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Johannes Brahms

Zigeunerlieder (Brahms)

The Zigeunerlieder (Gypsy songs), Op. 103 and Op. 112 Nos. 3–6, are a song cycle for four singers (or choir) and piano by Johannes Brahms (Op. 103 Nos. 1–7 and 11 exist also in an arrangement for

History#

The first eleven pieces of the cycle, which formed some well-connected story, were put to music by Brahms either in his Thun summer of 1887 or in winter 1887/88 straight-away during a stay in Budapest. Further four songs followed in 1891 and were published together with the song quartets Sehnsucht and Nächtens (text by Franz Theodor Kugler), 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 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, 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

Literature#

  • Hans Gebhard, ed.: Harenberg Chormusikführer. Harenberg, Dortmund 1999, .
  • Zigeunerlieder: MIDI/MP3-Format, with exercises for members of a choir
  • Zigeunerlieder op. 103: Texts and translations at the LiederNet Archive
  • Vier Zigeunerlieder op. 112: Texts and translations at the LiederNet Archive
Composer
Johannes Brahms