Alto Rhapsody

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The Alto Rhapsody, Op 53, is a work for contralto, male chorus, and orchestra by Johannes Brahms. It was written as a wedding gift for Clara Schumann's daughter, Julie. Brahms scholars have long speculated that the composer may have had romantic feelings for Julie, which he may have sublimated into the text and music of the Alto Rhapsody. The text, with its metaphysical portrayal of a misanthropic soul who is urged to find spiritual sustenance and throw off the shackles of his suffering, has powerful parallels in Brahms's life and character.

The Rhapsody is a setting of verses from Goethe’s Harzreise in Winter. It was written in 1869, one year after the German Requiem, with which the third part of the Rhapsody has similarities of vocal and choral style. The work is in three sections: the first two, in a chromatically dense and wandering C minor, are for the soloist and orchestra and describe the pain of the misanthropic wanderer. The second section is an aria in all but name. The third section, in a nominal C major, brings in the male chorus, which joins the soloist in a plea to a celestial spirit for an abatement of the wanderer’s pain.

The work typically takes between twelve and fifteen minutes in performance. See recordings, below, for indicative timings.

The text Brahms set is:

Aber abseits wer ist's?
Im Gebüsch verliert sich sein Pfad;
hinter ihm schlagen die Sträuche zusammen,
das Gras steht wieder auf,
die Öde verschlingt ihn.
Ach, wer heilet die Schmerzen
dess, dem Balsam zu Gift ward?
Der sich Menschenhaß
aus der Fülle der Liebe trank!
Erst verachtet, nun ein Verächter,
zehrt er heimlich auf
seinen eigenen Wert
In ungenugender Selbstsucht.
Ist auf deinem Psalter,
Vater der Liebe, ein Ton
seinem Ohre vernehmlich,
so erquicke sein Herz!
Öffne den umwölkten Blick
über die tausend Quellen
neben dem Durstenden
in der Wüste!

In English:

But who is that apart?
His path disappears in the bushes;
behind him the branches spring together;
the grass stands up again;
the wasteland engulfs him.
Ah, who heals the pains
of him for whom balsam turned to poison?
Who drank hatred of man
from the abundance of love?
First scorned, now a scorner,
he secretly feeds on
his own merit,
in unsatisfying egotism.
If there is on your psaltery[1]
Father of love, one note
his ear can hear
then refresh his heart!
Open his clouded gaze
to the thousand springs
next to him who thirsts
in the wilderness!


[edit] Recordings

The Alto Rhapsody is not frequently performed in concert, perhaps because of the expense of hiring a soloist and chorus for a short piece, but it has been recorded many times. A selection of recordings available at June 2007 illustrates the wide range of tempi adopted by different interpreters of the Rhapsody, with playing times ranging from 11 minutes 45 seconds to 16 minutes 10 seconds.

John Aldis Choir
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Sir Adrian Boult
Duration: 11:45
Ensemble a sei voci
Ensemble Orchestral de Paris
Conductor: John Nelson
Duration: 12:14
Philharmonia Chorus and Orchestra
Conductor: Otto Klemperer
Duration 12:27
Royal Concertgebouw Chorus and Orchestra
Conductor: Eduard Van Beinum
Duration: 12:43
Ernst Senff Chamber Choir
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Claudio Abbado
Duration: 13:04
Houston Symphony Chorus & Orchestra
Conductor: Christoph Eschenbach
Duration: 13:55
Atlanta Symphony Chorus & Orchestra
Conductor: Robert Shaw
Duration: 14:01
Prague Philharmonic Chorus
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Giuseppe Sinopoli
Duration: 14:28
London Philharmonic Chorus & Orchestra
Conductor: Clemens Krauss
Duration: 15:53
  • Soloist: Christa Ludwig
Vienna Singverein
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Karl Böhm
Duration 16:10

[edit] Note

  1. ^ translations differ on whether ‘auf deinem Psalter’ means ‘on your psaltery’ (an old instrument like a small harp) or ‘in your psalter’ (‘in your book of psalms’).

[edit] References

  • West, Ewan: Notes to EMI CD CDM 7 69650 2
  • Stone, John: Notes to HMV CD 5 68014 2
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