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O Sonne der Wonne!

O Schönste der Schönen!


Benimm mir dies Sehnen,
Komm, eile, komm, komme,
Du süße, du fromme!
Ach, Schwester, ich sterbe,
Ich sterb’, ich verderbe,
Komm, komme, komm, eile,
Komm, komme, komm eile,
Benimm mir dies Sehnen,
O Schönste der Schönen!

English Translation

0:00 [m. 1]--Stanza (strophe) 1. With no introduction, the song begins at a


breathless
pace on a quick vocal upbeat. The lilting 6/8 rhythm is consistent in both the
voice
and piano. The latter has consistent off-beat figures in the right hand after
solid
bass notes and chords on the main beats. The first six lines are set to three
four-bar
phrases, with two rhyming lines in each. The third phrase moves to the relative
B minor.
0:11 [m. 13]--The last four lines are condensed into a six-bar phrase. This
achieves
a “hurried” effect, made more exaggerated by the changes in the vocal line,
including
sudden pauses at the poem’s commas as well as a quick and powerful crescendo. The
piano also changes, with thumping chords in the right hand and increasingly rapid
and frequent notes in the left. After the climax, the last pair of lines slows and
quiets slightly to a pause. Note that this last couplet (lines 9-10) is simply an
inversion of the first one.
0:21 [m. 19]--The last couplet is emphatically repeated after the pause in a four-
bar
phrase with rapid broken octaves in the piano left hand. The last line hints at
minor (at “liebliche”) before again slowing and quieting, re-establishing major,
and reaching a weak, questioning close that anticipates the next strophe.
0:29 [m. 1]--Stanza (strophe) 2. Lines 1-6, as at the beginning. The first four
lines of the stanza have much wordplay, such as the inversion in the first two and
the double use of “Augen” to refer to the beloved’s, then the protagonist’s eyes
in the third and fourth.
0:40 [m. 13]--Lines 7-8 set to the six-bar phrase, as at 0:11. The piano part is
identical, but Brahms artfully varies the vocal line in this verse by eliminating
the pause in line 7 (since there is no comma). The vocalist simply sings to notes
that match the piano’s rising line (lower than “zu grüßen” in strophe 1), then
inserts
a longer pause thereafter. At line 8, the vocal line again matches strophe 1, but
Brahms changes the text setting by repeating lines 7 and 8 rather than moving to
the last couplet, saving that for after the pause.
0:50 [m. 19]--After the pause, the last two lines (again an inversion of the first
two) are sung to the closing phrase heard at 0:21.
0:58 [m. 23]--Stanza (strophe) 3. This last stanza is set without repeat signs in
the score because of the lengthened and intensified closing. The first six lines,
however, are set to the same music as the first two strophes.
1:09 [m. 35]--Lines 7-10, set to the six-bar phrase. Note that line 7 is a
rearrangement
of line 3. Line 8 in the original poem was new (“Komm, tröste, komm,
heile”--“Come,
comfort, come heal”) but Brahms opted to repeat line 7, perhaps to give more
emphasis
to “eile” (“hurry”). The last couplet is again an inversion of the first. The
musical
setting of the text is as in stanza 1, with the “comma” pause inside of line 7.
1:19 [m. 41]--Repetition of the last two lines. This final phrase is extended to
six bars in the last strophe, eliminating the slowing and quieting (but still
including
the minor hint on “Schönste“). The last two words, “der Schönen,” are repeated in
an intensification leaping to the song’s highest vocal pitch. The rapid piano
flourishes
are then extended, providing the strong closing that was absent in the first two
verses.
1:32--END OF SONG [46 mm.]

5. Die Liebende schreibt (The Loving Woman Writes). Text by Johann Wolfgang von
Goethe. Non troppo lento. Two varied strophes followed by a closing sestet, the
musical setting matching the sonnet form. E-FLAT MAJOR, 6/8 time (Low key D-flat
major).

German Text:
Ein Blick von deinen Augen in die meinen,
Ein Kuß von deinem Mund auf meinem Munde,
Wer davon hat, wie ich, gewisse Kunde,
Mag dem was anders wohl erfreulich scheinen?

Entfernt von dir, entfremdet von den Meinen,


Führ’ ich stets die Gedanken in die Runde
Und immer treffen sie auf jene Stunde,
Die einzige: da fang’ ich an zu weinen.

Die Träne trocknet wieder unversehens:


Er liebt ja, denk’ ich, her, in diese Stille,
Und solltest du nicht in die Ferne reichen?

Vernimm das Lispeln dieses Liebewehens;


Mein einzig Glück auf Erden ist dein Wille,
Dein freundlicher zu mir; gib mir ein Zeichen!

English Translation

0:00 [m. 1]--Stanza 1. Beginning on a half-measure, the piano plays a sighing,


dissonant
chord (a half-diminished seventh) leading to the simply stated rise and fall of the
first line on a broken E-flat chord. A two-note group off the beat is introduced
in the piano left hand. The right hand decorates the melody. The second line is
a sequential repetition a step higher than the first (on F minor), also introduced
by a dissonant chord (this time a “fully” diminished seventh). The long-short
rhythm
of the vocal line remains consistent.
0:11 [m. 7]--The third and fourth lines of the stanza break from the sequence and
freely flow in the continuous long-short rhythm. The smooth two-note groups in the
left hand are now constant. The right hand harmonies more closely follow the vocal
line. The music moves toward the related key of C minor, and the stanza ends on
the questioning “dominant” chord of that key. There is a one-bar piano bridge.
0:24 [m. 14]--Stanza 2. The vocal melody of the first two lines is the same as in
stanza 1, but the piano harmony adds a persistent dissonant note (D-flat),
intensifying
the pathos in the first line. The piano part of the second line is virtually
identical
to stanza 1.
0:34 [m. 20]--The third line is essentially sung as in stanza 1, but it breaks free
at “Stunde,” rising in pitch and volume and reaching a high point on “einzige.”
The music again moves to C, but this time it is C major and the motion is complete.
The last line descends from the high point and shifts to minor as it trails off.
The two-note off-beat phrases move to the right hand, echoing the voice and
suggesting
the sighing tears. These sighs continue in the bridge, which moves back to C major
and introduces the sonnet’s closing sestet.
0:47 [m. 27]--Stanza 3 (lines 1-3 of six-line group). The first line is in pure
C major, the quietest moment of the song. The two-note sighs are in double notes
here. For the second and third lines, the piano accompaniment introduces a
continuous,
winding line in the right hand. This includes many chromatic half-steps. In the
third line, there is a large swelling of volume and a motion back to the home key
of E-flat. The voice reaches the song’s highest pitch on “Ferne.”
1:05 [m. 36]--At the song’s high point, the piano has an interlude in a full four-
voice
texture with some syncopation and a general descending motion. It quiets down
before
the vocal entry of stanza 4.
1:12 [m. 40]--Stanza 4 (lines 4-6 of six-line group). The contour of the vocal
line
is similar to that of stanza 3, but now in the home key. The two-note sighs are
now in very prominent high octaves, while the left hand adopts the rhythm of the
vocal line in double notes, creating full harmonies with the voice. The second
line
becomes highly chromatic in the voice and both hands of the piano.
1:23 [m. 46]--The third line breaks off in the middle after turning briefly to the
related (subdominant) key of A-flat. After one bar of piano sighs, the line,
stanza,
and poem are completed in a questioning manner (“gib mir ein Zeichen”). The piano
continues its sighs in a postlude. There are eight total, the first four repeated
an octave lower. The last “sigh” is lengthened into a final full cadence, not as
questioning as the end of the vocal line.
1:46--END OF SONG [53 mm.]
END OF SET

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