She responds, protesting that her door is locked and won't be opened to him. Her mother has given her good advice; if she lets him in, all would be done with her. He calls out again: the night is so cold and the wind so biting, his love will expire. "Open to me, my child," he cries. Her final response is couched in mocking insistence. If his love is about to die, he should go home to bed and rest. "Good night, my lad," she laughingly calls, good night, "mein Knab!" The sprightly, lifting piano cadences that presage the bold suitor's entry establish that both accompanist and listener will be privy to an exchange between two unequal protagonists. Even before the girl replies, the listener learns that this will be no irresistible offer. When the thick-headed man tries to play on her sympathy in the third stanza, the music shifts to minor and the accompanist creates the chilling effect of the icy winds of the suitor's complaint. Likewise, after the slackened tempo for the young lady's sly "Gute Nacht, mein Knab," the repeated "Gute Nachts" are taken up at the original quick tempo, all but splattering the woman's mirth over the defeated, presumptuous caller.

Close attention to Brahms' call for animation and good humor pays dividends here, as does a feeling for sharp attack and rhythmic precision. If the singer is amused, the audience will be, too.

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