Program Notes by José-Daniel Martínez

When Brahms Volkslieder are the topic of a conversation, center stage is usually taken by his well known collection published in 1894, the 49 Deutsche Volkslieder, which today bear the index-number WoO 33.  Choral conductors may bring forth the exquisite collections for mixed chorus WoO 34 and 35 published respectively in 1864 and 1927! – 26 songs.  Others will mention the Volks-Kinderlieder WoO 31, associating them unconsciously with WoO 33; except that the Kinderlieder were published almost four decades earlier than WoO 33!  It may happen that the following collections are left out of the conversation: the Deutsche Volkslieder for female ensemble WoO 36-38, pub. 1938, 1964 and 1968 – 48 songs, and the early 28 Deutsche Volkslieder (DVL) WoO 32 for voice and piano.

This last collection and the Kinderlieder are the subject of our recording. Eight colleagues from the Upper Austria Landesmusikschulwerk and I show how flexible and varied the interpretation of these songs can be. Only in a few instances two consecutive tracks are sung by the same singer. This provides an enjoyable contrast of voice timbres and vocal registers. A limited number of recordings of the Volks-Kinderlieder are available (either complete or featuring selected songs). By the date in which this text was ready for print, a search for available recordings containing the complete 28 DVL group had yielded only one result, all performed by one singer, and produced in the same year as ours. 

The two early Volkslieder collections are closely related in that they share the same source of text and melodic material (see below), both have uncomplicated piano parts and were arranged by Brahms in his twenties. The Kinderlieder were published in 1858 and the 28 DVL, although first published in 1926, had already been assembled by early 1858, 36 years before the familiar WoO 33. Fifteen of the songs from WoO 33 had been arranged by Brahms in WoO 32 – some with different titles and/or different keys, and a few with similar piano parts. To give only one example: melody and text of "Die Versuchung" WoO 32/19, in a-minor, reappear in WoO 33/12 as "Feinsliebchen…", (popular among sopranos) in b-minor. (See also WoO 37/7)

It is convenient to clarify that all the folk songs collections mentioned up to this point are actually arrangements made by Brahms of preexisting material. He also composed his own original music for folk texts which is to be found spread throughout his entire vocal production published with specific Opus numbers; lieder, duets, quartets and works for a capella choir, or for choir and chamber ensemble – a lifelong involvement with folk literature and music!

The early Volkslieder collection, given to Clara Schumann in 1858, consisted of 32 songs, the last four for 4-voice a capella ensemble, the others for one voice and piano. They stayed in hands of the Schumann daughters until the beginning of the 1920s and were finally published by the Deutsche Brahms-Gesellschaft and Max Friedlaender in 1926! They were titled then "Neue Deutsche Volkslieder". The last four songs were later moved to the collection of folk songs for a capella chorus WoO 35. The remaining 28 are known mostly by researchers and Brahms historians. They appeared in volume XXVI of the 1926 Brahms Sämtliche Werke published by Breitkopf & Härtel (the fourth volume dedicated to the composer's Lieder). One finds them at the very end, in smaller print, described only as posthumous work, still without the WoO 32 numbering which was later assigned to them in Margit McCorkle's Brahms Verzeichnis. They deserve more light and exposure since they show how much appreciation and knowledge of folk sources Brahms had in his mid-twenties. 

In April 1858, Brahms sent publisher Rieter-Biedermann a set of 14 Volks-Kinderlieder with specific instructions that they were to be printed without his name! The collection was dedicated to Clara Schumann's children whom Brahms had taken care of during numerous times in Düsseldorf between 1854 and 1857.  The set saw public light in November 1858 and most certainly subsequent editions did not show Brahms' name until after his death, with the exception of an 1872 edition printed in English.  According to a 1893 letter to Clara, Brahms could not remember at that time when exactly he had arranged these songs, hinting that some of them could even date from before his time with the Schumann children. Three of them are relatively well known among singers: Sandmännchen, Marienwürmchen and Wiegenlied, since they appear in some voice anthologies for students (the last one not to be confused with Brahms' world-wide famous Wiegenlied op. 49). In the 1926 Brahms Sämtliche Werke, the Volks-Kinderlieder appeared in volume XXVI, without the WoO 31 number later assigned to them.

Brahms used as source for both melody and text of the 28 DVL and the Volks-Kinderlieder the collection by Andreas Kretzschmer and Anton Zuccalmaglio (K&Z) titled Deutsche Volkslieder mit ihren Original-Weisen (1838-1840). Although he knew well many other sources, he was very much fond of these two volumes by K&Z. Even in Brahms' time researchers argued that some of these melodies and texts were not really "originals" but inventions and arrangements by K&Z which they themselves had disguised as "authentic" folk material. When Brahms was once confronted with this argument, he simply replied in a letter to Philipp Spitta: "…well, now we have [found] another nice composer".

We recorded all strophes as published in the Brahms Sämtliche Werke except for the song Gunhilde (WoO 32/10) where we added an extra strophe found in K&Z. As for the 28 DVL, we owe the number of strophes to be played/sung to Clara Schumann. Brahms sent her his manuscript with only the first strophe written in and asked her not only to fill in the missing text but also to "improve" the piano part if she thought it necessary.  If one thinks that Gunhilde's eleven strophes, although short, are too many, it will suffice to say that in the K&Z source Das Mädchen und der Tod has 19 strophes...Clara penned in only four!

The Volks-Kinderlieder CD includes a song which Brahms did not send to his publisher. The original manuscript of the Volks-Kinderlieder is found in the Bodleian Library in Oxford . There, in Brahms handwriting, between the pages containing Dornröschen as first song and Die Nachtigall as second song, lies Sommerlied (with the text of the popular nursery rhyme "Tra-ri-ro") with no number assigned to it and crossed out with pencil. It is not clear why Brahms decided not to publish this song; it is as good as the others. Brahms wrote only one strophe of the text. We have recorded this song for the first time, even with four strophes, which is the average length of the lyrics one finds today in several sources dedicated to folk texts. Brahms' K&Z source had 6 strophes, the last two of them of irregular length. (A possible reason for not publishing it?)

The songs in these two CDs are well suited for both, voice lessons and the concert hall. Our recording can help voice teachers, voice students, as well as their pianists, in planning their Brahms Lieder repertoire. These new CDs can also contribute audio support to research made in schools and universities. They can also enhance the CD collection of libraries as well as homes and other institutions.

Brahms early Volkslieder are very flexible and can be easily transposed. One should not miss the opportunity to sing them only because they are either to high or too low. Remember, they are folk songs! - Songs for everybody. Most pop music singers adapt to their register the songs they want to sing. Concert hall Lieder singers can also do the same. In these modern times in which we can even transpose on keyboards and computers with the touch of one button, the general public is not as "tonality/key conscious" as the performers might be. In Max Kalbeck's Biography of Brahms one finds an account by singer Anton Sistermann about a conversation with Brahms during which the composer had brought up the topic of transposition. According to Sistermann, Brahms had said that: "… The main thing was that the singer could sing the piece comfortably, and it was all the same to him (up to a certain point, of course) in what keys his songs were sung."  In our 28 DVL CD, 11 songs were transposed, and in the Volks-Kinderlieder CD, five were transposed. For most of the Lieder in WoO 31 and 32 Brahms kept the keys as found in K&Z; but we find in other collections such as WoO 33 through 38 some of these songs transposed to other keys. Here only one example: Es reit ein Herr…WoO 32/28, in c- minor, appears in WoO 33 in e-flat minor.  In K&Z, this song was printed in e-minor.

With the exception of the lush Tageweis von einer schönen Frauen and the colorful Der Tochter Wunsch, the piano parts of most of these songs are unpretentious, yet suitable to the ambience they are supposed to portray. Many are written in 4-part vocal ensemble style which is only proper for a composer who throughout his life studied and had deep respect for late renaissance choral writing and who after 1858 was about to begin a very fruitful time with the Hamburger Frauenchor for which he would rearrange some of the same songs; for example: Drei Vögelein and Schnitter Tod, among others. The two versions of Der getreue Eckart are exercises in "neo-renaissance" counterpoint. In contrast, Sandmänchen, Der Tote Gast and Nachtgesang have a ballad-like lyric flow. Liebeslied could not be more beautiful! Die Heilige Elisabeth, Marienwürmchen, and Nachtgesang would also sound quite nice arranged for guitar. There is more to tell, but there is limited space in this booklet and I am sure the listeners will find more on their own. For more about the piano I refer the reader to two earlier CDs in which I have recorded the piano parts of these songs as piano pieces.

Many of the texts in Brahms Volkslieder involve narration and a conversation between male and female characters.  I am of the opinion that when Brahms is sung, the singer is the narrator, rather than the character present in the plot. He/she tells (sings) the story to the audience assuming the role of narrator and characters likewise, be it female or male.  Remember: Music for all – these folk songs are not "gender exclusive".  Accordingly, each song was recorded by only one singer contrary to some recordings of the 49 DVL where two singers, female and male, speak (sing) to each other. Nevertheless, we added a version of Die Versuchung where a soprano and a tenor sing their respective lines.

The phrasing, tempos, rubatos, ritardandos, and other expressive gestures are the ones we felt correct at the moment of recording. Notice for example the two different tempos for Beim Ritt auf dem Knie WoO 32/18a and 18b. The above parameters will always vary depending on the singer one works with and with one's personal interpretation. For those not agreeing with our choices, this CD might serve as stimulus to search for an interpretation they can call their own. The result will be the same: a wider knowledge of the Brahms early Volkslieder repertoire and more experience to speak about it.

 

Dr. José-Daniel Martínez, brahms@martinez.at  

Acknowledgements: Manfred Mitterbauer, Head of the Voice Division of the Landesmusikschulwerk in Upper Austria , for his support to this project since its conception. Walter Rescheneder, Head of the Landesmusikdirektion in Upper Austria , for the financial support Erich Pintar, Recording engineer, Director of Studio Weinberg

Translation to German by Arabella Martínez