Program Notes for “Dreamscapes: A Liederabend” August 20th, 2024

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) Zwei Gesänge, Op. 91

This first concert of NEXUS’ 2024 Chamber Music Festival, Dreamscapes: A Liederabend, explores the surrealist nature of the poems and stories of the traditional lieder. 

Zwei Gesänge Op. 91, or Two Songs for Voice, Viola, and Piano, was composed by Johannes Brahms for the celebrated violinist Joseph Joachim and his wife Amalie, who were close friends of the composer.

The first song, “Gestillte Sehnsucht” (Longing at Rest), composed in 1884, is set to an 1816 poem by Friedrich Rückert that revolves around nature and personal longing; both topics were dear to Brahms. The second song, “Geistliches Wiegenlied” (Sacred Lullaby), is a cradle song based on a text by Emanuel Geibel that Brahms set to music in 1863. The viola begins with the medieval Christmas carol “Joseph, lieber Joseph mein,” in which Mary asks Joseph to help her to rock her baby. The two songs were published together in 1884 and first performed publicly a year later in Krefeld, northern Germany, with contralto Auguste Hohenschild, violist Alwin von Beckerath, and Brahms on the piano. They have been among Brahms’ most cherished works ever since.

Alban Berg (1885-1935) Sieben frühe Lieder

1. Nacht 
2. Schilflied 
3. Die Nachtigall 
4. Traumgekrönt 
5. Im Zimmer 
6. Liebesode 
7. Sommertage 

Alban Berg wrote his Sieben frühe Lieder (Seven Early Songs) between 1905 and 1908, based on texts by seven German-language poets. The seven songs weren’t originally intended as a set but were published as such in 1928 in both orchestral and piano versions, without an opus number, and dedicated to Berg’s wife, Helene. The songs are infused with the expressionistic ethos of Vienna just after the turn of the century. The influence of Mahler, Debussy, and the early work of Berg’s teacher, Schoenberg, are all apparent throughout.

Augusta Read Thomas (b. 1964) Plea for Peace (2017) 

“Scored for wordless soprano and string quartet, Plea for Peace acts as a single, seamless block beginning in near-immobility, with the voice animating the instruments as the music embarks on its slow, implacable progress. With the voice and instruments’ lines constantly interweaving and building upon each other, the music imperceptibly grows in fervor without ever changing its spaciously inexorable pace. The work’s ultimate peak is as vociferous as it is inevitable. But, as the ending winds back to the opening stillness, there’s no sense of fulfillment or arrival. The listener, along with the music, is left awaiting an answer to this impassioned plea.” -Augusta Read Thomas

Ernest Chausson (1855-1899) Chanson perpétuelle

Chanson perpétuelle (Perpetual Song), Op. 37, was composed by Ernest Chausson in 1898 and published posthumously in 1911. Chausson wrote this version for soprano, piano, and string quartet along with another version for soprano with full orchestra. The text, describing the suffering of an abandoned woman who contemplates suicide, is of selected stanzas from Nocturne, a poem by Charles Cros. A sense of melancholy, characteristic of Chausson’s work, pervades Chanson perpétuelle.

Chanson perpétuelle was Chausson’s last completed work. It was dedicated to the singer Jeanne Raunay, who gave its premiere in January of 1899. Chausson himself died in a bicycle accident later that year, leaving his String Quartet, Op. 35, unfinished. 

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) 

Wie Melodien zieht es mir, Op. 105 No. 1

In August 1886, Brahms noted in his diary that he had set Klaus Groth’s poem Wie Melodien zieht es mir leise durch den Sinn (Like Melodies It Steals Softly Through My Mind) to music. The song received its premiere in Vienna in 1887, then was grouped with several others and published in 1888 as Fünf Lieder (Five Songs), Op. 105.

Lerchengesang, Op. 70 No. 2

Lerchengesang (Larch Song)is the second in a set of four songs that Brahms wrote between 1875 and 1877 and published in 1877. Op. 70 is a restrained group overall, and the music of Lerchengesang is atmospheric and transparent. It reflects the text by Karl August Candidus, talking of “ethereal distant voices” and the “heavenly greetings of the larks.”

Sapphische Ode, Op. 94 No. 4

Brahms’ song set Op. 94 was initially written between 1883 and 1884, and published in 1884. Brahms composed Op. 94 for low voice, probably for his friend, the baritone Julius Stockhausen. Number four in the set, the Sapphische Ode is not only its best-known song, but also one of the most famous pieces of music written by Brahms. Sapphische Ode is set to a text by Hans Schmidt, an obscure 19th-century poet Brahms admired. A timeless love song in the truest sense, its shimmering melody, warm harmony, and sense of timelessness have made the work among  Brahms’ most recognized and often-arranged works.