Wiegenlied (Brahms)

"Wiegenlied" ("Lullaby"; "Cradle Song"), Op. 49, No. 4, is a lied for voice and piano by Johannes Brahms which was first published in 1868. It is one of the composer's most famous pieces.

Johannes Brahms, Wiegenlied

History

Brahms based the music of his "Wiegenlied" partially on "S'Is Anderscht", a duet by Alexander Baumann [de] published in the 1840s.^[2][3][4] The cradle song was dedicated to Brahms's friend, Bertha Faber, on the occasion of the birth of her second son.^[5][6] Brahms had been in love with her in her youth and constructed the melody of the "Wiegenlied" to suggest, as a hidden counter-melody, a song she used to sing to him.^[7] Simrock published Brahms's Op. 49 in November 1868.^[6] The lullaby was first performed in public on 22 December 1869 in Vienna by Luise Dustmann (singer) and Clara Schumann (piano).^[6][8]

Song

The song has been described as deceptively simple.^[3] In its original publication, it only had a single verse.^[6]

Lyrics

The lyrics are from Des Knaben Wunderhorn, a collection of German folk poems:^[7][9]

Guten Abend, gut' Nacht, mit Rosen bedacht, mit Näglein besteckt, schlupf' unter die Deck': Morgen früh, wenn Gott will, wirst du wieder geweckt.	Good evening, good night, With roses covered, With cloves adorned, Slip under the covers. Tomorrow morning, if God wills, you will wake once again.
—First edition (1868)	—Translation

Later,^[when?] Brahms adapted a second verse from an 1849 poem by Georg Scherer [de]:^[5][6][3]

Guten Abend, gut' Nacht, von Englein bewacht, die zeigen im Traum dir Christkindleins Baum: schlaf nun selig und süß, schau im Traum 's Paradies.	Good evening, good night. By angels watched, Who show you in your dream the Christ-child's tree. Sleep now blissfully and sweetly, see paradise in your dreams.
—Georg Scherer (1849)	—Translation

Melody

In 1877, Brahms based the second theme of the first movement of his Second Symphony on the lullaby's tune.^[10] The melody is first introduced in bar 82 and continues to develop throughout the movement.^[11]

Reception

The "Wiegenlied" is one of Brahms's most popular songs.^[5]

Arrangements

In 1922, Australian pianist and composer Percy Grainger arranged the "Wiegenlied" as one of his "Free Settings of Favorite Melodies" for solo piano. This study was characterized by much use of suspensions and arpeggiation, with the first statement of the melody placed in the tenor range of the keyboard. This last practice was a favorite one of Grainger.^[12]

Cultural references

A 1936 biographical film of Brahms with Albert Florath as the composer, took its title from the opening lines of this song, Guten Abend, gute Nacht.^[13]

Wendy Cope's poem "Brahms Cradle Song" refers to this song.^[14]

Cultural interpretations

In an article published in 2005, Karen Bottge analysed Brahms's "Wiegenlied" as an expression of the maternal voice, basing her reflections on writings by theorists such as Friedrich Kittler, Michel Chion, Gilles Deleuze, Félix Guattari, and Theodor W. Adorno.^[3]

Recordings

Recordings include:

• 1958 Joni James – recorded for her album Among My Souvenirs.^{[15][unreliable source]}
• 1962 Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (soprano) and Gerald Moore on Testament Records (UK) 1206.^{[16][failed verification]}
• 1989 Anne Sofie von Otter (mezzo-soprano) and Bengt Forsberg (piano) on Deutsche Grammophon 429727.^[17]
• 1994 Kenny G – recorded as instrumental "Brahms Lullaby" for his album Miracles: The Holiday Album.^{[18][unreliable source]}
• 2013 Bernarda Fink (mezzo-soprano) and Roger Vignoles (piano).^[19]

Recordings of Brahms's "Wiegenlied"

Rec.	Singer	V. type	Instr.	I. type	Cond. (arr.)	Time	Issuer	Released
1915	Schumann-Heink, Ernestine	contralto	N.N.	orchestra	N.N.	2:06	Nimbus	1990-07[1]
1935-02-26	Schumann, Elisabeth	soprano	Reeves, George	piano	—	1:35	Naxos	2006-05[20][21]
1937-03-11			N.N.	orchestra	Goehr, Walter	1:59
1941-05-23	Crosby, Bing	vocals[a]	Trotter orchestra	orchestra	Trotter, John Scott	2:46	MCA	1993[22]
1954-06-16			Cole Trio	jazz trio	Cole, Buddy	1:27
1941-11-12	Lehmann, Lotte	soprano	Ulanowsky, Paul	piano	—	2:17	Eklipse	1993-07[23]
1943-12-12			SFS	orchestra	Monteux, Pierre	2:07	Eklipse	1993-07[24]
1947-12-22			N.N.	orchestra	Armbruster, Robert	2:43	Naxos	2007-11[25][26]
1948-08-05			N.N.	orchestra	Ormandy, Eugene	3:12	Eklipse	1993-07[24]
1950-02-12			Walter, Bruno	piano	—	1:47	Eklipse	1995-09[27]
1944-12-03	Sinatra, Frank[b]	vocals	35 instrumentalists	orchestra	Stordahl, Axel	3:06	Columbia	1993-10-05[28]
1953-02-03	Clooney, Rosemary	vocals[c]	Faith orchestra	orchestra	Faith, Percy	2:43	Columbia	1953-02[29][30]
1979-11	Fischer-Dieskau, Dietrich	baritone	Barenboim, Daniel	piano	—	1:24	DG	1983[31]
2001-04	—		Lane, Piers	piano	(Grainger, Percy)	3:41	Hyperion	2002-06[32]

Notes

1. English version: "Brahms's Lullaby" (translated by Natalia Macfarren).^[22]
2. Sinatra also sang Brahms's "Cradle Song" on V-Discs: recorded 8 July 1944 (two takes of Axel Stordahl's arrangement, released on The Columbia Years 1943–1952: The V-Discs and The Real Complete Columbia Years V-Discs) and 23 October 1944 (Raymond Paige's arrangement).^[28]
3. English lyrics, "Close Your Eyes", by William Engvick.^[29]