Beethoven’s “An die Ferne Geliebte”—Part 4: Finale

DAILY DOSE OF BEETHOVEN (October 12, 2020)

No song in this circle ever ends simply. Instead, each leads to a new begin. They all segue, like a stream, from one to another, despite their great differences. In this circle, we heard many youthful, and beautiful images of love.

However, by now, we feel the need for something more serious. Several aspects of the sixth song suggest that the separation from his beloved, so bemoaned by the poet, may be more psychological than physical. Song six introduces something new on every level. For the first time in the cycle, we have a slower tempo. For the first time, the poet is speaking in a more direct manner than he has yet done, to his beloved:
"Take them then, take my songs which I have sung to you, my beloved, and sing, sing them in the evening."

Maybe for the first time, the beloved is not just worshipped, but acts. Beethoven repeats, and draws attention to the words "Und du singst", (And YOU sing). But for the first time, marks it molto adagio (very slow). It stands out.

Not everything is new though. Beethoven has returned to Ab, the key of the third song, and is on his way back to his opening key Eb. Have we then come full circle? The poet says that there is no artfulness in his songs, and follows with—“Of nothing but yearning, was I aware”.

Artfulness, in this case, may mean “artificiality". We have to be careful with the word "Sehnsucht”—or, yearning. Longing and yearning have different connotations in English. For German poets of that time, it could mean the yearning for a deeper spiritual fulfillment, for truth and meaning in life.Thus, Beethoven repeats the words "Nur der Sehnsucht sich bewußt", (Of nothing but yearning was I aware), dramatically.

Thus, we come back to the idea in our first posting on the matter, that the 'distant beloved' could refer not just to an immortal beloved woman, but a loving connection to the Creator, and to one's own creativity. The poems were composed in 1815, when that love of creativity was being threatened, as the Congress of Vienna began to brutally impose banality. The songs were set soon after by Beethoven. The different meanings, need not be exclusive.

Beethoven then returns to his opening song, but on the words, "Then my songs shall surely soften, what has kept us so far apart." Is this a circle?

The first time, the poet sang of sitting on a hill, gazing into the distance where his beloved dwelled. Now he is next to her, seeking to resolve that distance.

He follows by repeating:

Und ein liebend Herz erreichet
(And a loving heart will arrive)
Was ein liebend Herz geweiht.
(At what a loving heart has made Holy.)

Is it the same as in the beginning? Hardly! "Geweight" means consecrate, or to make Holy. Beethoven shouts it from the rooftops. “To truly love another, you must first consecrate that other!” How can Beethoven repeat a song so differently? His act of composition has consecrated the poetry, and perhaps helped the young poet understand the deeper aspects of what he had done.

Here is song 6 by itself.

https://youtu.be/AeBYcmosEDo?list=TLPQMDQxMDIwMjCLS5lKGhqlxA

Nimm sie hin denn, diese Lieder,
(Take them then, these my songs)
Die ich dir, Geliebte, sang,
(Which I to you, beloved, sang,)
Singe sie dann abends wieder
(Sing them in the evening)
Zu der Laute süßem Klang.
(to the sweet sound of the lute.)

Wenn das Dämmrungsrot dann zieht
(When the fading red light draws)
Nach dem stillen blauen See,
(Away from the blue lake,)
Und sein letzter Strahl verglühet
(And the last ray's glow fades)
Hinter jener Bergeshöh;
(Behind that beautiful hill;)

Und du singst, was ich gesungen,
(And you sing, what I have sung')
Was mir aus der vollen Brust
(What I from my overflowing breast)
Ohne Kunstgepräng erklungen,
(Sounded, with no artfulness,)
Nur der Sehnsucht sich bewußt:
(Of nothing but yearning, was I aware!)

Dann vor diesen Liedern weichet
(Let these songs then soften)
Was geschieden uns so weit,
(What has kept us far apart,)
Und ein liebend Herz erreichet
(And a loving heart will arrive)
Was ein liebend Herz geweiht.
(At what a loving heart has dedicated.)

Beethoven’s “An die Ferne Geliebte”- Part 3: Songs Four and Five

DAILY DOSE OF BEETHOVEN (October 9, 2020)

SONG FOUR

The transition to song four is breathtaking. The singer holds the last syllable of "Meine Tränen ohne Zahl" (my tears without number), on the dominant, Eb. While he is holding it, birds start singing in the piano part.

Diese Wolken in den Höhen, These clouds in the heavens
Dieser Vöglein muntrer Zug, These little birds in a happy trail,
Werden dich, o Huldin, sehen. Will soon see you, my free spirit
Nehmt mich mit im leichten Flug. Take me with you on your easy flight

Diese Weste werden spielen
(These West winds will be teasing)
Scherzend dir um Wang' und Brust,
(Playfully, on your cheeks and breast,)
In den seidnen Locken wühlen.
(Through your curly locks threading,)
Teilt ich mit euch diese Lust!
(I would share in their desire.)

Hin zu dir von jenen Hügeln
(Towards you from these hills)
Emsig dieses Bächlein eilt.
(That little brook will flow,)
Wird ihr Bild sich in dir spiegeln,
(Will its image be mirrored in you?)
Fließ zurück dann unverweilt!
(Then immediately flow back!)

Here is song four by itself:
https://youtu.be/UMc7nLBZ-Do?t=2

SONG FIVE

The transition into song five, is also unbroken. We also seem to be introduced to it by friendly birds, and they are indeed the subject! These six verses are only three lines long. The meter is light and breezy: four anapests for the first two lines, and three for the last. (An anapest consists of two short syllables followed by a long one ss L, as discussed before.)

We provide a short reading of the first verse to help us hear the meter.

https://youtu.be/ZAWSGTj81Fw

Beethoven tales the verse in groups of two. A tune stretches over six lines. Thus, we hear it repeat only three times, not six.

Es kehret der Maien, es blühet die Au, May returns, the fields bloom)
Die Lüfte, sie wehen so milde, so lau, The wind, it blows mild, and lukekwarm,)
Geschwätzig die Bäche nun rinnen. The brooks are running and chatting)

Die Schwalbe, die kehret zum wirtlichen Dach, (The swallow returns to the roof that's her home.)
Sie baut sich so emsig ihr bräutlich Gemach, (She diligently builds her own bridal suite,)
Die Liebe soll wohnen da drinnen. (Love should be living inside there.)

Sie bringt sich geschäftig von kreuz und von quer
(She bustles, and brings from here and from there,)
Manch weicheres Stück zu dem Brautbett hierher,
(Some softer pieces for her married bed,)
Manch wärmendes Stück für die Kleinen (And some warmer bits for her babies.)

Nun wohnen die Gatten beisammen so treu, (Now she lives with her spouse, in faithfulness,)
Was Winter geschieden, verband nun der Mai,
(What winter divided, May now unites,)
Was liebet, das weiß er zu einen.
(Those that love, he knows how to make one.)

Es kehret der Maien, es blühet die Au. (May returns, the fields bloom,)
Die Lüfte, sie wehen so milde, so lau.
(The wind blows so mild, barely warm)
Nur ich kann nicht ziehen von hinnen. (But I cannot tear myself from here.)

Wenn alles, was liebet, der Frühling vereint, (When all that loves is united by spring,)
Nur unserer Liebe kein Frühling erscheint, (It's only to our love, that no spring appears)
Und Tränen sind all ihr Gewinnen. (And tears are all of our winnings.)

The last line of every second verse is repeated. The last line of the final verse goes into the tonic minor, and becomes very sad. We are ready for a change.

Here is song five by itself.
https://youtu.be/-tH6ByhsWBg

An die Ferne Geliebte-Songs Two and Three: The Poet's Mind Soars!

DAILY DOSE OF BEETHOVEN (October 8, 2020)

The second song changes key to G major, and the time signature to 6/8. The poet's imagination wishes his soul could be in those distant mountains, and valleys, in order to be closer to his love. Notice that each verse of the poem consists of six lines. In each verse (in the original German), the third and sixth lines have only four syllables, whereas the rest all have six (count them!) Those four syllable lines have special importance, and Beethoven often repeats them.

The meter consists of two anapests per line. (An anapest consists of two short syllables, followed by a long ss L.)

For example:
s s L / s s L
Wo die Berge so blau

Here is a short reading, to help make it clear.

https://youtu.be/D7Fwvl4KVEU

In the second verse, Beethoven surprises us by having the vocalist sing the entire verse on just one note—G! How does that work? It is very effective. It captures the hushed, dream-like nature of the poet's thoughts, but how does a single tone not become boring, when repeated thirty-five times?

It shows us something about the nature of classical music. A tone's meaning is not defined in and of itself. Even a single tone is changed, is made to sound different, by polyphony: the other voices that surround it- by its context, or what is known in geometry as analysis situs (analysis of the situation). Notice that while the singer is on a single note, the piano is playing the same melody we just heard the vocalist sing in the first verse.

The idea of a single note is also carried over from the first verse. We don't notice it, but in the first verse, the piano's bass line features only two notes, G and D, mostly D.

As we approach the third verse, Beethoven marks "more and more quickly" and a crescendo. He wants the final verse to be in full voice. The poet vents his frustration, and pledges that he would rest eternally in that valley could he only be there with his love. Beethoven does not let this emotion stand, and he immedidtaely launches into the third song.

You might find it very uselul to follow the poetry as you listen.

https://youtu.be/viXVSAX-jcg

SONG TWO

Wo die Berge so blau Where the mountains so blue
Aus dem nebligen Grau From the misty gray
Schauen herein, Peer out at us,
Wo die Sonne verglüht, Where the sun burns,
Wo die Wolkumzieht, And the clods move,
Möchte ich sein! I wish to be!

Dort im ruhigen Tal There in the quiet valley
Schweigen Schmerzen und Qual Silence pain and agony
Wo im Gestein Where in the rocks
Still die Primel dort sinnt, The Primrose stays still
Weht so leise der Wind, While the wind lightly blows
Möchte ich sein! I wish to be.

Hin zum sinnigen Wald Towards the shadowy forest
Drängt mich Liebesgewalt, The wounds of love draw me,
Innere Pein Inner pain
Ach, mich zög's nicht von hier, Ah, I would never leave here,
Könnt ich, Traute, bei dir Could I stay here with you
Ewiglich sein! Eternally!

It's a very short eternity, one quarter-note, to be precise. Beethoven launches directly into the next song, in which the poet reaches a sort of ecstatic state. It is in Ab major, a half-tone above G, and in 4/4/ time. After the second verse, he marks “a ritardando” (slowing down), and puts the music into the tonic minor (Ab minor) where it remains. The 'ritards' and 'a tempos' persist. Is Beethoven hinting at the somewhat manic-depressive quality of young lover?

SONG THREE

Leichte Segler in den Höhen, Light sailors of the heavens
Und du, Bächlein klein und schmal, And you, small and brook,
Könnt mein Liebchen ihr erspähen, If you should meet my lover,
Grüßt sie mir viel tausendmal. Greet her for me a thousand times

Seht ihr, Wolken, sie dann gehen Look here, cloudlets, if you go
Sinnend in dem stillen Tal, Searching in the still vale,
Laßt mein Bild vor ihr entstehen Let my image appear before her
In dem luft'gen Himmelssaal. In the airy halls of Heaven.

Wird sie an den Büschen stehen Will she appear by the bushes
Die nun herbstlich falb und kahl. Now autumnal; pale and bare,
Klagt ihr, wie mir ist geschehen, Cry to her of what befell me,
Klagt ihr, Vöglein, meine Qual. Cry to her,birdlings, of my torment

Stille Weste, bringt im Wehen You still West winds, blow
Hin zu meiner Herzenswahl My heart's choice towards me.
Meine Seufzer, die vergehen My own sighs, they fade
Wie der Sonne letzter Strahl. Like the last rays of sun.

Flüstr' ihr zu mein Liebesflehen, Whisper to her my pleas of love,
Laß sie, Bächlein klein und schmal, Small and narrow brook, let her
Treu in deinen Wogen sehen See faithfully in your waves
Meine Tränen ohne Zahl! My tears without number.
https://youtu.be/h7jgjzS66vw

Once again, Beethoven cannot let it end this way. We have provided this recording of Peter Schreier singing songs two and three separately, but the transitions are necessary to the work, so we also included a enitire performance, with the score, by the great Fritz Wunderlich. These two songs lie between 02:52 and 06:20. Listen to how captures the single repeated tone G beginning at 03:33. Without whispering, one must sing in a whisper.

https://youtu.be/AMVKKgqrkzs

Beethoven’s “An die Ferne Geliebte”: The Perfect Love Song(s)

DAILY DOSE OF BEETHOVEN (October 7, 2020)

The last few episodes of the “Daily Doses" have been taxing on one's concentration. What else might one expect from Beethoven's late quartets? The following few episodes of our offerings shall be easier: they are of one of the most beautiful love song(s) ever composed.

When we think of song-cycles, we think of Schubert, Loewe, Schumann, Brahms, and others. But they are all the children of Beethoven. Some think of "An die Ferne Geliebte" as Beethoven's first song-cycle, but we disagree. The “Gellert Lieder”, which we discussed in the posts of August 3, 4, 5, and 6, display an ordering of ideas that qualify them as a song-cycle.

This work though, is of a higher order. Beethoven did not call it a cycle (zyklus), but a circle (kreis), and indeed, the piece finishes with the same music with which it began.

But, beware of circular reasoning! Beethoven would never, ever, ever, leave his audience in the same place where they began. He always elevates us to a higher level. Perhaps a complete rotation of a spiral on a cone is a more appropriate image. It ends up at the same place, at the same time, but does not.

THE POET

In song-settings, the poet is often seen as secondary to the composer. This sometimes is the case, as when a great composer sets a minor poem. Nonetheless, it is our own experience that the quality and musicality of the poetry makes a great difference as to what the composer can do, and the two should be seen as co-creators of a song.

The poet in this case, was a young Jewish fellow named Alois Jeitteles (1794-1858), who was a doctor, poet, translator, and a journalist. Dr. Jeitteles was a fearless lover of humanity, and risked his life to save his fellow citizens during a cholera outbreak. He composed these poems in 1815 at the age of 21. Beethoven set them the next year at the age of 46, and is reported to have thanked the poet for the inspiration. However, upon examination, we wonder whether the older artist took the opportunity to lovingly uplift the younger above youthful impetuousness, or was it the other way around.

The poems, titled: "An die Ferne Geliebte"-"To the Distant Beloved", are pure, short, and simple-yet profound.

Translations are a problem. Poetry is the most difficult form to capture all the essence through translation; and most translations are incoherent. We offer our own combination of a literal translation and a poetic one. If any of our readers can do better, we welcome your submission!

The first song concerns two lovers who are separated by a great distance. Although the poetry strongly suggests the love of a woman, such as Beethoven's "Immortal Beloved", there are reasons why we can believe that the object of the poet's love, is God the Creator, or even one's own lost creativity. These meanings need not be mutually exclusive.

The words of song one are:

Auf dem Hügel sitz ich spähend
(On the hill, I sit gazing)
In das blaue Nebelland,
(Into the blue and foggy land)
Nach den fernen Triften sehend,
(Looking into distant ranges,)
Wo ich dich, Geliebte, fand.
(Where I found you, my beloved.)

Weit bin ich von dir geschieden,
(I am separated from you,)
Trennend liegen Berg und Tal
(By wide mountains and vales,)
Zwischen uns und unserm Frieden,
(Dividing us and our peace,)
Unserm Gluck und unsrer Qual.
(Our fortune and our trevails.)

Ach, den Blick kannst du nicht sehen,
(You can't see glowing visions,)
Der zu dir so glühen
(Which I rush towards you,)
Und die Seufzer, sie verwehen
(And our sighs, blown away)
In dem Raume, der uns theilt
(In the space, that parts us.)

Will denn nichts mehr zu dir dringen,
(Can nothing reach you,)
Nichts der Liebe Bote sein?
(With my messages of love?)
Singen will ich, Lieder singen,
(Then I would sing, sing songs,)
Die dir klagen meine Pein!
(Which speak to you of my pain!)

Denn vor Liebesklang entweichet
(For a love song rejects)
Jeder Raum und jede Zeit,
(All of space and all of time,)
Und ein liebend Herz erreichet
(And a loving heart arrives at)
Was ein liebend Herz geweiht!
(What a loving heart makes Holy)

Beethoven sets this poem in a pure and innocent manner—in the key of Eb.

The song is both strophic, and through-composed. It is strophic in that the voice always repeats the same melody, yet through-composed, in that Beethoven changes the piano part for each verse. In the second verse, which speaks of the wide spaces separating the lovers, the piano gives us some large leaps in the right hand. When discussing how a love song transcends space and time, he marks it "more and more quickly". The song ends with an Eb chord, that changes to G, but with minimal change in the "voice-leading."

Please enjoy this performance of just the first song, by Gerhard Husch.

https://youtu.be/Qu43F7OG3C0

Brahms' Humor and Patriotism: The Academic Festival Overture

DAILY DOSE of BEETHOVEN (October 6, 2020)

Brahms' patriotism is well known. He had a portrait of Bismarck on his living room wall, and remarked that the two greatest events of his life were the publication of the complete works of Bach, and the unification of Gemany. His sense of humor is not as well known, but it is linked to his irrascibility when confronted with Dummkopfs (stupidity, or a blockhead).

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 mistrusted academics, who sometimes belittled him, and gossiped about his lack of overall education. For Brahms, a degree in music from a University was just the starting point. It meant only that now you were ready to start discovering music, in the way he had done.

He went ahead with an orchestral work, but not as planned! Brahms responded to Scholz' demand that the orchestration be "not too thick", by assembling a huge orchestra of piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, one tuba, timpani, bass drum, cymbals, triangle, and strings.

The stiff university leaders probably wished him to employ some sort of stultified graduation song as its basis. Instead Brahms conducted the work for a special academic convocation, which is usually a serious matter. Brahms wrote that he had created a "very boisterous potpourri of student drinking songs, à la Suppé".

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 very political. Some of the university staff were aghast, while some might have been secretly pleased. Although German unification had been proclaimed in 1871, in the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War, it was still a hot issue when Brahms composed this work in 1880.

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.

We recommend singing along with the verses provided, at least until you are sure you know each song!

Song 1: Fuchslied (Fox Song), which was used while hazing freshmen. It is similar to our English "Farmer in the Dell", and "A Hunting we Will Go”: 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, by a leader of the student's union, after it was shut down by the dictatorial Carlsbad decrees. The cartoon (see picture below), is from 1819, and shows members of a Thinkers' Society wearing muzzles. The stately house is Germany, and it mentions the colors of the flag: black, red, and gold. Sixty years later, in 1880, when Brahms composed the Overture, it was still controversial.

Text and Translation:
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.
This is also a patriotic song, part of a ceremont called “Landesvater”. It originally pledged loyalty to Emperor Joseph II, who supported Mozart. Later, it referred to loyalty to Germany.

Brahms uses only the section that starts "Hört, ich sing' das Lied der Lieder”' , or 'Listen I sing the song of songs”: https://youtu.be/TA1ru4Z2ZCU?list=RDTA1ru4Z2ZCU

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, if university had wanted a 'comercium', or graduation song, they finally got it, but the well known “Gaudeamus igitur”, is also a ribald drinking song. Brahms turns it into a powerful ending for his overture. The words are included in the video: https://youtu.be/aLUKfU2AOBY

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

Here is the full Academic Festival Overture, presented, appropriately, by a student orchestra.

https://youtu.be/O66M8p8AwAo

NOTE: This post was originally created on August 17, 2020. It has been rewritten to present a more complete story. Please enjoy!

Beethoven's Op 132: Fourth and Fifth Movements—A mirror reflection? Not quite!

DAILY DOSE OF BEETHOVEN (October 5, 2020)

We have discussed on several occasions that Beethoven was the supreme master at creating a transcendent Finale. In this case, the composer designed a symmetrical work with the central movement as the mountain top, as seen in this simple representation of the five movements:

1. Serious: a minor
2. Playful: A major
3. Sublime: Lydian mode
4. Playful A major
5. Serious a minor

THE FOURTH MOVEMENT:

The fourth movement is more of a transition than a movement though. In fact, is it marked "all marcia" (like a march), as if to say—'marching on to the Finale.' It consists of only an 8 measure, and a 16 measure phrase, both of which are repeated, followed by a rectative-like transition to the Finale.

The references to preceding movements continue, as we realize just how integrated this work really is. The 4th movement opens with a short motif by the first violin that is answered by the other instruments on the next beat. That short motif E A C# .(00:00 in the recording), is bounded by a major 6th E C# which recalls the major 6th that opened the 3rd movement C to A.

That may seem like a bit of a stretch. They are of two entirely different moods, but what strengthens the connection, is that in both cases that interval is on the same scale-steps of the relevant key (E and C# are steps 5 and 3 of A major, and C and A are steps 5 and 3 of the Lydian mode).

The second phrase, beginning on measure 9 (00:31 in the recording), employs imitation (something we have heard throughout the quartet), where one measure is repeated by another instrument in the next measure.

At measure 25 (01:34), the movement is rudely interrupted by a recitative-like section. We have discussed Beethoven's use of such recitatives before: in the “Ninth Symphony” (April 23, 2020 post); in the young Felix Mendelssohn's memorial tribute to Beethoven, through his own A Minor Quartet (May31, 2020); and three days ago, in the discussion of the first movement of this quartet. These short recitatives, or cadenzas, in the opening of the first movement, foreshadow this longer one.

It had been customary, and seen as necessary in multi-movement works—such as the symphony, string quartet, and sonata—to address different psychological states. For this, we have different forms—such as Scherzo, Adagio Cantabile, and Rondo—just to name a few. One movement ends, and after a pause, another begins, in a very different mood. It's a polite discussion, and it sticks to the agenda.

Sometimes though, when the matter being discussed is of vital importance, someone has to lead, intervene, and change the subject, even wrench the participants to a different level, by saying in effect: "Why are we even discussing 'this', when we should be talking about 'that?!'

That is what Beethoven's recitatives often do. They can wrench us out of banality, and put the real topic on the table.

Edgar Allen Poe captures how science interrupts daydreams and myths in such a way that it tears us away from them. Here are the beginning and end lines of his poem: "Sonnet to Science":

Science! true daughter of Old Time thou art!
Who alterest all things with thy peering eyes.
Why preyest thou thus upon the poet’s heart,
..................................................................
Hast thou not torn the Naiad from her flood,
The Elfin from the green grass, and from me
The summer dream beneath the tamarind tree?

Despite the attractive symmetry of the five movements, Beethoven must have felt that this light-hearted music was not appropriate at the time. Something more serious was required. His marking of the fifth movement (it starts at 02:08) as 'allegro appassionato' tends to confirm that. He could have just skipped the fourth movement, and gone with the regular four movement form, moving directly from movement three to movement five, but it would not have been as effective as tearing away from something that would normally fit the bill, but at this point does not.

THE FIFTH MOVEMENT

It is often discussed in scholarly circles that Beethoven originally planned to use this idea for the Finale of his Ninth Symphony. It is said that the reason is sketches for the fifth movement of the Op. 132 appeared side by side with sketches for the Ninth. The problem with this postulation is that it makes no sense. Can you, in your wildest dreams, hear any transformation of this as the last movement of the Ninth? Besides, Beethoven did not write the first three movements of the Ninth independent of his plan to set the “Ode to Joy”. He wrote backwards from the Ode to Joy, so that those movements would lead up to it, as discussed in the postings of April 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, and May 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, and 11. Perhaps he was thinking ahead?

The opening of this "appassionato" fifth movement immediately reminds us of the first movement. Recall that the quartet opened
with G#-A F-E in the cello. The first two notes are prominent in the opening theme of movement 5, as stated in the first violin. F-E throbs all by itself in the second violin for the first seven measures, and returns an octave higher at measure 11. The same pattern is applied to other notes and it lasts for a full 25 measures! It is matched by the viola, which for seven measures gives us C to D, but at a slower rate. In the meanwhile, the cello, after a two-measure introduction, uses a rhythmic answer to the second violin, to trace out a melody over eight measures. The melody in the first violin is so powerful that it can disguise the sad, repetitive, and sobbing nature of the movement. As an experiment, our audio begins by adding one voice at a time to the first 10 measures. Tell us if it works for you!

https://drive.google.com/…/1V-ZPaP_wR-5Xw8SqSY0B3KGVV…/view…

There is a quality of longing, not for an object, but for something missing in life, in the world. It is expressed by the repetition.

At 02:48 the half-tones of the first movement return, though in a totally different way.

At 03:48 the theme returns. The movement is crisis-ridden, which is reflected at 04:22, when it becomes chaotic, with no easily recognizable idea.

At 05:06 the main theme returns, though with some twists. Another peregrination commences at 06:30.

An accelerando begins at about 06:55, leading to the theme marching in double time at 07:07. This cannot last! Beethoven switches to a playful A major at 07:19 ( it needs to be done better than it is here).

The last minute and a half in A major seem extremely satisfactory. Why? An answer may require more study on our part. One thing is clear: there is none of the sobbing and longing repetition.

https://youtu.be/HJw7nyBl0wo

Beethoven String Quartet No. 15, Op. 132–The Extraordinary Third Movement: " Heiliger Dankesang"

DAILY DOSE OF BEETHOVEN (October 1, 2020)

Beethoven composed this long and absolutely unique movement after recovering from a long illness. We hope to do justice to him and it through the following thorough discussion. We hope that you find it worthwhile.

This is the year 1825. Although he lived another two years, the intestinal disease from which Beethoven suffered was serious, and his survival was uncertain. The tempo of the third movement of Op. 132 is “molto adagio”, and it is almost glacial at first. The full title is:
"Heiliger Dankgesang eines Genesenen an der Gottheit, in der Lydischen Tonart"
(“Holy song of thanksgiving of a convalescent to the Deity, in the Lydian mode")

We have talked about the Lydian interval many times. The origin of that term comes from the Lydian mode. Beethoven studied older music in his late period, including the ancient church modes which he used in his “Missa Solemnis.” The Lydian mode is one of them, and it differs from F major in one crucial point. Instead of a Bb, it features the note B. F G A B C D E F. What difference does that make? His specification of the Lydian mode has puzzled many people. Even musicologist Heinrich Schenker insisted that it could not really be in the Lydian mode. Others say that only the hymn he employs is in the Lydian mode. Although the hymn does use B instead of Bb, in a scale starting and ending with F, we submit that Beethoven was not looking at the Lydian mode as just an ancient scale, but how it intersected with, and modified the well-tempered 24 key system, and could generate a new modality that could allow him to express the inexpressible. We will come back to that.

THE OPENING

The third movement is the center of the quartet. At 20-minutes in length, it has on either side, a shorter humorous movement, and at each end, a serious longer and faster movement. The "Heiliger Dankgesang" is the quartet's heart and soul, its raison d'etre.

The first and second movement both had two short motifs, an "A" and a "B", that intertwined with one another playfully. We referred to that aspect as double-fugal. This movement also has an "A" and a "B". At first they alternate. Each section of "A" is 2 measures long, and made up entirely of quarter notes. It is polyphonic, making much use of imitation. This first phrase starts out with an imploring leap upward of a major 6th in the violin. Each instrument repeats that C to A cry a half-measure later. You can see a piano representation of this overlapping, or imitation in Example 1 (see photo below).

We also provide an important audio guide that walks you through the double fugue and Lydian mode:
https://drive.google.com/…/1Ollw0FM_N27hKCxz-CCgo6PkD…/view…

Each section of "A" is followed by a phrase of "B" which is four measures long, and made entirely of half-notes. It is a hymn, but set in four voices like a Bach chorale. Example 2 gives the entire first statement of these two alternating ideas, but only in one voice—the one that has the song. "B" lies fairly low for the soprano voice (see Example 2 below)

That statement takes a full three minutes in this recording, again by the Amadeus Quartet.

At 03:10 (measure 32) a miracle occurs. The key changes to D major, the time signature to 3/8, and the tempo to “Andante”. Beethoven writes over this joyous section, "Feeling new Strength." It is full of trills, leaps, runs, and lyrical passages marked "cantabile espressivo" or "singing expressively." Anyone who has ever recovered from a serious illness will recognize this wonderful feeling.

The ordeal is not over though. At 05:25 (measure 85), we return to the interplay between "A" and "B" but find that another miracle has occurred. In the opening statement "A" and "B" seemed a-rhythmical, even a bit stiff with their relentless austerity, alternation, and uniformity. Now, the opening notes for "A" are almost the same, but a dotted rhythm introduces motion. "B" is now an octave higher, which allows it to really sing like a soprano. "A" no longer alternates with 'B", but "B", which is no longer harmonized as a chorale, sings as a beautiful song, with "B" as an accompaniment. It becomes more passionate than the first time.

Example 3 (see photo below) renders the first phrase on the piano, though the cross-voices make it a bit difficult.

At 08:24 (measure 116) "Feeling new Strength" returns even more playfully.

After a short introduction, at 10:34 (measure 169), marked "Mit innigster Empfindung" (with the deepest passion), at 10:52 (measure 172), the true nature of the quartet is revealed to us. We referenced Beethoven's double-fugal method vis a vis the motif pairs in Movements I and II. It is a method, rather than a formality, but at 10:52 "A" and "B" enter into a formal double fugue together. THE ENTIRE QUARTET IS PART OF BEETHOVEN'S DOUBLE FUGAL METHOD, which we have seen in so many other of his last great works, such as The “Grosse Fuge”, the “Ninth Symphony”, and the “Missa Solemnis”.

THE DOUBLE FUGUE

Example 4 shows the introduction marked "Mit innigster Empfindung" (with the deepest passion) beginning measure 169, and the beginning of the double fugue at measure 172. The first subject is the first five notes of the hymn "B", starting on F in violin 2. The answer in the viola starts on C, a fifth below. The second subject is the opening of "A", starting on the tone C in the first violin. The answer starts on G, a fifth above C, in the second violin.

This innermost passion leads to a heart-rending moment in which the quartet simply seems to be slashing chords at full volume (13:17, measures 192-195) Are they? For Beethoven passion and reason are never separate. That passage actually comes at the high point of the double fugue—a “stretto”, or overlapping of entrances of theme 1. (Please listen to the audio guide above, that helps with this.)

THE LYDIAN MODE

Lastly, we promised to explain how we think Beethoven was looking at the lydian mode. In F major, the first and fourth degrees of the scale, F and Bb, form a perfect 4th. In the Lydian mode, F and B form an augmented fourth or “tritone”. In both cases the fifth is C, a perfect 5th above F. However, in the Lydian mode the interval between 4 and 5, B and C, is a half tone. The 7th degree of a major scale is called the leading tone. In C major it is B. The resolution of the leading tone to the tonic is an important part of establishing a key. Thus as you ascend the Lydian scale, the B to C motion strongly suggests C major. In fact, the modulation to C is built into the Lydian mode. Beethoven treats the Lydian mode as combining F and C as a single key. (The same audio provides two examples of how this works.)

https://youtu.be/FQ8-UeSNUfM

This movement has inspired books, poems, and thousands and thousands of people. It has guided many through the most severe crises for themselves and their loved ones. The questions of ethnic identity, gender, and religious belief never come up. This is one great soul speaking from the heart, to others, to us. Let the minions of everything divisive knock Beethoven as much as they wish. Listen to this once, and all of the negativity about the man will evaporate.

Beethoven String Quartet No. 15, Op. 132: The “C Minor Series” meets the “Double Fugal Idea”—Part 2

DAILY DOSE OF BEETHOVEN (September 30, 2020)

THE SECOND MOVEMENT

The second movement seems light-hearted enough that it’s almost a Minuet. But, it continues the idea of two motives in constant play that characterized the first movement. The first motif is deceptive:

1. The accent is on the 2nd beat, not the 1st.
2. These first 2 notes are the same as in the 1st movement: G#-A.
3. It comprises a half-tone and a major 3rd, G#-A-C#, and is thus bounded by an ascending 4th, G#-C#.
3. It is identical to the inversion of motif "E" in Diabelli's Waltz EFA EFA F#GB F#GB with the same intervals and even the accent on the 2nd beat. (see measures 9-12 in the chart from the posting of August 27, 2020. It is circled in pink and labelled E inverted.)
4. It consists of a series of such 4hs: G#-C# C#-F# A#-D# D#-G# (shown in red in diagram below in picture.)

The second motiv is a descending scale C# B A G# E# F#, which is bounded by the inversion of the 4th, a descending 5th. Over 6 measures we hear 3 such 5ths (shown in blue), C# F#, D G# (dim 5th) and A E (not shown.)

These two motives are in constant play throughout the first and last parts of the movement. THE KEY TO MAKING THAT PLAY WORK, is to keep accenting the 2nd beat in the first motif after the 2nd motif enters (as shown in this very clear diagram). Most quartets do not. They relapse into accenting the 1st beat. The Amadeus Quartet gets it right.

https://youtu.be/cYP3ltky308

The middle section, which begins at 03:44, has the character of a “Musette” from Bach's time (see posting of September 9, 2020 on Brahms “Handel Variations”, particularly the discussion on Variation 22 and what is a “Musette“).

The second idea in the middle section which begins at 04:09, is drawn from the opening of an earlier work, woO81

https://youtu.be/2zfy0HePHus

Beethoven String Quartet No. 15, Op. 132: The “C Minor Series” meets the “Double Fugal Idea”

DAILY DOSE OF BEETHOVEN (September 29, 2020)

Beethoven's late quartets are considered by many to be his supreme accomplishment. They are the last works he composed, after the “Missa Solemnis”. Although it is known as quartet No. 15, this one is really No. 13, with Opus. 127 being the only one composed before it. We have addressed individual movements of some of the late quartets in the postings of April 29th (Op. 130), May 7th (Op. 135), May 18 and19th (Op. 131), and June 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 11th (Grosse Fuge, Op. 133). This time, however, we will examine an entire quartet.

THE OPENING

Let's start with the first movement. The opening is a miniature fugue based on the C minor series, except it is in A minor. In diagram Op132a (see photo below), it is enclosed in orange. Look at the first 4 notes in the cello, enclosed in yellow- G# A F E. Remember our discussion about the first 5 notes of Bach’s “King's Theme”—C Eb G Ab B (April 8th post). We talked about the 5th C to G, and the inverted half-tone motions from it, G-Ab, and C-B. Run those notes right to left (retrograde), and they become B-C and Ab-G. Transpose that down a minor third and you have G#-A and F-E, the opening of this quartet!

Two measures later, the first notes of the first violin (also circled in yellow), are D#-E and C-B, the cello's opening notes, transposed up by a fifth, which is exactly the way a fugue progresses.

Now look at the cello part in the third measure, in diagram op132b (see photo below, we used the same diagram several times to prevent confusion). surrounded by a dark blue circle. The pairs have switched order F-E and G#-A. The cello literally plays G#-A F-E for two measures, 2 measures of rests, then runs it backwards as F-E A G# for two measures.

The answer in the first viola (also in dark blue), does the same but a fifth higher C-B D#-E, except it comes a measure before instead of after! Everything else in the orange area is comprised of similar motions. It is a miniature fugue that serves as an introduction to the quartet.

If you change the order of G Ab C B, to G B C Ab, and transpose it up a half-step to G# B# C# A, you will have the opening tones of Op. 131, which begins a fugue (May 18th and 19th)!! The reason this relationship exists between the late quartets is because they actually examine, together, a single set of ideas. Through this process of discovery and development, Beethoven significantly changed the very nature of the questions posed by the “King's Theme”.

THE FIRST MOVEMENT

After a short recitative in measures 9-10, the introduction is over, and the movement proper begins. There are no fugues for the rest of this movement, yet a principle of the double fugue persists, as two very different motifs are in constant play with one another, which you will see in diagram op132c.

The first motif we labelled A and circled in green. The second B and circled in pink. Are they really different? They sound different, but A is closely related to the opening fugue subject! The last two tones of the 7-note section we circled, are A G#, the opening two tones in reverse. The same notes are repeated two measures later in violin 1, so they also end with A G#. Immediately following, we see F-E, the pair which follows G# A from the opening. We circled A-G# and F-E in yellow. Theme B takes just the first two notes of that opening, G# A.

These two motives, both of which derive from the 4-note opening, are in constant interplay throughout the movement. Now that you are familiar with them, diagram op132d circles everything, without labels, just to give us an idea of what Beethoven accomplishes with the most minimal material. When we say minimal, it is not just in reference to the four notes, but the potential in them as developed over the 78-years, from Bach's “Musical Offering” to this work.

At measure 22, another short recitative in 16th notes is heard. 16th-note runs will play a major role in the movement, and a recitative will come back in a big way in the transition from the 4th to the 5th movement. Everything is set up at the outset.

Beethoven seems to begin the movement again at 03:16 in this recording by the Amadeus Quartet. But there are only two entries, and this time, the half-tones do not surround the interval of a fifth, but rather a minor sixth. The cello starts out F F# Eb D. That is repeated in the viola. If G#-A and F-E surrounded the fifth A-E, then F-F# and Eb-D define the minor sixth F#-D. He must have been already thinking about the “Grosse Fuge” because that is exactly what that work does. Transpose F-F# Eb-D up by a fourth, and you have Bb-B Ab-G, the first four notes of the “Grosse Fuge's” main subject! That is new for the C Minor Series. What discoveries led Beethoven to make that change, we do not know. What we do know is that we now have 3 late-quartets that deal with the same germ of an idea.

https://youtu.be/-nz0_co9KNc

The C Minor series: Bach aims his Canons at the King.

DAILY DOSE OF BEETHOVEN (September 28, 2020)

In the past few months, we wrote several episodes on the C Minor Series (March 31, April 8, May 17, May 19, June 27, 29, 30, July 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 13, 15, 16, and 17). Starting from Bach, we extensively discussed the contributions made by Mozart and Beethoven, especially after Mozart discovered J.S. Bach’s work at the salon of Baron van Swieten. We can say that the C Minor Series has its beginning and continues the creative discovery in musical composition because of Bach’s “Musical Offering”.

We have already examined the “King's theme”, given to Bach by Frederick the Great, and how works by Mozart and Beethoven relate to it. The “Musical Offering”, which Bach presented to the KIng, included the requested 6 part Ricercar (fugue), but also developed the King’s theme in many different ways, including a set of puzzle canons. If Beethoven explored every possibility of a theme in his “Diabelli Variations”, Bach certainly did the same thing, although in a different way, in his “Musical Offering”.

The puzzle canons are designed to involve the reader in the compositional process. One voice is left out. Bach gives you clues as to how to realize that voice. Above one of them, he writes, "Quaerendo Invenietis" ("Seek and Ye Shall Find”).

Why would Bach do this? Even though King Frederick employed Bach's son Emmanuel as his music director, he had a penchant for French poetry and music, some of it fairly frivolous. French music theory was defined by Rameau's “Treatise on Harmony”, which reduces everything to chords, and is still taught in conservatories today, even though Bach rejected it. Bach may have been engaging the king, who played the flute, in the discovery of at least a taste of a more rigorous side of musical composition. The canons involve the geometrical transformations discussed on September 2,2020, in Bach's “Goldberg Variations”, and on September 15, 2020, on the fugues in Beethoven's “Diabelli Variations”, and Brahms' “Handel Variations”. Please feel free to review them before proceeding.

So, today we invite all of our readers who wish to do so, to participate in musical composition by solving 3 of the puzzle canons provided to us by Bach. We leave a blank space for the missing voice so you can print it out, and fill in the missing voice with a pencil (yes, pencil and paper, or software if you wish.) If you are convinced that you have got it right, send it to us and we will announce all of the readers who solve the puzzles!

1. We will start with an easy one—The Canon in unison for two violins.

The bass line is the King's Theme. Violin 1 has the given voice.The asterisk marks where violin 2 should enter with a note for note repeat of violin 1, as an answer to the given voice, thus forming a canon at the unison. Once you discover the entry point, the rest is simple (except that the last bar of the answer goes one bar into the repeat), but please take the time to think about how it affects the other voices.

2. The next one is also fairly easy—The Cancrizan, or Crab Canon.

This one is in retrograde, backwards and forwards at the same time. Bach gives the clue at the end. We had to draw it. No software has it. Oboe 1 has the given voice. Oboe two should start at the last note, and play right to left at the same time as oboe 1 plays the first note and proceeds left to right.

3. The next one is more difficult—a canon in contrary motion.

The missing voice goes up by the same intervals as the given voice goes down and vice-versa. For instance, if the given voice rose C D E, the answer would descend C Bb Ab (two major seconds). Violin 1 has the KIng's Theme. Violin 2 the given voice, and violin 3 is left blank for you to fill in the answer. Since we cannot reproduce Bach's clue, we will tell you that the answer begins on the G below middle C.

The next one would be contrary motion in augmentation, or upside down and half the speed. They do get more difficult. When people complained to Bach that his music was too difficult (in this case to play), he responded "you have the same five fingers on each hand that I do.”

Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony—Part 5: “The Shepherd's Hymn, gratitude and Thanksgiving after the storm."

DAILY DOSE OF BEETHOVEN (September 25, 2020) Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony—Part 5: “The Shepherd's Hymn, gratitude and Thanksgiving after the storm."Today we will continue to post both videos of the Pastoral Symphony. We will label “H” for Haitink ( the one with the score), and “F” for Furtwangler, when giving the times.

Yesterday we discussed the remarkable transition from "The Storm" (4th movement) to the 5th movement, which Beethoven labelled: "The Shepherd's Hymn, gratitude and Thanksgiving after the storm." The main theme we identified yesterday returns often, but it is different each time. The movement is a process of constant growth! The yodels and theme segments also re-appear as guideposts, and lead to many changes and discoveries.

The second theme, which emerges at (32:50 H 36:34 F), is so exuberant that we printed the entire theme as A (in the score attached below, labeled as “Pastoral Finale”). The main theme returns at (33:57 H 37:32 F), but is accompanied by pizzicato bass and modulates to a new key. Then we hear the third theme, played by the woodwinds (34:30 H 38:06 F). It is simple, and reminds us of the country dances from the third movement (See B in the attachment)

How Beethoven gets You to Join in the Compositional Process

After a lot of play, we come back to the main theme (35:44 H 39:23 F). Or do we? You hear it don't you? It is actually not stated. The running 16th notes touch on it sometimes, on the 1st and 4th beat of every measure, but no instrument sings it. Beethoven implies it through the accompaniment. You hear it in your mind, and you are drawn into the creative process, even if in a small way. Beethoven wants us to be active listeners, not passive ones. Which instrument has the melody? You do! You are part of the orchestra. The brass then enter and state the theme loudly. Then the exuberant theme 2 returns, and celebrates this triumph.

The music builds to a very moving point, where all you have is a bass arpeggio that always begins on F, and a descending scale (39:30 H 42:44 F). Why it is so moving we do not know, but we believe the function might be similar to the notion of a stretto in a Bach fugue, or a Chopin waltz. One might argue that the two notions of stretto are completely different, but they both serve, in a short but intense passage, to bring the entire composition, as a process, into the listener's mind as a whole. From there to the end, Beethoven reflects in a slow prayer-like, lymn-like manner, on the idea.

Something different is happening in this movement than the others. Many composers had great first movements, but faltered on the Finale. Others did great sometimes, and not as well at others. No-one ever composed Finales that transformed and transcended the entire work as well as Beethoven.

H
https://youtu.be/2HbBURnt9f4

F
https://youtu.be/RdSDzJWdNYA

As a bonus, we provide Beethoven’s WoO17–the "Eleven Mödlinger Dances"—that have long been believed to be composed for the band at the "Three Ravens Inn" in 1819.

https://youtu.be/td-VGQPB-iw

Some modern scholars doubt its authenticity. However, Beethoven certainly did compose country dances. These German Dances—WoO8, are not disputed.

https://youtu.be/pKMbudFohKs

Whether the “Mödlinger Dances” are bona fide or not, the fact that Beethoven, while composing his great “Missa Solemnis”, took time out to write for a village band, tells us something about his great soul, and about classical music overall.

Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony, Part 4: Man meets Nature

DAILY DOSE OF BEETHOVEN (September 24, 2020)

Yesterday, we provided a recording of the complete symphony with score. Today, we provide the symphony conducted by Furtwangler. We will give times for both recordings and mark them as H for yesterday's (Haitink scored version), and F for today's (Furtwangler). That way you can listen to which ever you please, or even both.

In the third movement, we did not find mankind acting in a way that threatens nature. But in the fourth movement, we do find nature threatening mankind. At the end of the third movement the dancing suddenly stops (28:15 H, 31:20 F), and a very quiet tremolo in Db by the cellos and basses takes us out of F major into f minor, followed by sounds scurrying around, as though the festival were suddenly shutting down. Beethoven simply marks it "Storm." Far greater musical resources have been mobilized in subsequent attempts to picture a storm, but none was ever as effective as this.

If you examine the score (see photo below titled Pastoral 6), the main storm theme— in f minor—which we term A (28:58 H 32:11 F), resembles the first theme of the third movement in F major which we reprint here as B ( 28:15 H 25:29 F) . At one point we hear a surprise reference to “Leonore Overture No. 3”, which is C on the chart (29:13 H 32:55 F). Chromatic scales represent the chaos of the storm in D (30:16 H 33:38 F). The storm subsides, then begins to clear in E (31:30 H 35:03 F), and the sun comes out at F (31:42 H 35:22 F). If that sounds rather descriptive, when all Beethoven marked on the score is "Storm”, his sketchbooks, Beethoven wrote:

"The hearers should be allowed to discover the situation. All painting in instrumental music, if pushed too far, is a failure. People will not require titles to recognize the general intention to be more a matter of feelings than of painting in sounds."

FINALE: Man and Nature in Harmony (opening)

The 4th movement is entitled “Sheperd's Song of Thanksgiving”. Some find it to be the most beautiful movement of the symphony. The main theme is sung many times, but is always changing. The second score (see photo below titled: Pastoral 5), identifies it as A (32:00 H 35:46 F). The sketches show that Beethoven originally planned to open the fifth movement with this theme in F major, but then he prefaced it with an amazing transitional passage. The clarinets play three notes in the rhythm of what will become the main theme, several times, on the dominant: C G E C G E CGE CGE CGE etc. See B (31:46 H 35:28 F ). What is this - another bird song, a cuckoo? Actually, it's a yodel, which Beethoven would have heard plenty of near Brühl. We are not prepared to say just how Beethoven meant it to relate to the songs of our feathered friends. The horn then picks up the yodel on the notes G C C G C C. See C on the chart (31:54 H 35:36 F). The transitional nature of the horn yodel is captured in the strings, which underscore it with the long held notes of C and G in the violas, and F and C in the cellos. See D (also 31:54 H 35:36 F)

What? C and G belong to the dominant C, and F and C to the tonic F. The resolution from one to the other is the most natural thing in the world, but to play them both at the same time, as two fifths? It sounds like a bagpipe! Although our score is only on one staff, we placed it right under the horn yodel so you can try to play them both at the same time.

The yodel resolves into the song in F major but the suspension in both tonic and dominant before is unique.

Tomorrow we will finish discussion of this movement and present a surprise.

https://youtu.be/RdSDzJWdNYA

Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony—Third Movement: Nature Meets Mankind

DAILY DOSE OF BEETHOVEN (September 23, 2020)

What happens when man is introduced into this pastoral scene? Those accustomed to today's common misanthropic characterization that " Man is the most dangerous animal", will probably expect the worst.

Fortunately nothing of the sort occurs. The third movement is called "Peasants merry-making", or "Village Festival." For Beethoven, man is part of nature. The music for this movement was largely inspired by his visits to the woods at Brühl, where he would often stop at the "Three Ravens" tavern and listen to the country band.

Music is natural, but some of the chromatic sumptuous excesses in later in Romantic composers can be characterized as less than natural. However, the amateur music that Beethoven heard at the "Three Ravens", albeit simple, was from the heart. What did the great master think of it? In 1819, while in Brühl, as he was working on the “MIssa Solemnis”, he took the time to write a few waltzes for the band. As the night wore on, the players would put down their instruments to get a drink, light a pipe, or even take a nap. Beethoven asked Schindler if he ever noticed how they would fall asleep then wake up with a random note, although usually in tune. "In the Pastoral Symphony", said Beethoven, "I have tried to copy this."

We provide a marked score (see photo below), to show you these ideas Beethoven got from the village players and it’s developement by Beethoven. Examine "Pastoral Themes" just to get an idea. The opening theme is stated by the strings in F major (A). It's a very simple descending pattern. The oboes are oblivious to key, and answer in D major (B). The end of their phrase seems a bit truncated. Beethoven, the master, makes it all appear seamless. In the second theme, while the oboe starts one note late (not shown), the strings play a very simple two-note repeating pattern (C) ( In the first two movements we heard the repeating patterns of nature. Here, we hear them in amateur musicians.) The bassoonist also has a repertoire of two notes (D), and might be a bit tipsy. (It's an octave lower than we wrote it.) In the middle section, the cellos and basses also keep repeating two notes (E). In beethoven's hands, it becomes hilarious and charming.

The movement starts (with score) at 23:15 in this video of the entire symphony.

https://youtu.be/2HbBURnt9f4

It ends at 28:15 with a sudden quiet Db, which ushers in a storm. Come back tomorrow for part 4!

Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony: The Paradoxical 2nd Movement

DAILY DOSE OF BEETHOVEN (September 22, 2020)

Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony: The Paradoxical 2nd Movement

The second movement of the Sixth Symphony is marked by Beethoven simply as "By a Brook." On the one hand, it might seem to be more descriptive and literal than the first movement. The image of a brook is concretized in constant eighth and running sixteenth notes that keeps flowing (Beethoven had even made sketches for the sound of flowing water, and wrote under them: "the more water the deeper the sound"). Running through the movement are trills that remind us of birds, that eventually break out into a dialogue of specific bird songs.

Yet, the movement is over twelve minutes long and goes through several key changes. It seems as though it were recounting stories, although we have no idea which ones. Or, are they stories? We would do well to remember two things:
1. The woods in Bruhl and outside Heiligenstadt were where Beethoven composed his major works: He would sit in the fork of a favorite tree for hours, inspired by nature, and compose the greatest works mankind had ever known.
2. Although Beethoven continued to visit these woods, at the time he was composing this symphony, he was mentally summoning the sounds of the forest from memory. He could no longer hear them. Perhaps the fleeting snatches of melody do not represent stories so much as poetic inspiration--"feelings more than painting."

In tour April 20, 2020 post, we discussed how in the introduction to the fourth movement of the Ninth Symphony, Beethoven shared his compositional method with his audience. Perhaps he is doing the same here, but in a completely different way. He wrote to friends "when you walk through these woods, remember that I have often "gedichte" (made poetry) here, or as they say, composed." ( Beethoven preferred the term tone-poet to composer.)

Near the end, the orchestra goes silent to make way for a trio of bird songs--those of the Nightingale, Quail, and Cuckoo, as represented by a flute, oboe, and clarinet. You can't help but smile when you hear it, but is it a literal representation, or a joke?

On the one hand, Beethoven, sitting in his favorite spot, may have heard an interaction between these birds that only needed the help of a composer to put them into counterpoint. On the other, he once visited the spot where he composed the movement with the rather humorless Anton Schindler, who asked Beethoven why he had not included the call of the Yellow Hammer since they had also been present. Beethoven drew an upwards arpeggio of nearly two octaves (impossible for a bird, but similar to a phrase played by the bassoon an others during the movement), and said to him "There's the little composer, and you'll find he plays a more important part than the others, for they are nothing but a joke." We can only imagine what else Beethoven said with a straight face, for Schindler later reported that Beethoven had used the Yellow Hammer call to open his Fifth Symphony!

Did you ever attend a lecture on a serious subject by a brilliant speaker who suddenly breaks into a joke, informs you that that is what he is doing, and it takes you a minute to figure it out? That's Beethoven!

Does it represent nature or man's creativity? Both! Human creativity is natural, and it is fueled by the way The Creator is reflected in nature. When roaming the woods, Beethoven would sing: "Gott allein ist unser Herr."

You can find this feathered forest trio at 12:34 in this recording:

https://youtu.be/HRwU0JaykJQ?list=TLPQMjIwOTIwMjDM1bZ4ygLaeA

Beethoven's Sixth Symphony, “The Pastorale”—Part 1

DAILY DOSE OF BEETHOVEN (September 21, 2020)

To many listeners, Beethoven's “Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68”, is unique--a stand-alone. The Titan rests, taking a day off to commune with nature. It is indeed different, but in what way? The first sketch of the Sixth Symphony appeared in 1802 and was co-written with his Fifth Symphony. It was then premiered in December of 1808 in a long concert with the “Fifth Symphony” and the “Choral Fantasy”—the prelude the great “Ninth Symphony”. All this makes the Sixth much more interesting. Are they part of the same process of a great creative mind, or do they reflect a deep divide in that mind?

Beethoven was wary of "program music." He thought that music that became too descriptive would fail. For that reason, he labeled it "Pastoral Symphony-Recollections of Country Life", and cautioned that it was "More of an expression of feeling than painting". Although the work is by far the most programmatic composition that Beethoven ever wrote, he cautioned in his sketchbooks, "All painting in instrumental music, if pushed too far, is a failure," and "People will not require titles to recognize the general intention to be more a matter of feeling than painting in sound."

Thus, despite the fact that Beethoven gave descriptive titles to each movement in a way he never did before or after, he wanted it to be known that he was not trying to depict nature in its pristine purity, outside of man, but its effect on the mind of man, which Beethoven saw as part of nature.

Beethoven's love of nature is undisputed. What is sometimes missed, is its relationship to his creative impulses. These days, a high premium might be placed on music descriptive of nature freed of man. Beethoven is clear that man's activity is natural. The symphony even includes a depiction of country-folk destabilized by a storm. It's not just the storm, but its disruptive effect on people. Indeed, advocates of nature free of human beings, will have a hard time denying that Beethoven's portrayals are inspiring in a true and rare way.

His indication for the first movement is: "The Cheerful Impressions first Excited upon Arrival in the Country." Could any theme invoke that excitement as well as the one that opens this symphony? The pause at the end of that phrase suggests opening your lungs for a deep breath of fresh air.

There is more. This symphony is hardly thought of as pioneering in counterpoint. Yet it introduces something new. It is often characterized as repetitious, but really, it captures the murmuring quality of nature. Most of the themes in the first movement derive from that opening breath. The motivic development is unique. Listen to the first movement and hear in it repetition that is never repetitious:

https://youtu.be/Jkdv8cMmsfo

The Sixth symphony can be performed in a superficial manner. We provide here a performance by Wilhelm Furtwangler that is anything by superficial! Please enjoy.

https://youtu.be/Cs8QwuVBooY

Beethoven was not a church-goer and is regarded by some as an atheist, yet he wrote:
"The vibrations of the air are God speaking to man's soul. Music is the language of God. We musicians are as close to God as man can be. We hear his voice, we read his lips..."

Can you hear that quality in the first movement?

Beethoven’s humor—“The Test of Kisses”

DAILY DOSE OF BEETHOVEN (September 18, 2020)

This song, “Prüfung des Küssens, WoO 89” (The Test of Kissing), was composed between 1790–1791, for Bonn’s Electoral singer, Joseph Lux. It is for a bass and orchestra. The author of the text is unknown, but this song, in the Italian opera buffa style, is skillfully orchestrated and full of humor.

The text tells of a "wise" mother who instructs her son that to kiss is a sin. The boy does not agree because he gets them free from Doris, and things seem to be fine. They may, however, lead to other woes.

The orchestration is through-composed. There is a surprising amount of variety in the work, including three tempo changes and a shift from 4/4 to 2/2 meter. The orchestra stands independent of the vocal area and doubling the singer only at particular moments such as cadences.

TEXT:
Meine weise Mutter spricht
Meine weise Mutter spricht:
Küssen, Küssen, Kind! ist Sünde!
Und ich armer Sünder finde,
Doch das Ding so böse nicht.

Mord und Diebstahl, weiß ich wohl,
Ist ein schreckliches Vergehen
Aber, trotz, den will ich sehen,
Der mich das beweisen soll.

Meine Küsse stehl' ich nicht:
Doris gibt von freien Stücken,
Und ich seh's an ihren Blicken,
Daß ihr wenig Leid geschicht.

Oft begiebt es sich, daß wir
Uns, vor Lust, die Lippen beißen:
Aber soll das Morden heißen?
Gott bewahre mich dafür!

Mutter! Mutter! Schmäherei!
Sünd' ist Küssen? Ist es eine;
Nun, ich armer Sünder meine,
Daß sie nicht zu lassen se

TRANSLATION:
My wise mother speaks
My wise mother says:
Kissing, kissing, child, is a sin!
Though I do not find the poor sinner
As bad as the thing itself
Murder and theft, I know
Are terrible offenses
But in spite of that I want to see
It proven it to me.

I do not steal my kisses:
Doris gives of her own free will,
And I see it in her looks
That she has little suffering.

It often happens that we
Bite our lips with lust:
But should that be called murder?
God keep me from that!

Mother! Mother! Abuse!
Sin is kissing? They are one;
I mean, this poor sinner of mine,
Should she even be allowed!

Revelling in Fugues: Part 2

DAILY DOSE OF BEETHOVEN (September 17, 2020)

Yesterday we looked at the creative progress in “fugue” up to Bach. Today, let’s look at the powerful choral fugues from Handel, Bach, Mozart and Beethoven.

1. G F Handel (1685-1759): "They loathed to Drink of the River," from "Israel in Egypt". Composed in just one month, between October and November 1738, “Israel in Egypt” premiered at London’s King’s Theatre in the Haymarket on April 4, 1739. It is composed entirely of selected passages from the Old Testament, mainly from Exodus and the Psalms. It was not well received at first. But Handel proves his greatness with the dramatic use of the chorus, setting it on an equal footing with the solo roles, and this powerful choral fugue.

https://youtu.be/yl6lh4PHTXc?list=TLPQMTMwOTIwMjC-gaN1_BsoeA

2. J S Bach (1685-1750): "Kyrie Eleison" from "Mass in B Minor." Composed in 1749, the year before his death, the “Kyrie Eleison” of the mass is a fugue with five-voice chorus (Soprano I & II, Alto, Tenor, Bass). The massive fugue is preceeded by a short introduction.The words, "Kyrie Eleison", simply mean, "God have Mercy on us." Like Beethoven later on, Bach understood that you cannot simply say the words. you have to make them real to people by taking them to higher and higher levels.

https://youtu.be/ShYiihooSa0

3. W A Mozart (1756-1791): "Kyrie Eleison: from "Requiem". Composed partly in Vienna in late 1791, it is Mozart’s last and unfinished work at his death on December 5th the same year. The “Kyrie Eleison”, in four voices—soprano, alto, tenor and bass., combines two sections that are usually presented separately, "Kyrie Eleison" (God have mercy upon us), and "Christe Eleison" (Christ have mercy upon us), into a double fugue.

https://youtu.be/rG984c4Ohrk

4. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): "Gloria" from " MIssa Solemnis." Composed between 1819 to 1823, it was first performed on April 7, 1824 in Saint Petersburg, Russia, under the auspices of Beethoven's patron Prince Nikolai Galitzin. The “Gloria”, which comes after the “Kyrie Eleison”, ends with a massive fugues, on the text "In gloria Dei patris. Amen", leading into a recapitulation of the initial Gloria text and music.

https://youtu.be/1SDmbv6_yXo

Reveling in Fugues —Part 1

DAILY DOSE OF BEETHOVEN (September 16, 2020)

When some of his friends protested about the complexity of Mozart's and Beethoven's fugues (which they found boring), Robert Schumann replied that he could "revel in their fugues all day."

Most of us, of course, don't have time for that, but now that we are acquainted with the form, let us delight in the creativity and progress made in “Fugue” over the centuries!

1. “Fantasia Chromatica” by Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562- 1621)

Although it existed before, Sweelinck, a contemporary of Shakespeare, really invented the modern form of the fugue. This work was composed for organ, we prefer this dramatic string version. Perhaps you can hear the composer investigating the very nature of the well-tempered system in a manner reminiscent of Bach's “Musical Offering”—but about 140 years earlier!

https://youtu.be/d1SWThRakvs

2. “Fugue in G Minor”, by Jan Adam Reincken (1643-1722).

Sweelinck was known as "The Maker of Organists." Students would come from Northern Germany to study with him in Amsterdam, then return to Germany and build the tradition there. One of his best students, Heinrich Scheidemann, became head organist at the Catharineskirche in Hamburg. Scheidemann's student, Jan Adam Reincken succeeded him there. Reincken was close friends with Dieterich Buxtehude (see painting below), and would be just as famous today, except there only a handful of works extant by him.

The progress in two generations is amazing. This fugue by Reincken is lively and fun.

https://youtu.be/nQ5XjpuDhaI

3. There are only two musicians that J.S. Bach (1685-1750) travelled a long distance to see: Buxtehude in 1705 and Reincken in 1720.

When Bach improvised in front of an audience at Reincken's church in Hamburg, Reincken was reported to have said: " I thought this art died with me, but now I see it lives in you." Both Sweelinck and Reincken came from Deventer Holland, the home of the Brotherhood of the Common Life, which spread literacy amongst the poor. Bach improvised this fugue on a Dutch folk song in honor of Reincken's Dutch origin, as part of the great “Fantasia and Fugue in g minor, BWV 542”. Again the progress is astounding. (The colors in this recording are actually fairly accurate representations of the organ voices, with blue representing the pedals - some fancy footwork to be sure!)

https://youtu.be/4WhPUqpaRp4

The painter Johannes Voorhout, dedicated this work "The Musical Company", to "brothers Reincken and Buxtehude". Reincken is seated at the keyboard and Buxtehude plays the cello.

Variations: The Three B's Brahms’ Handel Variations Part 4–the Fugue

DAILY DOSE OF BEETHOVEN (September 15, 2020)
Variations: The Three B's
Brahms’ Handel Variations Part 4–the Fugue

For our Grand Finale on Brahms' Handel Variations, we will compare the great fugues at the end of both the Beethoven and the Brahms.

Why study the fugue? When Mozart studied Bach and Handel at the salon of Baron van Swieten in 1782, the fugue was already considered an outmoded form. What did Mozart see in it that would later be affirmed by Beethoven and Brahms? Could it be the way that the fugal form captured both physical reality and creative thought processes, as a unity?

For those familiar with fugues, please indulge us while we introduce the elements of the form. A “fugue” is not a solo with accompaniment. It is a social process, where the idea of the whole, as a process of change, governs; yet that whole could not exist without the unique strength and character of each individual voice, and the evolution each voice undergoes.

In a fugue, one voice begins by itself, with a theme, usually stated in the tonic. So, if we are in C major, the theme will be in C. That voice corresponds to a human voice species, i.e. alto.

When a second voice enters a bit later, it will repeat the theme, but transposed, usually to the dominant. So, if the theme started on C, the answer will begin on the fifth of the scale, G. However, the second voice asks whether that answer takes place in the soprano or tenor voice, depending on whether that G is below or above the opening C.

While the second voice is playing the theme, the first voice proceeds to something else, called the “counter-subject”. It is sometimes new, but often derived from the subject. It usually accompanies the subject throughout the fugue. The standard number of voices in a fugue is four, but it ranges from 2 to 6.

A double-fugue occurs when, instead of a subject and a counter-subject, two fugal subjects of more or less equal weight are developed at the same time, as a pair. As in a good marriage, they are equal, and must undergo a change that is not determined by their individual wills alone, but by the dynamic of the duo.

Fugues often undergo transformations such as inversion, diminution, augmentation, and retrograde. These terms can be understood as geometrical transformations, which have been around since the Renaissance. They're not done for their own sake, as a show of skill, but to facilitate the transformation of an IDEA.

Inversion means upside down, like a mirror image, so a theme that proceeds as C D E, can now go C B A, or C Bb Ab. In geometry, the concept of inversion--of involute and evolute—is not just turning something upside down; it has important physical implications (see photo below of the involute of catenary). What does inversion mean in thought? Suppose you rehearse for hours an enraged response to an injustice and the many ways it might play out. Then, you invert the problem: What if you decide to let it pass? In His “Sermon on the Mount”, Jesus Christ says he is not out to overthrow the law, but to fulfill it. That only makes sense with the concept of “inversion”. Invert “an eye for an eye" onto "turn the other Cheek."

Diminution means shortening the note values, so that a theme that took four measures in quarter notes will now take two measures in eighth notes. Thus, it will sound faster. Diminution could also mean: "I have dwelt too long on this grudge. Let me reduce it, and put it in perspective."

Augmentation is the opposite. The quarter notes are now half-notes, and fill eight measures. Or, augmentation could mean: "I brush over this thought too quickly. Let me draw out its implications."

There is no limit to what we can gain from the study of fugue. We may study a fugue in depth, or delight in the development of ideas as they pass. The very name “fuga” means to flee, and indeed the various voices are fleeting. Before you can fixate on one, the next has arrived. Yet, like rigorous thought, you end up with something definite and concrete.

Today, we include recordings of both Beethoven's and Brahms’ fugues, including a short audio we have prepared to help make these transformations clear.

Here is the audio guide: https://drive.google.com/…/1IszUpzhByjMMoSi3M22hcR_9J-…/view

BEETHOVEN’S DIABELLI VARIATIONS FUGUE:

Here is a recording of the fugue from Diabelli Variations: https://youtu.be/FXjF6Okld4g

Variation 32 begins as a double-fugue. Subject One starts with an Eb to Bb drop of a fourth—an inversion of "motive C" with a rising fourth, G to C. (See photo 2 below—Diabelli theme). The Bb repeats nine times, recalling the repetitive chords of "Motive B". Subject Two features a series of rising half-tones, E F, D Eb, C Db, which recall the inversion of "Motive E" (EF A, F#G B, G#A etc.).

The first fugue subject is in the mid-range of the soprano voice, and the second fugue subject starts out on a tenor high G. This double-fugue starts out as a soprano-tenor duet, with the tenor in full voice.

Theme one is played in inversion at 0:58 in this recording, and themes one and three in diminution at 1:48.

We do not include the final variation, the Minuet, which is worthy of a separate study.

BRAHMS’ HANDEL VARIATIONS FUGUE

Brahms' Handel Variations fugue comes after a huge buildup starting with variation 23. This video includes variations 23, 24, and 25 up to the point of entry of the fugue: https://youtu.be/KQkcDzZ80rU

at Variation 25, the work could be considered successfully concluded. But then, this gigantic fugue ensues!

https://youtu.be/5SHBzkW4E10

The fugal subject begins by outlining the first four steps of the Bb major scale—Bb C D Eb, as does the Aria by Handel which provides the basis for the entire set of variations. Fugues usually correspond to human voice types. In the case of this fugue in four voices, it corresponds to soprano, alto, tenor, and bass, although not necessarily in that order (see photo 3–highlighting vocal types).

Brahms starts with the alto voice. Two measures later, at 00:05 the soprano voice enters. Two measures later, at 00:11, the bass voice enters, and two measures later, the tenor. Like all great composers, Brahms makes the stems for bass and tenor voices face down, and sopranos and tenors face up, so the voice-leading will be clear. Like Bach, Brahms is meticulous about using rests to indicate a silent voice. Not only do you know that you are in a four-voiced fugue, you know what the voices are, and where they are. Unlike today, pianos of Brahms' times had different tonal qualities for the different registers. The fugue subject when played in the bass voice, will have a different sound than when played in the soprano.

After this, Brahms introduces something almost imperceptible and seemingly innocuous—the repetition of the dominant tone F, beginning at 00:33 in this recording. Later, towards the end, it will dominate. Is it an arbitrary interjection? Does it come out of nowhere? Just listen to the bass voice in variation 8, which consists almost entirely of Bb and F! It does not come out of nowhere.

https://youtu.be/vyA4C7cEMR4

With Brahms, geometrical transformations never feel like they are being done for their own sake. Sometimes you don't even notice the technical side. For example, a lyrical and well-prepared inversion of the fugue subject emerges naturally at 1:30 in this recording. It changes the tone! Soon after, the first four notes of the theme and its inversion, enter into a dialogue,

At 2:15 we hear a powerful augmentation of the right-side-up theme in the bass, as if to remind us of where these transformations came from, of where we started.

The climax builds as Brahms reintroduces that repeated F heard at 00:33, and turns it into a powerful octave at 3:50, which then becomes a dominant pedal point in the bass at 04:05, leading to a glorious conclusion.

Beethoven Surpasses Himself, Again!

DAILY DOSE OF BEETHOVEN (September 14, 2020)

Few people are capable of improving their creative powers over themselves as Beethoven did. He did it out of love, and necessity, for the betterment of mankind.

In his “Mass in C”, Beethoven shows us this love with the setting of this fugue, on the words:

Et vitam venturi saeculi. Amen.
(And the life of the world to come, Amen)

https://youtu.be/2Q8vrDRPYCw?list=TLPQMTQwOTIwMjDcDuc-uataBA

Now compare this fugue with the one at the end of the Crudo section of his later work, the “Missa Solemnis”. Beethoven surpasses himself as he doubles the length as well as making end into a double fugue!

https://youtu.be/wtwSQwtU4GY?list=TLPQMTQwOTIwMjDcDuc-uataBA

Would that we can all improve over ourselves thus!