Beethoven Rarity: 25 Scottish Songs

DAILY DOSE OF BEETHOVEN (September 11, 2020)

Beethoven set many folk songs to music and they are truly a treat. The most striking aspect of these folk song settings is that Beethoven wrote far more of these than any other type of composition, having composed an astounding 179 folk song arrangements, spanning a period of eleven years from 1809 to 1820.

An intriguing feature of these folk song settings is that they are almost entirely in English and consist mainly of Scottish, Welsh and Irish songs. The reason for their existence lies with a Scotsman, George Thomson of Edinburgh (1757-1851). George Thomson, a civil servant by profession, became part of a movement to collect folk songs throughout the British isles in the eighteenth century. Thomson transcribed many melodies on his travels around Great Britain and he also commissioned great poets like Robert Burns and Walter Scott to write new texts for existing folk songs.

Rather than relying on local composers to write the arrangements, Thomson recruited composers with international reputations. He first approached Pleyel, Kozeluch and Haydn, who provided numerous settings. Thomson approached Beethoven in 1803, but did not propose that Beethoven arrange folk song settings for him until 1806, at which time he sent Beethoven a collection of 21 un-texted traditional melodies. Herein lies the beginning of an intriguing collaboration.

Beethoven’s first reply is dated November 1, 1806. It discusses various proposals and shows that Beethoven knew full well that ‘Mr. Haydn was given a British pound for each air’. Ultimately, Thomson paid Beethoven four ducat per song, twice what Haydn was paid initially. However, it was 1809, that Beethoven finally agreed to collaborate, with the first batch of settings – 53 in all – completed in July 1810. Beethoven sent three copies but none reached Thomson until about July 1812, due to the chaos of the Napoleonic war. When it finally did, it appears to have been sent via Malta! Beethoven later sent his works by way of Paris. But the only way to successfully send these consignments was to enlist the aid of smugglers.

Beethoven described his settings as compositions, which suggests that he took the commissions seriously. Responding to one of Thomson’s many requests that he simplify his accompaniments, Beethoven placed the settings implicitly on a level with his other works, when he testily declared:

“I am not accustomed to retouching my compositions; I have never done so, certain of the truth that any partial change alters the character of the composition. I am sorry that you are the loser, but you cannot blame me, since it was up to you to make me better acquainted with the taste of your country and the little facility of your performers.”

The 25 Scottish Songs (or “Twenty-five Scottish songs: for voice, mixed chorus, violin, violoncello and piano, Op.108”) was published in London and Edinburgh in 1818, and in Berlin in 1822. It is the only set among Beethoven's folksong arrangements to be assigned an opus number.

Beethoven’s arrangements for these folk songs are ingenious. The violin and cello parts are designed to be optional, but they are no simple reproduction of the piano part. They are sufficiently independent so as to add interest when used, while detracting nothing when omitted. Another is that the folk settings required Beethoven to work with modal harmonizations in a classical context, sometimes using drone basses which are suggestive of a bagpipe, yielding some strikingly beautiful results. These settings display tremendous energy in the faster settings and haunting expressiveness in the slower ones, combining rich textures and innovative harmonization with delightful variety.

Here’s are the songs:
1-5 https://youtu.be/wsgYUYB-jqM
6-10 https://youtu.be/xSjsYP9DKGg
11-15 https://youtu.be/CK-jkpe08Gc
16-19 https://youtu.be/9qQHWQ8zmTU
23-25 https://youtu.be/MUPbtySnxmg

Brahms’ Handel Variations Part 3

DAILY DOSE OF BEETHOVEN (September 10, 2020)
Variations: The Three B's

Yesterday, we reviewed Brahms' anchoring of his “Handel Variations” in the great works of the past, including Handel, Bach, and Couperin. At the same time, Brahms accepted the challenge of his own era, including Beethoven's monumental “Diabelli Variations”, completed less than 40 years earlier.

From his study of Bach and Handel, Brahms wrote of his discovery of the importance of the bass line in the “Theme and Variations” method:

"In a theme for variations, it is almost only the bass that has any meaning for me. But this is sacred to me, it is the firm foundation on which I then build my stories. What I do with a melody is only playing around ... If I vary only the melody, then I cannot easily be more than clever or graceful, or... deepen a pretty thought. On the given bass, I invent something actually new, I discover new melodies in it, I create."

In recent postings we discussed a bit of Bach's use of the bass line in the “Goldberg Variations.” Brahms' only composition student, Gustav Jenner, explained how Brahms taught that idea:

“A variation of the bass can modify the entire character of a melody more strongly than a variation in this melody itself. Thus Brahms insisted that the variation of the bass line, despite new turns of phrase, must not arbitrarily destroy the character of the original sense of modulation. He quotes Brahms:
‘"Here too, the variation, the development, must proceed from what is already given, if the whole is not to take on the impression of arbitrariness. You must keep your goal fixed before your eyes, and that is only possible when the bass line is firmly established; otherwise you're floating in the air."’

Jenner's "Brahms as Man, Teacher and Artist" is one of the best insights into Brahms' compositional methods that we know of. Brahms told Jenner that composing “Theme and Variations” was one of the best areas for a developing young composer to develop his or her sense of rigor.

Beethoven certainly have figured out this principle of the bass as well. Some variations in both mens' works bear a striking resemblance. Compare Variation 15 of Diabelli, which was one of Beethoven's later insertions into the process, to Brahms’ Variations 7:

Here is Diabelli Variation 15:
https://youtu.be/y65etj9YE9c

Here’s Brahms’ Handel Variations 7, which continues into Variation 8: https://youtu.be/0aqJVKJWrJk

Compare Diabelli Variation 16: https://youtu.be/Lafj5t8yvRw

To Brahms’ Handel Variation 14: https://youtu.be/Be9bXZS3nRM

and the slow march in Brahms’ Handel Variation 9: https://youtu.be/1VylfsOrFDw

to the march in Diabelli 1, which was added later: https://youtu.be/wA1lNYvMIls

But the strongest connection is the great fugue at the end of each of these works, which we will address tomorrow!

Brahms’ Handel Variations Part 2

DAILY DOSE OF BEETHOVEN (September 9, 2020)
Variations: The Three B's

In discussing Brahms’ “Handel Variations”, rather than establishing the logical succession of all 25 variations (there are many theories about it), we will identify those directly referring to music of Bach and Handel's time, and those referring to Beethoven's Diabelli Variations. Today, we will discuss the variations referring to Bach and Handel’s time.

THE ARIA

The Aria, or theme, is note for note from Handel’s own theme, as you heard it played yesterday. Brahms called it the "neutral ground." The aria, and bass line are simple, as are the harmonic progressions. The aria begins by ascending a simple fourth—Bb C D Eb—which will become the basis of the final fugue. It is followed by the F ornaments, such as trills and turns, give it a very vocal quality, and provide much fuel for the subsequent variations. The score for just the Aria is at the end of this post.

VARIATION 6

Variation 6 is a two part canon at the unison, played in octaves (which helps make the canon very clear). The second half begins with two measures of inverted canon. We have recently reviewed how in the “Goldberg Variations”, Bach employed canons at every interval, sometimes in inversion.

Here is variation 27 from the “Goldberg Variations”, a canon at the ninth, in just two voices.

Here is Brahms' Variation 6 also in two voices (though with octaves.)

VARIATION 16

Variation 16 features a canon in the eighth notes:

VARIATION 19

Variation 19 is a Siciliana based on the manner of Francois Couperin. Bach admired Couperin, and Brahms edited his complete keyboard works. First, a Siciliana by Couperin:

Then Variation 19:

VARIATION 22

Variation 22, sometimes called the "music box" is a "Musette." A Musette was a small bagpipe with a soft sound that was popular in the French court during the 18th century. Pieces written to imitate them would be quiet, with a limited range and a drone bass. The middle section of the “Gavotte II” from Bach's “English Suite No. 3”, is a “Musette”. Here we play just that section. It is an ironic transformation of the main Gavotte theme:

Here is variation 22:

Tomorrow we will compare Brahms' work to Beethoven's Diabelli Variations

Brahms’ Handel Variations Part 1

DAILY DOSE OF BEETHOVEN (September 8, 2020)
Variations: The Three B's.

It can be argued that of all of the great “Theme and Variation” compositions in Western history, there are only three that are truly transcendent: The “Goldberg Variations” by Bach, the “Diabelli Variations” by Beethoven, and the “Variations on a Theme by Handel” by Brahms. All three require a deep archeological dig. We’ve done a first level dig of the Bach and the Beethoven. Now let us approach Brahms.

Of all the composers who came after Beethoven, Brahms was the most serious in recognizing the standards he had to live up to. For him, that meant not just Bach and Beethoven, but all of the progress in music that had led up to them. We discussed in a previous post, how Brahms took Bach and Beethoven as bookends for his 4th symphony. Brahm’s “Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, Op. 24”, does something similar, but different.

Brahms recognized that Beethoven's “Diabelli Variations” exemplifies the pinnacle of the “Theme and Variations” form. The magnificent fugue that concludes Brahms' Op. 24 clearly shows that the Diabeli Variations was a great model for him. However, the theme of the variations is not from Bach, from his great contemporary George Frideric Handel, who was much admired by Beethoven.

In the years after Bach and Handel’s death, both genii’s works where buried. Practically no one played them. During Brahms’ life, unknown scores by both Bach and Handel were unearthed. When a new score by Handel was discovered, Brahms made sure to get to it within a few days. When a new score by Bach showed up, all work stopped immediately.

Although we dislike the idea of dissecting music into "periods" such as the "Baroque", Brahms studied all previous music, and the “Handel Variations” address some of Handel's and
Bach's contemporaries. He made changes in his music according to discoveries, not just styles, made over centuries.

Like the Goldberg and Diabelli Variations, Brahms' Handel Variations:

1. Is Gargantuan, of the scale needed for such a transcendental work.

2. Incorporated music history, up until that point.

3. Pushed both piano, and compositional technique to the limits.

4. Ended up, on the other side of a barrier, in a different world.

Brahms composed this work in 1861 at the age of 28, and considered it his best work to date. He had the opportunity to play it once for Richard Wagner, who commented somewhat ambiguously, "One sees what still may be done in the old forms when someone comes along who knows how to use
them" (Wagner rejected the "old forms" as outmoded in favor of his "music drama"'; but he also may have been avoiding them, because of his lack of compositional and pianistic technique.)

Before we plunge into Brahms, we should listen to Handel: not just the theme, but his own variations on it. Brahms' huge task was to advance not just the theme, but Handel's treatment of it. For example, like Handel, Brahms introduces syncopation in the very first variation. (Please ignore the first minute of this video, which comes from another work.)

How does one rise, not just above Handel's theme, but his own magnificent variations on it?

Stay tuned!

Beethoven Rarest of Rarities: His Grandfather

DAILY DOSE OF BEETHOVEN (September 7, 2020)

Today, we present a rare work by Beethoven's grandfather, Lodewijk van Beethoven (1712–1773). Do you hear, in his playful transformation of a Gregorian chant, his grandson's spirit?

Although his grandfather died shortly after his third birthday, Beethoven spoke of him more fondly than he ever did of his father. Sometimes, the moral spirit bypassses parents, and is passed down directly to the grandchild. The only thing Beethoven ever requested to be shipped to him in Vienna from Bonn, was the portrait of his grandfather, which hung on his wall for the rest of his life.

Lodewijk embodied a rich musical tradition. He was born in Malines, Flanders. The Flemish area, like Italy, was a 15th-16th century Renaissance Center. For music, it was the epi-center. This area produced all of the world's great composers during the Renaissance, including those who moved to Italy. The Cathedral schools of Antwerp, Bruges, Cambrai, Liege, Mons, and Ghent - all had magnificent choruses, which educated all of the great Renaissance composers. Ludowijk sang bass at the great cathedral of Liege, which had launched such great choruses centuries earlier. Both the great Flemish painters, and the great composers worked out of the same centers, such as Ghent and Bruges.

His move to Bonn may have been an aspect of building it up as a cultural center. By the time young Beethoven was born, his grandfather was Kapellmeister, and headed musical affairs in Bonn.

Happy Labor Day!

Beethoven Rarities: Cello and Piano Variations on Handel's "Hail the Conquering Hero"

DAILY DOSE OF BEETHOVEN (September 4, 2020)

Beethoven composed nearly 70 sets of variations in his lifetime. From May-July 1796, Beethoven was in Berlin as part of a concert tour. He composed a number of important works while there, including the Cello Sonatas, Op. 5, and the “Variations for cello and piano in G major on ‘See the conqu'ring hero comes’ from Handel's oratorio, ‘Judas Maccabaeus’, WoO 45”. The variations are dedicated to Princess Christiane von Lichnowsky, wife of Prince Karl von Lichnowsky, one of Beethoven's most important patrons in Vienna, in whose home Beethoven lived between 1793 and 1795. It was published in 1797. The inspiration for the theme likely came from Baron Gottfried van Swieten, a champion of the works of both Bach and Handel, and a patron of both Mozart and Beethoven (see July 1, 2020 post).

Joseph Handel, whose work, just like that of Bach, was not much played in Vienna at that time, wrote his Judas Maccabaeus (HWV 63) Oratorio in three acts in 1746. The Orotorio takes place in the period 170–160 BC, when Judea was ruled by the Seleucid Empire which undertook to destroy the Jewish religion. Being ordered to worship Zeus, many Jews obeyed under the threat of persecution. Judas Maccabeus was the son of an elderly priest Mattathias, who defied the order and killed a fellow Jew who was about to offer a pagan sacrifice. Maccabaeus then led a revolt (the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire, 167–160 BC), to purify Judaism from the Helllenistic influence. His last name may mean "The Hammer." Handel’s Orotorio included this great chorus, in celebration of the revolt:

Contemplate the joy reflected in the faces of the singers. Is this the right time to ask you to appreciate the mathematical structural brilliance of the composition? J.S. Bach informed his son, CPE, that he rejected all such dry mathematical formulae. However, what you are witnessing on the faces of the singers is something termed by Georg Cantor as: "The Transfinite."

Transfinite is a mathematical term with a complex definition. It also means "across the finite." Love, and art allow us to bridge centuries, as though in a moment! See it in the musicians' faces! A moment of history from 2,000 years ago, in a piece composed over 200 years ago, brings forth a smile born in the moment—albeit in a very long moment! That is the Transfinite.

For sure, Beethoven reflects this “transfinite” moment in his transformation of the original work into 12 variations for cello and piano. We provide here the great performance of this powerful work by Pablo Casals and Rodolf Serkin.

Prejudices perceiving music as merely emotion may deter some from accepting Beethoven as a philosopher and historian, but we have already begun to establish his credentials in this area! Listen to Beethoven in the same manner as you might read Leibniz or Plato! Hint: It was customary in such variations to compose the 4th variation in the tonic minor. How often is the tonic minor invoked here?

Goldberg Variations, Part 3: The marvelous Variation 30

DAILY DOSE OF BEETHOVEN (September 3, 2020)

Beethoven's penultimate variation on “A Theme by Diabelli” was a contrapuntal tour de force, a massive double fugue. If Bach had continued with a canon every 3 measures, his variation 30 of the “Goldberg Variaions” would have been a canon at the tenth. Instead, he composed a quodlibet.

What, you say, is a quodlibet?

Many of our readers are familiar with the idea of the “Motivfuhrung”—the exploration and developement of an entire composition that flows from a central motif of only a few notes. The great 15th century philosopher Nicholaus of Cusa called this “the unfolding”—or “differentiation”, as from a seed or a germ. He also said we need a concept of “enfolding”—the integration of disparate things into a unity. Brahms did that with four different student songs in his “Academic Festival Overture” (see August 17, 2020 post).

The Quodlibet became popular during the Renaissance. Street festivals could often become threatening, with drunkenness accompanied by lecherous songs that got louder and out of hand. So, during the time of Lorenzo de Medici, Florence addressed the problem by combining several such songs. They were still bawdy, but they made you listen and think, in a way that Francois Rabelais would appreciate. The great composer Heinrich Isaac made a famous quodlibet. It combined three songs, "Donna, di dentro dalla tua casa." (woman, inside your house there is a flower), a good luck song ("Fortuna d'un gran tempo"), and "Dammene un poco di quella mazacrocha" (Give me a little of that cake.)

Here it is: https://youtu.be/2y30mkC5O7k

The Bach family produced many musicians, and they delighted in improvising quolibets. Everyone takes a song, and they figure out how to fit them together. Quodlibets could range from simple to reflecting advanced counterpoint. Such is variation 30. Here are the two songs quoted in that variation, plus the still-present bass line. We provide an audio to help make the process clear.

https://drive.google.com/…/19ymrr3Umb3Cwo_KUUrcPgjJuU…/view…

CONCLUSION:

And so, we see two different yet great composers—Beethoven and Bach, striving for the same goal through two different yet great compositions: not so much for perfection, as for the lessening of our distance from it. We do not get to see perfection in our daily lives: quite the opposite. No work of art achieves Nirvana. But the realization that perfection is a process, rather than a fixed state, affords us a higher delight in the striving.

So far, only one successful attempt has been made to join that exalted company. We shall come to it shortly.

Bach’s Goldberg Variations, Part 2: Bach's contrapuntal mastery

DAILY DOSE OF BEETHOVEN (September 2, 2020)

The Goldberg Variations, BWV 988, was first published in 1741. Consisted of 30 variations, through this work, Bach pushed both keyboard and contrapuntal technique to its limits. Every third variation is a canon at a different interval. (We have colored the first few measures of some of them to help the listener.)

Variation 3 (see picture below) is a canon at the unison. The green is the original voice, and the pink, starting a measure later, is its exact repetition on the same notes.

Variation 6 (see picture below) is a canon on the second. The green is again the original voice, starting on G, but the pink starting a measure later, begins on the note A, which is above G by the interval of a second. It remains strictly a canonic imitation of the opening voice, but always a second higher.

Variation 9 is at the interval of a third, and variation 12 (see picture below) a fourth, but it is inverted. Look closely and you will see that the pink voice begins on D, a fourth below the G of the green voice, but goes in the opposite direction, like a mirror image.

The process continues, with other changes, including the canon at the sixth starting the answering voice half-way through the first measure.

THE BASS LINE

Notice that in two of these diagrams, we have circled 8 bass notes. That bass line—G F# E D B C D G—opens the aria and each variation, although it is sometimes a bit disguised. Bach also decided to compose 14 canons on that bass line. Here is a useful and carefully prepared video showing how it works.

https://youtu.be/6h6AabkLvEE

ITS HISTORY

There is a prevalent myth that this work had been forgotten until Glenn Gould suddenly revived it in 1955, and made a best selling recording. That is not true. The work was well known in Bach's time. In the 20th century, Wanda Landoska commissioned the building of a harpsichord (an instrument that had gone out of existence), and was the first person to record the “Goldberg Variations” in its entirety in 1933. Her student, the great Bach scholar and performer, Rosalyn Tureck, made many breakthroughs in the study of Bach and made her first recording of the “Goldberg” on the piano in 1953. Musicologist Ralph Kirkpatrick recorded it on a much improved harpsichord the same year.

Many serious musicians were astounded when in 1955, the then 22-year-old Glenn Gould, who had never been outside of Canada, after one performance in NYC, was suddenly lauded by the press as "extraordinary—we know of no other pianist like him." Columbia Records made the unprecedented move of offering him a recording contract, and released a press release extolling his eccentricities as a major selling point. Rosalyn Tureck was not happy over the way Gould copied her discoveries in his 1955 recording of the “Goldberg Variations.” She commented:
“He took a great, great deal from me. Playing his records I hear myself playing, because I was the only one in the world who did these embellishments.”

HARLSICHORD or PIANO?

We recommend you listen to both. Bach wrote it for a two manual (keyboard) harpsichord, and specified which variations should be played on one manual, and which on two. This is because different registers can be employed for the two manuals, thus making them sound like almost two different instruments. For example, the cannon at the ninth in Variation 27 is easier to follow on a harpsichord. Listen to Ralph Kirkpatrick:

https://youtu.be/KfoOXj9TuMg

The variation 25 ("The Black Pearl") uses a lute stop to accompany the melody:

https://youtu.be/MjoD-Gf4xSw…

No piano can do that. On the other hand, the piano has expressive qualities the harpsichord does not.

Tomorrow, we will discuss the marvelous Variation 30.

Before Beethoven's Diabelli, there was Bach's Goldberg: Part 1

Daily Dose of Beethoven (September 1, 2020)

In his introduction to Beethoven's “33 Variations on a Theme by Diabelli”, Anton Diabelli himself wrote:

“...all these variations, through the novelty of their ideas, care in working-out, and beauty in the most artful of their transitions, will entitle the work take place beside Sebastian Bach's famous masterpiece in the same form.”

Diabelli was correct. Bach's “Goldberg Variations” was the only predecessor worthy of Beethoven. Bach's and Beethoven's monumental works share several things in common:

1. Both encompass the entire world of music as known.

2. They are both very long, and exhaust the possibilities

3. Both push compositional and keyboard techniques to the limit.

4. The penultimate variation of both is a contrapuntal tour-de force

5. Both composers used the term "Veranderungen" rather than "Variationen", which can mean "Transformations", as well as Variations.

Let us begin with Point No. 1.

Bach was a student of music. He studied not only music of the past, but also contemporary music of every nation. He adopted the best, and rejected the worst of each.

A: Bach admired French keyboard technique as the most advanced, and adapted certain aspects of it in his own way. His Variation 16, half-way through the Goldberg Variations, is entitled "Ouverture". It is clearly modelled on a French Overture, which begins in a slow and stately, perhaps even pompous manner, full of dotted rhythms, trills, and quick runs; followed by a more rapid fugue-like passage.

Here is an example of French keyboard by Jean Baptiste Lully, from the 17th century court of Louis IV:

https://youtu.be/obp7zVNILdo

Bach's Variation 16 follows the pattern:

https://youtu.be/wLf9JfzSwtI

B: Bach followed Italian developments very closely, including how bel-canto singing affected instruments. He composed an organ "Fugue on a Theme of Corelli", and transcribed works of Vivaldi. His son, CPE wrote that his father combined French keyboard technique with the suavity of Italian bel-canto singing.

The Goldberg Variations feature some beautiful representations of the bel-canto voice on the keyboard. Here is a beautiful rendition of the opening aria by the great Bach scholar and performer Rosalyn Turreck:

https://youtu.be/4PSUL_aRGZU

Variation 25 was named by Wanda Landowska "The Black Pearl." Despite the thin sound from her 1933 recording on an inadequate harpsichord, she plays it like an operatic aria:

https://youtu.be/MgbQaPdK2kM

Ask yourself how it compares to this aria from Pergolesi's Stabat Mater:

https://youtu.be/bxAnek62jJ0

Giovanni Battista Pergolesi was an Italian composer best known for the afore mentioned “Stabat Mater” and opera “La serva padrona” (The Maid Turned Mistress). Unfortunately, he passed away in 1736 at the age of 26. Bach, who was not exactly short of ideas, admired Pergolesi enough, that he copied the opening of his Stabat Mater verbatim in his Psalm 51. This was not considered plagiaarism, but a lovng tribute.

Bach: Psalm 51. BWV 1083:
https://youtu.be/DNH-4t-rLnc

Pergolesi: Stabat Mater Opening:
https://youtu.be/pyHb-M3pZGM

Tommorow: Bach's contrapuntal mastery.

Beethoven's Diabelli Variations: Part 5 The Biggest Change

DAILY DOSE of BEETHOVEN (August 31, 2020)

Beethoven's Diabelli Variations: Part 5
The Biggest Change

In Part 4 of the Diabelli series, we saw how Beethoven's 1823 additions to his 1819 draft elevated the work by unifying several variations into a one. The greatest change made by Beethoven's 1823 additions was in variations 29, 30, and 31. All three are in C Minor, and flow well from one to another.

In 1819, the Beethoven presented only Variation 30:

https://youtu.be/zl0QgFinZdE

Now, listen to all three in a row, and hear the sublime beauty. See how much better prepared we are for the transition to the triumphant fugue:

https://youtu.be/YL-CFWZOBmA

Variation 32 is the tremendous double (perhaps triple) fugue, which starts out like a Handel double fugue, but quickly becomes pure Beethoven:

https://youtu.be/5sIBkhOjnxM

If Beethoven had followed the lead of J.S. Bach in his Goldberg Variations, he would have returned to Diabelli's Waltz at the end. In Bach’s case, he was returning to his own extraordinary aria. Yet, for Beethoven to have ended with Diabelli's dance, it would have been like Dante ending his “Commedia” by returning to the Inferno. It was not the right move for Beethoven. However, Beethoven did end the Diabelli Variations with a dance—a Minuet. Why? Was he showing Diabelli what might have been a better starting point?

https://youtu.be/zkb4hsS3y_M

Pianist/musicologist William Kinderman provides many fascinating insights in this lecture, including the resemblance of this Minuet to the “Arietta” of Beethoven's last piano sonata, Op. 111. We include his very useful lecture:

https://youtu.be/wJrHQ9vDWCI

33 Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120–Part 5: 1819 and 1823 Revolutionizing a revolution.

DAILY DOSE of BEETHOVEN (August 28, 2020)

Beethoven's sketchbooks reveal that he completed a draft of 22 variations in 1819, He then set it aside to work on the Missa Solemnis. He only finished the work in 1823 as a set of 33 variations. His later additions show something of how a self-conscious genius transcends himself. He wished for some variations to function as a set, almost a miniature composition in itself. Variations 25-28 function like that. Of them, only variation 27 was present in 1819.

Here it is: https://youtu.be/4Hf5VP9XUzw

It moves very quickly, but the triplet figures in the right hand consist of a rising half-step followed by a third, for the most part. This is based on the first three notes of the left hand in motive "E", and carries it to extreme parody.

Variation 25 says a kind of farewell to the theme as a simple dance, using motive "B" in the right hand, and the little-used motive "D" for the left.

Here it is: https://youtu.be/vIZcR7of2zY

Variation 26 introduces the triplet figure of variation 27, but at a slower pace, and on a triad. So, it paves the way for what is to follow: https://youtu.be/zNRUFfDvUbs

Variation 28 isolates the upwards half-tone of "E", and combines it with its inversion from the right hand, a descending half-tone (all of this is in the charts in part 1), and pushes the idea to extreme parody.

Here it is. https://youtu.be/zl0QgFinZdE

Now please listen to all four in a row, and see if you can hear them as a unit transformation.

https://youtu.be/zl0QgFinZdE

33 Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120 Variations 21-33

DAILY DOSE of BEETHOVEN (August 27, 2020)

We have sampled some of the first 20 of Beethoven's variations on Diabelli's theme. Today, rather than proceed in a linear order, we will examine how Beethoven brings in the entirety of musical history, as the variations become an all-encompassing, universal composition.

1. Mozart
We hear the influence of Mozart everywhere, but the most direct quote is Variation 22, which adjusts the bass motive "C" into an unmistakable reference to the "Notte e giorno faticar" Aria from Mozart's Don Giovanni. In that aria, Leporello insists that he slaves night and day for one who does not appreciate it, and expresses that he does not wish to be a servant. Among other things, this could be Beethoven's gentle remonstrance to Diabelli, who was pressuring him to finish the work.

Here is Leporello's short song:
https://youtu.be/Iom3VYVZiMU

and here is Variation 22:
https://youtu.be/ND0vNUGySSg

2. Cramer:
Beethoven was not above making fun of his contemporaries. J.B. Cramer, like Czerny, wrote mundane finger exercises for pianists.

Here is Cramer's selected Piano Studies Number One:
https://youtu.be/314jTwXFWqk

and here is Variation 23, which appears like a parody of Cramer:
https://youtu.be/uBVp9T0gA1E

3. Bach.
Beethoven, for the first time introduces fugal writing in variation 24, marked “fughetta”. It invokes Bach's organ music.

Here is Bach's BWV 687: "In times of need, i cry unto Thee":
https://youtu.be/Qeyz6MaOU2g

and here is Variation 24:
https://youtu.be/RYN9BDZzCA8

4. Handel: Variation 32, the great double, even triple fugue, starts out like Handel.

Here is Variation 32 of Beethoven:
https://youtu.be/5sIBkhOjnxM

and here is a double fugue by Handel:
https://soundcloud.com/user-216951281/handel-double-fugue

33 Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120 Variations 11-20

DAILY DOSE of BEETHOVEN (August 26, 2020)

Yesterday we sampled some of the first 10 of Beethoven's variations on Diabelli's theme. Today, we sample the next 10.

As you might expect, the variations (or transformations) begin to break away to an even more nonlinear treatment of Diabelli's Waltz.

Variation 12, for the first time, makes use of Motif "D" from Diabelli's Waltz. (Please consult the Motive chart below):

https://youtu.be/fYhTT8VXkec

Variation 13 skips all the intervening notes of "B":

https://youtu.be/fYhTT8VXkec

Variation 20 definitely changes the course of the work. It is slow, and draws out the harmonic implications of Motif "E".

https://youtu.be/5LlRW2k9U1E?list=TLPQMjUwODIwMjD3V7eaNwaSnA

33 Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120Beethoven Pushes Variations on a Theme to its Limits: Part 2

DAILY DOSE of BEETHOVEN (August 25, 2020)

When Dante Alighieri, in his “La Divina Commedia“, told Virgil that he wished to proceed directly to Heaven, Virgil insisted that he must descend into Hell first, and investigate all of its 33 levels, right to the very bottom. Then he must begin the slow ascent, through all 33 levels of Purgatory, before even entering Paradise. Once in Paradise, there are 33 levels to rise above, to reach what Dante calls "The Empyrean"—the highest Heaven of pure light. Without going through that process, "The Empyrean" would be meaningless. How you got there, the voyage, is what counts.

The same goes for the Diabelli Variations (although there is no direct correspondence). Not only would they be meaningless, the final variations could not even exist without their predecessors. We listeners too, have to walk through, at least the bare bones of the entire delightful process. Although the variations do not proceed linearly, there are distinct groupings. So, let us begin with the first ten.

Yesterday we identified 6 motifs, and two inversions. Please review them. In a first approximation, Beethoven often chooses the interplay between two of those motives as the basis of a variation (with assists from others). It gets more complex of course, but it's a starting point (Please, do not let technical capability prevent you from playing one motif at a time, or playing them on another instrument.)

Let's start with Variation 2 (see Pict. 1, since Variation 1 was added later on.) The left hand features motive "B" (Beethoven will make relentless fun of this repetitive chord, first C, then G7th, throughout the work.) The right hand is a sort of variation on motive "A" (The second part of each variation differs in the way that the original waltz does, but we are limiting ourselves to elementary discoveries here.)

https://youtu.be/K-VgMJLoy5o?list=TLPQMjUwODIwMjAmT0EaY6GjCA

Later, Beethoven added Variation I (see Pict. 2 below), for a more dramatic transformation—a march!

Here, the right hand is, once again, based on motive "B", the repeated C major chord. The left hand is a disguised form of motive "C". The notes identified in black ink, are the notes of that motive, C G C. The notes in between are filled in though, so we have C (b a) G (a b) C.

https://youtu.be/TUo8qC9-h08?list=TLPQMjUwODIwMjAmT0EaY6GjCA

There are riches in these first few variations that could occupy one for hours. Professional pianists will be even more amply rewarded.

Before we finish today's post with Variation 9, please listen to variation 10, and see if you can hear how motive "F" is now featured prominently: how he delights in a long trill on a low bass tone E!

https://youtu.be/PKxwGk9WCM0?list=TLPQMjUwODIwMjAmT0EaY6GjCA

Next, variation 9 (see Pict. 3):

The simple turn, identified as motive "A" is relentless in this variation. If you trace out the notes it turns on, you get an implied motive "C" ( C G G C G C, D G D D G D.)

https://youtu.be/9CH7OA3inLM?list=TLPQMjUwODIwMjAmT0EaY6GjCA

33 Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120Beethoven Pushes Variations on a Theme to its Limits: Part 1

DAILY DOSE of BEETHOVEN (August 24, 2020)

Beethoven's Op. 120, the “33 Variations on a Theme by Diabelli”, composed between 1819-23, is one of the most challenging, yet rewarding works we can think of. We will make every effort over the next few days to share its riches with our readers.

In 1819, the music publisher Anton Diabelli sent a short “waltz in C Major” of his own composition, to all of the well-known composers in the Austrian Empire (about 51 composers), asking them each to write a single variation on it. It was a patriotic effort. He planned to publish them in a single volume, whose sales would raise funds for those widowed and orphaned by the Napoleonic Wars. This simple waltz of 32 measures has an “A section” that repeats, and a “B section” that repeats. Here is Diabelli's original:

https://youtu.be/EFDJIcgEPsk?list=PL09CC7D15194A2CF3

Carl Czerny matched it with an even more pedestrian variation:

https://youtu.be/QfhXtqXRBzc

Schubert produced a beautiful score in C Minor:

https://youtu.be/6_vCnoPf-oo

Czerny's pupil, the 11 year-old Franz Liszt demonstrated that he was already on his way to becoming a dazzling showman:

https://youtu.be/ytmUuh4mPB0

Most of these settings followed the outline of the waltz. Beethoven at first declined to participate, and is reported to have labelled it, a "cobbler's patch." Later, he changed his mind, and decided to compose a monumental 33 variations on it, including a triple fugue. Many practical explanations have been made of why Beethoven changed his mind, one worse than the next. We think it is for a philosophical-scientific reason, rather than a practical one.

When scientists wish to test out a new invention, they will exhaust all possibilities, and push a new technology to its limits. That is where you find out its true mettle. When Pilot Chuck Yeager flew the Bell X-1, he did not know whether he or the plane would survive passing the "sound barrier." All the gauges went haywire as he approached the speed of sound. No readings were reliable. It might all fall apart. It did not, and the pilot and the plane entered a new world of supersonic flight.

Beethoven pushed Diabelli's waltz to the limits, and his last few variations do enter the musical equivalent of supersonic flight. Beethoven did not employ the usual term, "Variationen", but "Veränderungen"—which can also mean "transformations." In earlier works, Beethoven adhered to the outline of the theme, as in his Variations on "Nel Cor ni piu mi sento". But with the Diabelli, he did not! It is a new approach. They are transformations according to a different principle.

When Diabelli decided to publish Beethoven's work in 1823, he planned to make it volume 1, and the other variations by 50 other composers volume 2. He wrote about Beethoven having exhausted all possibilities, expressed surprise that his own theme could stand up to such a thorough test, and compared it to Bach's Goldberg Variations:

“We present here to the world Variations of no ordinary type, but a great and important masterpiece worthy to be ranked with the imperishable creations of the old Classics—such a work as only Beethoven, the greatest living representative of true art—only Beethoven, and no other, can produce. The most original structures and ideas, the boldest musical idioms and harmonies are here exhausted; every pianoforte effect based on a solid technique is employed, and this work is the more interesting from the fact that it is elicited from a theme which no one would otherwise have supposed capable of a working-out of that character in which our exalted Master stands alone among his contemporaries. The splendid Fugues, Nos. 24 and 32, will astonish all friends and connoisseurs of serious style, as will Nos. 2, 6, 16, 17, 23, &c. the brilliant pianists; indeed all these variations, through the novelty of their ideas, care in working-out, and beauty in the most artful of their transitions, will entitle the work to a place beside Sebastian Bach's famous masterpiece in the same form. We are proud to have given occasion for this composition, and have, moreover, taken all possible pains with regard to the printing to combine elegance with the utmost accuracy.”

What did Beethoven see in Diabelli's Waltz? Composers often based works on simple folk songs, because honest folk music incorporated lawful harmonic change, and motives capable of being developed, even if the folk artist was not aware of it. Here though, there may be an added element. Diabelli's theme does not really have a melody, except in a cross-voice between the soprano and the bass. That saves Beethoven from having to keep the melody intact!

Instead, Beethoven finds a harmonic foundation, based on the elementary C F and G (and D), which he at first adheres to, but gradually begins to lawfully alter. He also finds several motifs in the waltz. That allows for the variations to break out of the boundaries of melodic integrity, and allows for motivfuhrung, or motivic leading, to shape the development.

We provide two charts (see photos below), which we urge you to study before plunging into the Maelstrom!

1. The score of the Waltz, with leading motifs identified by different colors. If this proves a bit difficult, then we have:

2. A chart showing the main motivic ideas in the waltz. This is a virtuoso piece, but we urge all of you to try playing these simple motives, to help you dig for gold in the ensuing transformations. Please notice clef changes.

More to come tomorrow!

Beethoven Rarities: String Quintet in D Major, Op. 137

DAILY DOSE of BEETHOVEN (August 21, 2020)

Although many scholars believe that Beethovenn's late period begins around 1819, they will often admit that it begins earlier after the 1815 defeat of republicanism in Europe under the Congress of Vienna.

This five-voiced fugue dates from 1817. It is the only work he completed for string quintet in his late period, published after his death in 1827. It strikes us as an exercise in the limits to which he was to push his fugal writing in the future.

https://youtu.be/RnEhTXV2500

How to Set a Poem to Music: The Rosetta Stone-Part 3

DAILY DOSE of BEETHOVEN (August 20, 2020)

We have discovered amazing similarities in the way that Schubert and Beethoven approached Goethe's poem, which yet differ from standard iambic pentameter. Let us introduce a third composer, Robert Schumann. His setting is in a minor key. Surely it will break the mold!

https://youtu.be/JvMEckjuAYQ

It begins with a piano introduction: already different. However, at the third line, "Ein sanfter Wind", we have a key change, and the 3/8 time is expressed in three triplets of 16th notes. "Kennst du es Wohl" is drawn out by repeating it. he also is realizing the score within the poem!

All of this is too much to be mere coincidence. Great poems are musical, and each poem has an embedded score. That doesn't mean there is only one way to realize it. It does mean that great composers will hit upon commonalities that are determined by the poem.

1. Vowel values. All three composers identify the "Ro" of Citronen as a high point. Even if it isn't the highest note in the phrase, it is emphasized!

2. The metrical values are astoundingly similar! Instead of relentless iambic pentameter, they all choose an almost identical meter.

_ u u _ u u u _ u _
Kensst du das Land, wo die Ci tro- nen bluh'n?

Was that based on reciting the poem, or singing it? There is a lot of work to be done, and we suggest a mixture of both, but it is beautiful.

ROMANTIC COMPOSERS

We conclude this 3-part series by presenting you with 3 "Romantic" era versions for comparison. We will not comment, but leave it up to you to comment, on the relative merits, or lack thereof!

1. Liszt
https://youtu.be/bPl2t71cpIM?list=RDbPl2t71cpIM

2. Hugo Wolff
https://youtu.be/ZMe22tHvG4c

3. Tchaikovsky
https://youtu.be/xCHWm8J08Rg

How to Set a Poem to Music: The Rosetta Stone-Part 2

DAILY DOSE of BEETHOVEN (August 19, 2020)

We just heard a setting of Goethe’s poem by Beethoven that does not seem to fit the cookie-cutter. Let's now listen to a setting of the same poem by Franz Schubert.

https://youtu.be/lxghXFfdzcU

Hum, that does not fit our predetermined cookie-cutter definition either. So what is going on? Despite how different these two settings were, there are surprising, even disturbing similarities.

1. Both versions introduce a new key, and triplets on the beginning of the third line: "Ein sanfter Wind".

2. Both versions end the fourth line, " Kennst du es Wohl" on a question mark, i.e. a harmony associated with the dominant of the new key on which "Dahin" will begin.

3. More importantly, both versions draw out the fourth line, "Kennst du es Wohl." Edgar Allen Poe insists on the ancient idea, laid out by St. Augustine and others that: when, in a poem determined by iambic pentameter, you suddenly encounter a shorter line, the line has to last as long! " Kennst du es Wohl" is only two iambs. It must be drawn out as long as a line of five iambs. Beethoven and Schubert both know that! Well-trained Shakespearian actors know that if Shakespeare's iambic pentameter is cut off, the missing time must be filled in by action. An equality of TIME is the issue!

4. Both versions changed key, tempo, and time signature (to compound duple) at "Dahin, dahin".

Did Schubert know Beethoven's setting? Was he merely following it? We believe that both men were following the musical score that is embedded in a good poem.

Where does this notion of a poetic foot come from? The Chorus in a Greek drama danced across the stage and sang poetry. The very term “choreography”, comes from the Greek verb "To dance." The chorus members had to set their left feet down at the same time! The concept of a "foot" allowed them to do that!

More to come in Part 3

How to set a Poem to Music: The Rosetta Stone

DAILY DOSE of BEETHOVEN (August 18, 2020)

If classical musical composition is a lost art, then it is more the case with classical poetic composition.

There was a time when Egyptian hieroglyphics were considered to be indecipherable. The Rosetta Stone featured a royal proclamation in three languages, hieroglyphics, and both demotic and ancient Greek. Since they all said the same thing, it enabled the linguist Champollion, to decipher Egyptian.

A poem contains an implicit score. Examining how different composers set the same poem to music should help us decipher aspects of both music and poetry.

One of the poems most often set to music is Goethe's “Mignon's Lied”, from his book, “Wilhelm Meister”. Mignon is a child of Italian origin, who is a little bit nuts. She wants to go home, and implores her mentor, Wilhelm Meister to accompany her there. Her poem/song goes as follows:

Mignon's Song

Kennst du das Land, wo die Zitronen blühn,
Im dunklen Laub die Gold-Orangen glühn,
Ein sanfter Wind vom blauen Himmel weht,
Die Myrte still und hoch der Lorbeer steht,
Kennst du es wohl?
Dahin! Dahin
Möcht’ ich mit dir, o mein Geliebter, ziehn.
Kennst du das Haus? Auf Säulen ruht sein Dach,
Es glänzt der Saal, es schimmert das Gemach,
Und Mamorbilder stehn und sehn mich an:
Was hat man dir, du armes Kind, getan?
Kennst du es wohl?
Dahin! Dahin
Möcht’ ich mit dir, o mein Beschützer, ziehn.
Kennst du den Berg und seinen Wolkensteg?
Das Maultier sucht im Nebel seinen Weg;
In Höhlen wohnt der Drachen alte Brut;
Es stürzt der Fels und über ihn die Flut,
Kennst du ihn wohl?
Dahin! Dahin
Geht unser Weg! o Vater, lass uns ziehn!

Do you know the land where lemon trees blossom;
where golden oranges glow amid dark leaves?
A gentle wind blows from the blue sky,
the myrtle stands silent, the laurel tall:
do you know it?
There, O there
I desire to go with you, my beloved!
Do you know the house? Its roof rests on pillars,
the hall gleams, the chamber shimmers,
and marble statues stand and gaze at me:
what have they done to you, poor child?
Do you know it?
There, O there
I desire to go with you, my protector!
Do you know the mountain and its clouded path?
The mule seeks its way through the mist,
in caves the ancient brood of dragons dwells;
the rock falls steeply, and over it the torrent.
Do you know it?
There, O there
lies our way. O father, let us go!

It seems simple enough. It should not be that hard to set to music, or should it?

The first thing we might do, is to analyze the meter. Lo and behold, it is in iambic pentameter, which we learned as the inspiring:
Da DAH dee DAH da DAH dee DAH,
Da DAH dee DAH da DAH Dee DAAH!

Those of us who were raised in farm country recognized it immediately. Ambrose the donkey was a master of poetic meter.

Later, some of us read Edgar Allen Poe's "The Rationale of Verse", and recognized that the syllables were not stressed and unstressed, but long and short. It was a huge breakthrough to read a simple passage in time: (An audio is provided here to help.)

https://drive.google.com/…/1jhy_NK55abCKsBYZfZjp5LGsh…/view…

Now please listen to Beethoven's setting of this poem. Does it fit our proud and newly discovered pattern for iambic pentameter?

https://youtu.be/TEGHR_aUlfE

Oops! Not even close! Stay tuned.

Brahms' Outrageous and Beethovenian Sense of Humor

DAILY DOSE of BEETHOVEN (August 17, 2020)

Some of our readers recently requested more Brahms. Although the “Daily Doses” is dedicated to Beethoven’s 250th anniversary year, understanding his predecessors and his successors, helps us understand him.

There is no doubt in our minds that Brahms' irreverent attitude in composition below derives from the spirit of Beethoven.

In 1880, the University of Breslau awarded Brahms an honorary Doctor of Philosophy. Brahms had little use for such academic titles, and was content to write a thank-you note. The university however, expected nothing less than a new composition, written especially for the occasion.

The conductor Bernard Scholz, who had recommended the award, wrote somewhat arrogantly to Brahms: "Compose a fine symphony for us, but well orchestrated, old boy, not too uniformly thick!"

Can you imagine the audacity to first demand a symphonic work from Brahms, and then tell him how to compose it? Brahms had little or no respect for academics, who sometimes belittled him, and gossiped about his lack of education. For Brahms, a degree in music from a University, meant only that now you were were ready to really start discovering music, in the way he had done.

He went ahead with an orchestral work, but not as planned! The stiff university leaders wished him to employ some sort of stultified graduation song as its basis. Instead Brahms created a sort of modified "Quodlibet", after the tradition of Bach, and incorporated four student songs. They were all drinking songs, but some were also political. Some of the university staff were aghast, but some were secretly pleased.

For our listener/reader to enjoy this at a higher level, we provide all 4 songs. When you get to know them, the final composition—the overture—will become 1,000 times richer, including its humor. You will understand what some of these songs meant and how they interacted.

We recommend singing along with the verses provided!

Song 1: Fuchslied (Fox Song): Meant for hazing freshmen.

https://youtu.be/2CG-y8FTa8E

1. (Studenten)
Was kommt dort von der höh'?
Was kommt dort von der höh'?
Was kommt dort von der ledern' höh'?
Ça, ça, ledern' höh',
Was kommt dort von der höh'?
(Students)
[What comes there from on yonder?
What comes there from on yonder?
What comes there from on bloody yonder?
Sa, sa, bloody yonder,
What comes there from on yonder?]

2. Es ist der Fuchsmajor,
Es ist der Fuchsmajor,
Es ist der ledern' Fuchsmajor,
Ça, ça, Fuchsmajor,
Es ist der Fuchsmajor.
[It is the Foxmajor,
It is the Foxmajor,
It is the bloody Foxmajor,
Sa, sa, Foxmajor,
It is the Foxmajor.]

3. Was bringt der Fuchsmajor?
Was bringt der Fuchsmajor?
Was bringt der ledern' Fuchsmajor?
Ça, ça, Fuchsmajor,
Was bringt der Fuchsmajor?
[What brings the Foxmajor?
What brings the Foxmajor?
What brings the bloody Foxmajor?
Sa, sa, Foxmajor,
What brings the Foxmajor?]

4. Er bringt uns seine füchs',
Er bringt uns seine füchs',
Er bringt uns seine ledern' füchs',
Ça, ça, ledern' füchs',
Er bringt uns seine füchs'.
[He brings us his foxes,
He brings us his foxes,
He brings us his bloody foxes,
Sa, sa, bloody foxes,
He brings us his foxes.]

5. (Fuchs)
Ihr Diener, meine herr'n,
Ihr Diener, meine herr'n,
Ihr Diener, meine hohe herr'n,
Ça, ça, hohe herr'n,
Ihr Diener, meine herr'n!
(Foxes)
[At your service my gentlemen,
At your service my gentlemen,
At your service, my noble gentlemen,
Sa, sa, gentlemen,
At your service my gentlemen.]

6. (Foxmajor)
Ich bring' euch meine füchs',
Ich bring' euch meine füchs',
Ich bring' euch meine ledern' füchs',
Ça, ça, ledern' füchs',
Ich bring' euch meine füchs'.
(Foxmajor)
[I bring you my foxes,
I bring you my foxes,
I bring you my bloody foxes,
Sa, sa, bloody foxes,
I bring you my foxes. ]

7. (Studenten)
So wird der fink ein fuchs,
So wird der fink ein fuchs,
So wird der ledern fink ein fuchs,
Ça, ça, fink ein fuchs,
So wird der fink ein fuchs.
(Students)
[Thus, the finch becomes a fox,
Thus the finch becomes a fox,
Thus, the bloody finch becomes a fox,
Sa, sa, finch a fox,
Thus, the finch becomes a fox.]

Song 2: Wir haben gebauet Ein stattliches Haus (We have built a stately house)

https://youtu.be/U5wKYbSz3oM

This drinking song was also a patriotic song, written 60 years earlier in 1820, when political repression was high. The cartoon (see picture below), is from 1819, and shows a Thinkers' Society wearing muzzles. In this case, we really, really encourage you to follow the verses. Even the stuffiest German professor would know this.

Text and Tranalation:

1. Wir hatten gebauet
Ein stattliches Haus
Und drin auf Gott vertrauet
Trotz Wetter, Sturm und Graus.
[We had built
A stately house
And trusted in God therein
Despite tempest, storm and horror.]

2. Wir lebten so traulich,
So innig, so frei,
Den Schlechten ward es graulich,
Wir lebten gar zu treu.
[We lived so cozily,
So devotedly, so free,
To the wicked it was abhorrent,
We lived far too faithfully.]

3. Sie lugten, sie suchten
Nach Trug und Verrat,
Verleumdeten, verfluchten
Die junge, grüne Saat.
[They peered, they looked
For deceit and treachery,
Slandered, cursed
The young, green seed.]

4. Was Gott in uns legte,
Die Welt hat's veracht't,
Die Einigkeit erregte
Bei Guten selbst Verdacht.
[What God put inside us,
The world has despised.
This unity stirred suspicion
Even among good people.]

5. Man schalt es Verbrechen,
Man täuschte sich sehr;
Die Form kann man zerbrechen,
Die Liebe nimmermehr.
[People reviled it as crime,
They deluded themselves badly;
They can shatter the form,
But never the love.]

6. Die Form ist zerbrochen,
Von außen herein,
Doch was man drin gerochen,
War eitel Dunst und Schein.
[The form is shattered,
From out to within,
But they smelled inside it
Sheer haze and appearance.]

7. Das Band ist zerschnitten,
War schwarz, rot und gold,
Und Gott hat es gelitten,
Wer weiß, was er gewollt.
[The riband is cut to pieces,
'T was black, red and gold,
And God allowed it,
Who knows what He wanted.]

8. Das Haus mag zerfallen.
Was hat's dann für Not?
Der Geist lebt in uns allen,
Und unsre Burg ist Gott!
[The house may collapse.
Would it matter?
The spirit lives within us all,
And our fortress is God!]

Song 3: Alles schweige! Jeder neige

https://youtu.be/TA1ru4Z2ZCU?list=RDTA1ru4Z2ZCU

This is also a patriotic song. Brahms uses only the section that starts "Hört, ich sing' das Lied der Lieder”. It celebrates Emporer Joseph II, who we discussed in the July 17, 2020 post.

1. Alles schweige! Jeder neige
ernsten Tönen nun sein Ohr!
Hört, ich sing' das Lied der Lieder,
hört es, meine deutschen Brüder!
Hall es wider, froher Chor!

[Be silent! Everyone tend
serious tones now his ear!
Listen, I sing the song of songs
hear it, my German brothers!
Echo it, happy chorus!]

2. Deutschlands Söhne laut ertöne
euer Vaterlandsgesang!
Vaterland! Du Land des Ruhmes,
weih'n zu deines Heiligtumes
Hütern uns und unser Schwert!]

[2. Germany's sons sound out loud
your fatherland song!
Fatherland! You land of glory
consecrate to your sanctuary
Guard us and our sword!]

Finally the well - known “Gaudeamus igitur”. The words are included in the video.

https://youtu.be/aLUKfU2AOBY

Once you know all four songs, have fun appreciating how Brahms weaves these songs into a theme of his own making and totally upset the "serious" atmosphere he had been required to create.

He wrote it for a huge "thick" orchestra. Conducted it himself. It is known as the “Academic Festival Overture” (Akademische Festouvertüre, Op. 80). Here it is:

https://youtu.be/aLUKfU2AOBY