Johannes BrahmsPowerpoint

Cheri Wegwitz Prof Jewkes Music 1010 12/07/2012

JOHANNES BRAHMS

http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Lib/Brahms-Johannes-2.htm

Born May 7, 1833

Died April 3, 1897

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ9RoSAL8Fwc_dEawIpc0zxRxeVBh8oU-TcBEDM26oQ6gNOA8JUtw

http://www.roadtogermany.com/info/hamburg.html

Johann Jakob and Christina Nissen Brahms

Germany

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eduard_Marxsen

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Johannes_Brahms_1853.jpg

Eduard Marksen

Young Johannes

http://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/miskolc/remenyi.html

Eduard Remenyi & Johannes Brahms

Who Inspired Brahms?Ludwig von Beethoven

http://www.csudh.edu/oliver/beetport/beetport.htm

Johann Sebastian Bach

http://www.last.fm/music/Johann+Sebastian+Bach/+images/70999994

Important Life Eventso In 1850, as mentioned earlier, Brahms met Hungarian violinist Eduard Remenyi who introduced him to gypsy dance songs o which influenced some of his later compositions.

o In 1853, Brahms met Robert & Clara Schumann who helped him with his career.

o In 1854, Brahms composed his first famous piece, Piano Trio #1

o In 1856, Robert Schumann died. Brahms ended up composing A Funeral March in his honor.

o In 1857, Brahms worked with singer Julius Stockhausen on two concerts. It was here in which Brahms was establishedo as an important song composer.

o In 1858, Brahms Piano Concerto in D minor was performed with Joachim conducting. It was well received in Hamburg,o Germany. Brahms was appointed as conductor of a ladies choir in Hamburg.

o In 1863, Brahms gave a concert in Vmet Richard Wagner, a German composer, conductor, and theater director. Due to o this concert that Richard Wagner invited him to become the conductor of Singakademie in Vienna.

o In 1864, Brahms was able to dedicate the majority of his time towards composing due to his wonderful repuation.

o In 1865, Brahms mother died. He started to write a German Requiem in her memory.In 1880, Brahms not only received a doctorate but also achieved worldwide acceptance.On April 3, 1897 Johannes Brahms died.

German RequiemInspired by his mother

Johanna Henrika Christiane Nissen 1789-1865

https://geniusmothers.com/genius-mothers-of/famous-artists-writers-musicians/Johanna-Henrika-Christiane-Nissen/

Though typically Latin, Brahms honored his mother by composing

his requiem in German

http://petermenkin.blogspot.com/2011/02/lutheran-bible-found-in-wisconsin.html

http://www.indiana.edu/~ulu/

University Lutheran Church in Wisconsin

A German Requiem was written for worshipand much of the text was taken from the Bible.

Info about A German Requiem

Contains Seven Movements

Consists of a Chorus, Solo Voices and a Complete Orchestra

Orchestra consists of piccolos, flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, contrabassoon, horns, trumpets, trombones, tuba, timpani, strings, harps, and an organ.

arthursclipart.org

First PerformedBremen CathedralGood Friday, April 10, 1868

en.wikipedia.org

Breakdown of the Movements

i. Starts with “Blessed are” from the Beattitudes ii. A re-worked version of his funeral march piece. iii. Solo singing, “Lord, teach me.” iv. Focuses on the lovely dwellings of the Lord. v. This piece was specifically written for his

mother and features a soloist and chorus singing different texts.

vi. Focuses on the resurrection of the dead and gives hope.

vii. Ends how it began. “Blessed are” from Beattitudes.

Brahms 2nd Movement of A German Requiem

bracknellchoral.org.uk

Bracknell Choral Society

LISTENING GUIDEFOR

A German Requiem

Click here to listen to A German Requiem

0:00 Introduction. Bassoon starts. B flat minor0:11 Woodwinds enter0:20 Drums enter0:38 All other instruments enter and have begun melody one which descends through two octaves in the violins. There is a slow tempo in

triple time which in this minor harmony has an ominous feel like a funeral march.0:53 Tones change. Melody becomes more upbeat. Goes to major.1:22 Song goes back to bassoon playing only.1:29 The choir joins as well as all instruments. There is a slow pace. The choir starts by singing “For all flesh it is as grass.(in reference to 1 Peter 1:24)1:43 Sopranos finally joins in. Upbeat arpeggios are heard2:02 There is a slight pause , where the focus is one the choir. This is in G

flat major. The choir sings, “and all the glory of man” 2:10 The tone changes again giving a feeling of hope. The orchestra does an interlude and we can hear the timpani strong here as other instruments

are reaching a climax.The importance here is the introduction of the major and minor melodies. The major melody is a feeling of hope while the minor melody which is an ominous funeral march.

•2:30 There is a crescendo and a pause•2:35 There is another pause and then it’s the bassoon only again.•2:40 All instruments, including timpani start playing again. Voices• sing softly but are homophonic with the sopranos an octave higher.•3:20 Choir becomes forte. However sopranos are absent with violins• playing in their place.•3:50 Chords change suddenly to a bright melody. However, you can• still hear the ominous funeral march in the background. •4:25 There is another slight pause as well as melody change. Choir

has a counterpoint. Sopranos begin singing, then altos and basses join together and last, the tenors enter. Volume but we’re back to the ominous feeling

The importance in this area is the recurrenceof the ominous feelings throughout these pieces. Another important part is where the sopranos are surprisingly absent with the violins in their place.

•4:30 In this part of the song, there is a focus on the text. The instruments• are playing piano.•4:45 Focus returns to the instruments. There is a focus on the flute which• is playing an upbeat, happy melody.•4:55 Focus here is on the choir. The choir divides into 2 parts (polyphonic)• and is in major form.•5:20 Instruments return and this is reminiscent of the first sentence. Focus• here is on the flute and harp that are playing lightly and gracefully.•5:50 Bassoon only again playing in minor mode. This begins again like the• beginning, exactly. From now, to 8:15, you’ll see that this is exactly like how• this song begins. B flat minor

The importance of this section is after the extended upbeat melody, we have a return back to how the beginning of the song is. We’ve gone a full circle.

•6:00 All other instruments enter and have begun melody one whichdescends through two octaves in the violins. There is a slow tempo in triple time which in this minor harmony has an ominous feel like a funeral march.

•6:35 Instruments change from the main ominous melody to the second• melody which is upbeat.•6:45 Music becomes forte•7:03 This changes to bassoon only again and goes back to its slower• beat.•7:10 All instruments as well as choir returns. The choir is singing piano• but the instruments are forte.•7:40 You can hear the contrast of the bassoon playing the ominous melody• and the others playing the happy upbeat melody and feel the struggle.•7:48 Here the focus is on the choir which is singing the happy upbeat melody. •8:12 There is a slight pause•8:15 Woodwinds and flutes start playing and begin a crescendo•8:45 Woodwinds and flutes are playing forte and bassoons and drums are

• back but playing the ominous melody. •9:00 Choir begins singing with orchestra and all are playing/singing the• ominous melody.•9:22 There is a dimuendo here

The importance of this section is the focus on the dynamics of the orchestra as well as the struggle between the two melodies. However, the happy melody seems to be overcoming. There is a big crescendo and then dimuendo that are important as well.

•9:37 Flute and violins introduce the happy upbeat melody using syncopation •and the bassoons have stopped playing. There is a timpani roll. The second verse •of the text begins here with the choir singing, “Be patient, therefore, brethren.”•10:00 Bassoons return performing a countermelody.•10:06 All instruments besides the bassoon drop off•10:10 The choir returns to singing and all instruments begin playing forte. •is on the violins playing fortissimo in triplet rhythm. Trumpets and horns play the• original melody.•10:35 The music is happy, joyful, upbeat and bouncy in duple meter. The music is• in major mode. Here the choir sings the last line of the 2nd verse. “But the word •of the Lord endureth forever. On the last word, there is a huge loud drop and there• is a timpani roll.•10:50 Focus is on the choir who are singing the joyful melody. They started the• 3rd verse, “And the ransomed of the Lord shall return”•11:00 Bassoons come in playing the joyful melody forte. This begins transitioning• to the slower and solemn melody. Dimuendo. The chorus has another counterpoint.•11:20 This quickly returned back to the upbeat melody.

This part is important to the song. It’s leading to the climax and where the climax is resolved. First, we have the syncopation and timpani roll. The rhythm changes here in a triplet rhythm. At the 10:35 mark, song goes back to duple meter but right into major mode with a drop off into a timpani roll. At 10:50, the focus is on the choir singing joyfully. When bassoons enter, they begin playing the joyful melody in forte. However, then it transitions to the slower solemn melody with a counterpoint and then quickly returns to the upbeat melody. This mark is important because the joyful melody is dominant in this whole section.

11:32 There is a slight pause and song returns back to playing minor and the ominous, slower melody. Strings start the return, followed by the bassoons. There is a drop in volume so we can hear the voices showing repetition. The opening march is repeated as the melody enters. The instruments begin imitating each other with counterpoint.11:44 This returns to forte and the fast and happy melody is back12:04 Another break and returns to bassoons only again.12:08 The choir returns but is singing the slowly and ominously. We can hear

horns in syncopation.12:15 Another break, or slight pause and then the music begins building with a crescendo.12:29 Forte again with the choir singing intermittently in a great back and forth with the instruments. The voices have broken into parts between the sopranos

and all others. The timpani is playing in a two note pattern.12:45 There is rejoicing. Here there is a great balance between the choir and

instruments. 13:15 There is a huge chord here which marks the climax. The choir suddenly

drops down. We can then hear the flutes and clarinets playing in soft syncopation.

.The importance of this part is the great rejoicing at 12:45 and then the climax chord at 13:15.

13:30 A slight pause and then immediately begins playing the minor melody13:44 The choir stops singing and we hear just the bassoons playing slowly again. This returns to sounding like the beginning again with the main melody playing.13:48 Other instruments join in playing piano while the bassoon plays forte.13:55 The choir returns and we have a slow but powerful crescendo. 14:25 The choir returns to praising and the crescendo is still building. The choir is singing “they shall obtain joy and gladness”14:35 We’re at the height of the fortissimo. All instruments are playing as well as choir is singing, “and sorrow and sighing shall flee away”14:42 We have a quick dimuendo.14:51 We have the last slight pause and are left with only the instruments as the choir drops off here. Brass and timpani have also dropped out. The other instruments build slightly in a small crescendo with all instruments joining in for one last final chord and a timpani roll and then ends. The movement ends. 

The thing to watch for is after the return to sounding like the beginning he choir returns and there is an amazing crescendo that’s singing about gladness and when singing sorrow and sighing, there’s a dimuendo marking word painting followed by a pause while many instruments drop out and others have a small crescendo until all instruments join in for one last chord and then ends in a timpani roll.

A German Requiem Translationfor Movement 2

English Text:--For all flesh is as grass,and all the glory of manas the flower of grass.The grass withereth,and the flower falleth away.                                --1 Peter 1:24--Be patient, therefore, brethren,unto the coming of the Lord.Behold, the husbandman waitethfor the precious fruit of the earth,and hath long patience for it, until he receivethe early and latter rain.                                --James 5:7--But the word of the Lord endureth for ever.                                --1 Peter 1:25--And the ransomed of the Lord shall return,and come to Zion with songsand everlasting joy upon their heads:they shall obtain joy and gladness,and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.                                --Isaiah 35:10

Works Cited

http://www.mcs.csueastbay.edu/~malek/Musician/Brahms.html http://www.notablebiographies.com/Be-Br/Brahms-Johannes.html#b http://www.biography.com/people/johannes-brahms-9223886 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_German_Requiem_%28Brahms%29 http://www.brightcecilia.com/features/brahms-german-requiem.html http://www.osmun.com/reference/brahms/Chapter%202.html