"" ("Lullaby"; "Cradle Song"), Op. 49, No. 4, is a

lied In Western classical music tradition, (, plural ; , plural , ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music to create a piece of polyphonic music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German, but among English and French s ...

for voice and piano by

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...

which was first published in 1868. It is one of the composer's most popular pieces.

History

Brahms based the music of his "Wiegenlied" partially on "S'Is Anderscht", a duet by published in the 1840s. The cradle song was dedicated to Brahms's friend, Bertha Faber, on the occasion of the birth of her second son.Opus 49, Fünf Lieder für eine Singstimme und Klavier
at Brahms-Institut (Lübeck) website. Brahms had been in love with her in her youth and constructed the melody of the "" to suggest, as a hidden

counter-melody In music, a counter-melody (often countermelody) is a sequence of notes, perceived as a melody, written to be played simultaneously with a more prominent lead melody. In other words, it is a secondary melody played in counterpoint with the prima ...

, a song she used to sing to him.

Simrock Simrock may refer to the German sheet music publisher N. Simrock, or one of the following members of the Simrock family engaged in that business: * Nikolaus Simrock, (1751–1832), founder of N. Simrock * Karl Joseph Simrock (1802–1876), son of N ...

published Brahms's Op. 49 in November 1868. The lullaby was first performed in public on 22 December 1869 in Vienna by Luise Dustmann (singer) and

Clara Schumann Clara Josephine Schumann (; née Wieck; 13 September 1819 – 20 May 1896) was a German pianist, composer, and piano teacher. Regarded as one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic era, she exerted her influence over the course of a ...

(piano).

Song

The song has been described as deceptively simple. In its original publication it only had a single verse.

Lyrics

The lyrics are from ''

Des Knaben Wunderhorn ''Des Knaben Wunderhorn: Alte deutsche Lieder'' (German language, German; "The boy's magic horn: old German songs") is a collection of German folk poems and songs edited by Ludwig Achim von Arnim, Achim von Arnim and Clemens Brentano, and publi ...

'', a collection of German folk poems: Later, Brahms adapted a second verse from an 1849 poem by :

Melody

\relative g' \addlyrics In 1877, Brahms based the second theme of the first movement of his Second Symphony on the lullaby's tune. The melody is first introduced in bar 82 and continues to develop throughout the movement.

Reception

The "" is one of Brahms's most popular songs.

Arrangements

In 1922, Australian pianist and composer

Percy Grainger Percy Aldridge Grainger (born George Percy Grainger; 8 July 188220 February 1961) was an Australian-born composer, arranger and pianist who lived in the United States from 1914 and became an American citizen in 1918. In the course of a long an ...

arranged In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchest ...

the "" as one of his "Free Settings of Favorite Melodies" for solo piano. This study was characterized by much use of

suspension Suspension or suspended may refer to: Science and engineering * Suspension (topology), in mathematics * Suspension (dynamical systems), in mathematics * Suspension of a ring, in mathematics * Suspension (chemistry), small solid particles suspend ...

s and

arpeggiation A broken chord is a chord broken into a sequence of notes. A broken chord may repeat some of the notes from the chord and span one or more octaves. An arpeggio () is a type of broken chord, in which the notes that compose a chord are played ...

, with the first statement of the melody placed in the tenor range of the keyboard. This last practice was a favorite one of Grainger.

Cultural references

A 1936

biographical film A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudra ...

of Brahms with

Albert Florath Albert Peter Adam Florath (7 December 1888, Bielefeld – 11 March 1957, Gaildorf) was a German stage and film actor. Early life and education Born to Joseph Florath, a locksmith, and his wife Matilda, née Burkart, he attended school in Brakel ...

as the composer, took its title from the opening lines of this song, ''Guten Abend, gute Nacht''.

Wendy Cope Wendy Cope (born 21 July 1945) is a contemporary English poet. She read history at St Hilda's College, Oxford. She now lives in Ely, Cambridgeshire, with her husband, the poet Lachlan Mackinnon. Biography Cope was born in Erith in Kent (no ...

's poem "Brahms Cradle Song" refers to this song.

Cultural interpretations

In an article published in 2005, Karen Bottge analysed Brahms's "Wiegenlied" as an expression of the maternal voice, basing her reflections on writings by theorists such as

Friedrich Kittler Friedrich A. Kittler (June 12, 1943 – October 18, 2011) was a literary scholar and a media theorist. His works relate to media, technology, and the military. Biography Friedrich Adolf Kittler was born in 1943 in Rochlitz in Saxony. His fami ...

Michel Chion Michel Chion (born 1947) is a French film theorist and composer of experimental music. Life Born in Creil, France, Chion teaches at several institutions in France and currently holds the post of Associate Professor at the University of Paris III ...

Gilles Deleuze Gilles Louis René Deleuze ( , ; 18 January 1925 – 4 November 1995) was a French philosopher who, from the early 1950s until his death in 1995, wrote on philosophy, literature, film, and fine art. His most popular works were the two volu ...

Félix Guattari Pierre-Félix Guattari ( , ; 30 April 1930 – 29 August 1992) was a French psychoanalyst, political philosopher, semiotician, social activist, and screenwriter. He co-founded schizoanalysis with Gilles Deleuze, and ecosophy with Arne Næss, ...

, and

Theodor W. Adorno Theodor W. Adorno ( , ; born Theodor Ludwig Wiesengrund; 11 September 1903 – 6 August 1969) was a German philosopher, sociologist, psychologist, musicologist, and composer. He was a leading member of the Frankfurt School of criti ...

Recordings

Recordings include: * 1958

Joni James Giovanna Carmella Babbo (September 22, 1930 – February 20, 2022), known professionally as Joni James, was an American singer of traditional pop music. Biography Giovanna Carmella Babbo was born to an Italian-American family in Chicago, Illino ...

– recorded for her album ''Among My Souvenirs''. * 1962

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf Dame Olga Maria Elisabeth Friederike Schwarzkopf, (9 December 19153 August 2006) was a German-born Austro-British soprano. She was among the foremost singers of lieder, and is renowned for her performances of Viennese operetta, as well as the op ...

(soprano) and Gerald Moore on

Testament Records (UK) The Testament Records label, based in Great Britain, specialises in historical classical music recordings, including previously unreleased broadcast performances by Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony Orchestra and the pianist Solomon. It has ...

1206. * 1989

Anne Sofie von Otter Anne Sofie von Otter (born 9 May 1955) is a Swedish mezzo-soprano. Her repertoire encompasses lieder, operas, oratorios and also rock and pop songs. Early life Von Otter was born in Stockholm, Sweden. Her father was Göran von Otter, a Swedis ...

(mezzo-soprano) and Bengt Forsberg (piano) on

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

429727. * 1994

Kenny G Kenneth Bruce Gorelick (born June 5, 1956), known professionally as Kenny G, is an American smooth jazz saxophonist, composer, and producer. His 1986 album ''Duotones'' brought him commercial success. Kenny G is one of the best-selling artis ...

– recorded as instrumental "Brahms Lullaby" for his album '' Miracles: The Holiday Album''. * 2013

Bernarda Fink Bernarda Fink (born 29 August 1955) is an Argentine mezzo-soprano. Born in Buenos Aires to Slovene parents who immigrated from Yugoslavia, Fink studied at the Instituto Superior de Arte del Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. She won First Prize at th ...

(mezzo-soprano) and

Roger Vignoles Roger Vignoles (born 12 July 1945), is a British pianist and accompanist. He regularly performs with the world's leading singers, including Kiri Te Kanawa, Thomas Allen, Anne Sofie von Otter, Thomas Hampson, Gitta-Maria Sjöberg, Sarah Walk ...

(piano).''Brahms Lieder''
review by Richard Wigmore, '' Gramophone''

Notes

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

*
Wiegenlied, op.49, nr.4, "Guten Abend, gut Nacht"
at (recordings) {{Authority control Lieder composed by Johannes Brahms Lullabies 1868 songs