(pub. 1882)

This set continues the collection published as Opera 84-86, and has no particular connections amongst its songs. As with many of the songs of this larger collection, these were composed earlier, in this case 1877-79.

1. Therese. This somewhat uneven song did not please Brahms. He actually submitted revisions just before publication, but later withdrew them. The song is in two parts, the first, where Therese challenges the young boy's questioning looks, is set simply. The second more harmonically and rhythmically interesting section begins as she attempts to distract him by suggesting he listen to her seashell.

2. Feldeinsamkeit (The Loneliness of the Fields). This setting of an individual imagining his own death and merger with the clouds is one of Brahms' most popular songs. Although in a simple modified strophic setting (the music of the second verse had to be subtly altered to fit the words), there is an unusual amount of effective word painting in the music.

3. Nachtwandler (Sleepwalker). This is a mysterious and eerie setting of a warning not to awake sleepwalkers. Brahms uses a typical lullaby texture and rhythm imbued with unusual harmonies to convey the ominous mood of the poem. 4. Über die Heide (On the Heath). A typically Autumnal and regretful song, here the protagonist's anguish is depicted in the harsh dissonances and the vague expression of key center. His echoing footsteps are imitated in the piano's plodding rhythm to powerful effect.

4. Versunken (Drowned). The title actually is metaphorical as the protagonist "drowns" in his pain over love. The swirling waves are depicted in the arpeggiated accompaniment, while the protagonist's pain is less effectively depicted in the sharp contours of the vocal part.

5. Todessehnen (Death Wish). The progression from grief and burden to the wish for a welcome death are closely followed in this sensitive setting. Brahms accomplishes this by beginning with a heavy chordal accompaniment in the minor. This gradual rises in register, eventually introducing the major mode and an arpeggiated accompaniment symbolic of a spiritual union in death.



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2.Feldeinsamkeit

This lovely song by Brahms conjures a moment from childhood or young adulthood most individuals had experienced in the composer's own time. Lying in the grass, observing the myriad elements of nature's display, the feeling that nothing else exists in the moment. Feldeinsamkeit (Field Solitude) is suffused with that magical feeling, expressed in long, flowing lines that suggest a suspension of time even as they slowly, and for the most part, steadily unfold. Suited to a variety of voices, from lyric sopranos to basses who can sing softly, it tests the legato of the finest artists. As with most of the composer's songs, the accompaniment has considerable depth. Unlike Hugo Wolf, who often moved the tonal center above middle C, Brahms seldom abandoned the bass clef for the left hand of his accompaniment. The tonal palette remains rich, rather than spare or angular. The singer, resting in the tall, green grass, muses as he gazes upward, listening to the crickets as the blue heavens enfold him. Clouds float by through the deep blue, like silent dreams. It is as though he had been long dead, rising in bliss with the clouds through endless space. The poem by Hermann Allmers is simple enough and Brahms' song gracefully adds a heightened sense of infinitude. The tempo is marked Langsam (slowly) as the accompanist plays two measures of quarter note chords in the right hand, slightly broken by dotted quarter notes in the left. The effect at such a spacious tempo is of great calm enhanced by a sense of random wonder. The volume is held to piano nearly throughout, except for several slight swells where fullness of feeling encourages the singer to ever so slightly expand the tone. These crescendos and decrescendos are subtle, however, so as to leave the dreamy landscape unruffled. Aside from supporting the text with a faithfulness that would do credit to Wolf (Brahms' nemesis), the accompaniment is one of arresting beauty in itself. The vocal line ranges lazily, magically before coming to rest on a gently voiced turn on the final word "Räume" (space, as in infinitude). The song ends, yet seems to softly echo on.

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