(pub. 1877)

This is the last set in the heterogeneous collection comprising opera 69-71. Unlike Opus 71 all of which were newly composed, this set has two songs, the first and last from the previous year, which were expediently included in this Opus. This is also the most consistently inspired set of the four collections.

1. Alte Liebe (Old Love) is reminiscent of Schumann's song "Sehnsucht der Waldegegend," (Longing for the Woods) Opus 35, Number 5. They are both in G minor, share the same meter, and express similar nostalgic sentiment of an old, half-forgotten love. Brahms' setting pits the slow phrases of the vocal line over a gently undulating accompaniment in the lower register of the piano. This song is imbued with harmonic originality, expressive of the subtle changing emotions of the protagonist.

2. Sommerfäden (Summer Threads). This is a wistful poem that compares gossamer threads caught on shrubbery to the frailty of love. The threads are portrayed in the piano as snaking, twining contrapuntal lines that are complex, yet always transparent. The vocal line of the hapless protagonist seems unrelated, yet intertwined.

3. O kühler Walder (O Cool Forest). Similar in spirit to Number 1, this also depicts the memory of an old love. But here, the tone is despairing rather than nostalgic, as depicted in the heavy repeated chords of the piano.

4. Verzagen (Despair). A forlorn lover sits by the ocean, seeking solace in this tempestuous and virtuosic song. The waves and wind are graphically depicted in the sweeping arpeggios of the piano, while the protagonist's despair is illustrated with rhythmic disruptions and harsh dissonances.

5. Unüberwindlich (Unconquerable). This is Goethe's drinking song comparing women to wine. In an uncharacteristic gesture, Brahms opens the song with a direct quote from Domenico Scarlatti's Sonata in D (Longo 214). He uses this quotation as a motive throughout the song, invoking its style and texture as a humorous bit of word painting associated with the popping of the cork. There are other exaggerated gestures throughout, as in any good comic song, including some comically drawn out octaves between the voice and the piano at each of the several oaths sworn during the song. It ends in properly uproarious fashion.



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