The Zigeunerlieder (Gypsy songs),
Op. 103 and Op. 112 Nos. 3–6, are a
song cycle
A song cycle (german: Liederkreis or Liederzyklus) is a group, or cycle (music), cycle, of individually complete Art song, songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a unit.Susan Youens, ''Grove online''
The songs are either for solo voice ...
for four singers (or
choir
A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...
) and
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
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 ...
(Op. 103 Nos. 1–7 and 11 exist also in an arrangement for solo voice and piano made by Brahms himself). The texts
''Vier Zigeunerlieder op. 112:'' Texts and translations
at the LiederNet Archive are Hungarian folk song
Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be c ...
s in German adaptation by Hugo Conrat (originally Hugo Cohn, 1845–1906), a member of Brahms’ circle in Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
. The first translation of the texts was by the Hungarian nurse of the Conrat family.
History
The first eleven pieces of the cycle, which formed some well-connected story, were put to music by Brahms either in his Thun
, neighboring_municipalities= Amsoldingen, Heiligenschwendi, Heimberg, Hilterfingen, Homberg, Schwendibach, Spiez, Steffisburg, Thierachern, Uetendorf, Zwieselberg
, twintown =
, website = www.thun.ch
Thun (french: Thoune) ...
summer of 1887 or in winter 1887/88 straight-away during a stay in Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
. Further four songs followed in 1891 and were published together with the song quartets ''Sehnsucht'' and ''Nächtens'' (text by Franz Theodor Kugler
Franz Theodor Kugler (19 January 1808, Stettin – 18 March 1858, Berlin) was an art historian and cultural administrator for the Prussian state. He was the father of historian Bernhard von Kugler (1837-1898).
He studied literature, music and t ...
), which had no connection with the ''Zigeunerlieder'', but nonetheless were put together to form Brahms's Op. 112.
In Brahms's total work the ''Zigeunerlieder'' can be seen – on the one hand – as a vocal counterpart of the Hungarian Dances Hungarian dance refers to the folk dances practised and performed by the Hungarians, both amongst the populations native to Hungary and its neighbours, and also amongst the Hungarian diaspora.
According to György Martin, a prominent folklore expe ...
and – on the other hand – as exotic counterpart to the more-referenced Liebesliederwalzer Opp. 52 and 65.
The first public performance of the songs Op. 103 was on 31 October 1888 in Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
, with great success, although the presentation of the opus in a concert hall presented some bad feelings to the composer, since Brahms had conceived his opus genuinely for soloist quartets, and had thought of performances at home. Nonetheless, the songs are also suited for (small) choirs, particularly in connection with the voluminous sound of modern pianos. As a consequence, performances by choirs in concert are now the rule. CD-representations are, instead, frequently performed by soloists.
List of songs
''Zigeunerlieder'', Op. 103
# ''He, Zigeuner, greife in die Saiten''
# ''Hochgetürmte Rimaflut''
# ''Wißt ihr, wann mein Kindchen''
# ''Lieber Gott, du weißt''
# ''Brauner Bursche führt zum Tanze''
# ''Röslein dreie in der Reihe''
# ''Kommt dir manchmal in den Sinn''
# ''Horch, der Wind klagt in den Zweigen''
# ''Weit und breit schaut niemand mich an''
# ''Mond verhüllt sein Angesicht''
# ''Rote Abendwolken ziehn''
''Vier Zigeunerlieder'', Op. 112
# ''Himmel strahlt so helle''
# ''Rote Rosenknospen künden''
# ''Brennessel steht an Weges Rand''
# ''Liebe Schwalbe, kleine Schwalbe''
References
Literature
* Hans Gebhard, ed.: ''Harenberg Chormusikführer''. Harenberg, Dortmund 1999, .
External links
*
*
Zigeunerlieder:
MIDI/MP3-Format, with exercises for members of a choir
at the LiederNet Archive
at the LiederNet Archive
{{Authority control
Song cycles by Johannes Brahms
Classical song cycles in German