''Fünf Lieder'' (Five Songs), Op. 105, were composed 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 ...

between 1886 and 1888. He set five poems by different authors, mostly contemporary poets, for a lower voice and piano.

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 the work in 1888.

History

Brahms recorded in a pocket diary entry written in

Thun , neighboring_municipalities= Amsoldingen, Heiligenschwendi, Heimberg, Hilterfingen, Homberg, Schwendibach, Spiez, Steffisburg, Thierachern, Uetendorf, Zwieselberg , twintown = , website = www.thun.ch Thun (french: Thoune) ...

, Switzerland, in August 1886, that he had set several poems to music, including Klaus Groth's "''Wie Melodien zieht es mir leise durch den Sinn''" ("Like melodies it steals softly through my mind"),

Hermann Lingg Hermann (Ritter von) Lingg (22 January 1820 – 18 June 1905) was a German poet who also wrote plays and short stories. His cousin, Maximilian von Lingg, was Bishop of Augsburg. He was born in Lindau. Lingg studied medicine at the universities of ...

's "''Immer leiser wird mein Schlummer''" ("My slumber grows more and more gentle"),

Carl von Lemcke Carl von Lemcke, or Karl (von) Lemcke, who sometimes wrote as Karl Manno (26 August 1831 – 7 April 1913) was a German aesthetician and art historian who also wrote songs and novels. He was born in Schwerin. Between 1852 and 1856 he studied art h ...

's ''Verrat'' / "''Ich stand in einer lauen Nacht''" (Betrayal / "I stood, it was one balmy night") and another song by Paul Flemming, all of them authors from the 19th century. He probably composed the songs with the voice of

Hermine Spies Hermine Spies (25 February 1857 – 26 February 1893) was a German concert and opera singer. Life Hermine Spies was considered to be one of the leading alto singers of the late 19th century, and an exceptional interpreter of the works of Johann ...

in mind, who privately sang some of them for him. Two years later, Brahms offered a group of songs for lower voice to his publisher

, to be his Op. 105, together with a group for high voice as Op. 106. The final grouping and order was achieved in a personal meeting of the composer and the publisher, ultimately adding to Op. 105 a setting of a traditional Lower Rhenish song, "''Feins Liebchen, trau du nicht''" ("Beloved, do not trust") and a poem by Detlev von Liliencron, ''Auf dem Kirchhofe'' / "''Der Tag ging regenschwer und sturmbewegt''" (At the graveyard / "The day was heavy with rain and storms"): # ''Wie Melodien zieht es mir leise durch den Sinn'' (Groth) # ''Immer leiser wird mein Schlummer'' (Lingg) # ''Feins Liebchen, trau du nicht'' (traditional) # ''Der Tag ging regenschwer'' (Liliencron) # ''Ich stand in einer lauen Nacht'' (Lemcke) The group, as others by Brahms, has been metaphorically described as a "song bouquet", likening it to flowers "plucked" from different sources and then combined into a whole. The songs were premiered individually, the first song on 11 February 1887 in Vienna, the second at a recital of

Amalie Joachim Amalie Marie Joachim (née Schneeweiss; 10 May 1839 – 3 February 1899) was an Austrian-German contralto, working in opera and concert and as voice teacher. She was the wife of the violinist Joseph Joachim, and a friend of Clara Schumann and Joh ...

in Berlin on 1 February 1888, the third on 6 March 1888 in Vienna, the fourth on 30 November 1888 there, and the fifth also there on 5 December 1888, in a concert of Olga Segel. Later performances and recordings also often ignored the published grouping, placing individual songs in different contexts. The melodies of some of these songs also make appearances in Brahms' instrumental works, especially "Immer leiser wird mein Schlummer", which he had used a few years earlier as a cello solo theme in the third movement of his Piano Concerto No. 2 in B major.

Motif Motif may refer to: General concepts * Motif (chess composition), an element of a move in the consideration of its purpose * Motif (folkloristics), a recurring element that creates recognizable patterns in folklore and folk-art traditions * Moti ...

s from three of the songs appear in his Violin Sonata No. 2, "''Wie Melodien zieht es mir leise durch den Sinn''" as the second subject of the first movement, and both "''Immer leiser wird mein Schlummer''" and "''Auf dem Kirchhofe''" in the final movement.

References

Sources

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External links

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5 Lieder, Op. 105

French National Library French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

Brahms Among Friends: Listening, Performance, and the Rhetoric of Allusion
{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Fünf Lieder'', Op. 105 (Brahms) Lieder composed by Johannes Brahms 1888 compositions