These songs were Brahms last secular choral works. They represent the mature culmination of the songs, Opus 42 and Opus 62. The poems are all autumnal in content, and the music reflects this in Brahms' typical later style.

1. Nachtwache I (Nightwatch I). This has little to do with the title being basically a love song with the six-part chorus alternating echoed phrases in groups of three.

2. Nachtwache II (Nightwatch II). Here the choir imitates the horns of the night watchman, more in accord with the title, then offers reassurance that all is well before sleep. Although short, this song is one of Brahms' most beautiful and moving compositions.

3. Letztes Glück (Last Happiness) is another beautiful setting, the music in opposition to the gloomy and resigned text. It is very similar in mood and style to Brahms' choral song Number 1 from Opus 42.

4. Verlorene Jugend (Lost Youth). Four stanzas are set alternatively fast and slow, comparing the heedlessness of youth with the inevitable forward rush of time.

5. Im Herbst (In Autumn) is a musical depiction of the fall of leaves and the misty, cold days of Fall. The setting is richly chromatic and in Brahms' typical late style.

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