Alto Rhapsody
The Alto Rhapsody, Op. 53, is a composition for contralto, male chorus, and orchestra by Johannes Brahms, a setting of verses from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Harzreise im Winter. It was written in 1869, as a wedding gift for Robert and Clara Schumann's daughter, Julie. Brahms scholars have long speculated that the composer may have had romantic feelings for Julie, which he may have integrated 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.
Alto Rhapsody | |
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Choral composition by Johannes Brahms | |
The composer c. 1866 | |
Full title | Rhapsodie für eine Altstimme, Männerchor und Orchester |
Catalogue | Op. 53 |
Occasion | Wedding of Julie Schumann |
Text | from Goethe's Harzreise im Winter |
Language | German |
Composed | 1869 |
Duration | 12 minutes |
Scoring |
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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 third part of the Rhapsody has similarities of vocal and choral style to A German Requiem, which was written the previous year.
The work typically takes between twelve and fifteen minutes in performance. See recordings, below, for indicative timings.
The work was first "tried out" on 6 October 1869, at the dress rehearsal for the Karlsruhe season's first orchestral subscription concert. Amalia Boni sang the solo part; the conductor Hermann Levi was on hand, but there was no male voice chorus, and it is unclear whether Boni was accompanied by orchestra or simply on piano. Brahms and Clara Schumann were present, but there was certainly no other audience.[1] It received its first public performance, and its first definitely known proper performance, on 3 March 1870, at Jena. The soloist at the first performance was Pauline Viardot and the conductor was Ernst Naumann.[2]
The text Brahms set is:
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Notes
- George S. Bozarth, Brahms Studies
- Michael Musgrave, The Cambridge Companion to Brahms
- 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’).
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 both by contralto and mezzo-soprano singers. A selection of recordings available 2012 illustrates the wide range of tempi adopted by different interpreters of the Rhapsody, with playing duration ranging from 11 minutes 45 seconds to 16 minutes 10 seconds.
- Soloist: Anne Sophie von Otter
- Arnold Schoenberg Choir
- Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
- Conductor: James Levine
- Duration: 12:38
- Performance Date: 1995
- Soloist: Jessye Norman
- Choral Arts Society of Philadelphia
- Philadelphia Orchestra
- Conductor: Riccardo Muti
- Duration: 12:28
- Performance Date: 1989
- Soloist: Dame Janet Baker
- John Alldis Choir
- London Philharmonic Orchestra
- Conductor: Sir Adrian Boult
- Duration: 11:45
- Performance Date: 1970
- Soloist: Brigitte Fassbaender
- Prague Philharmonic Chorus
- Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
- Conductor: Giuseppe Sinopoli
- Duration: 14:28
- Performance Date: 1982
- Soloist: Kathleen Ferrier
- London Philharmonic Orchestra and Male Choir
- Conductor: Clemens Krauss
- Duration: 15:53
- Performance Date: December 1947
- Soloist: Maiju Kuusoja
- Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Male Choir
- Conductor: Paavo Berglund
- Duration: 14:49
- Performance Date: 1961
- Soloist: Ann Hallenberg
- Collegium Vocale Gent
- Orchestre des Champs-Elysées
- Conductor: Philippe Herreweghe
- Duration 11:15
- Soloist: Marilyn Horne
- Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Chorus
- Conductor: Robert Shaw
- Duration: 14:01
- Soloist: Christa Ludwig
- Philharmonia Orchestra & Chorus
- Conductor: Otto Klemperer
- Duration 12:27
- Performance Date: 1962
- Soloist: Christa Ludwig
- Wiener Singverein
- Wiener Philharmoniker
- Conductor: Karl Böhm
- Duration 16:10
- Performance Date: 1976
- Soloist: Marian Anderson
- Philadelphia Orchestra
- Conductor: Eugene Ormandy
- Duration: 13:10
- Soloist: Stephanie Blythe
- Ensemble a sei voci
- Ensemble Orchestral de Paris
- Conductor: John Nelson
- Duration: 12:14
- Soloist: Aafje Heynis
- Royal Male Choir, "Apollo"
- Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
- Conductor: Eduard Van Beinum
- Duration: 12:43
- Performance Date: February, 1958
- Soloist: Marjana Lipovšek
- Ernst-Senff-Chor
- Berliner Philharmoniker
- Conductor: Claudio Abbado
- Duration: 13:04
- Performance Date: September 1988
- Soloist: Nathalie Stutzmann
- Monteverdi Choir
- Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique
- Conductor: John Eliot Gardiner
- Duration: 12:57
- Performance Date: November 2007
- Soloist: Dunja Vejzović
- Houston Symphony Orchestra & Chorus
- Conductor: Christoph Eschenbach
- Duration: 13:55
- Soloist: Kathleen Ferrier
- Men of the Oslo Philharmonic Chorus
- Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra
- Conductor: Erik Tuxen
- Duration: 13:10
- Performance Date: 14 October 1949
- Soloist: Mildred Miller
- The Occidental College Chorus
- Columbia Symphony Orchestra
- Conductor: Bruno Walter
- Duration: 12:25
- Performance Date: 11 January 1961
- Soloist: Dame Janet Baker
- BBC's Men's Chorus
- BBC Symphony Orchestra
- Conductor: Sir Adrian Boult
- Duration: 13:51
- Performance Date: 1968
- Soloist: [Elana Joan Cara[1]]
- Piano: Brian Zeger
- Duration: 8:55
- Performance Date: 1988
References
- West, Ewan: Notes to EMI CD CDM 7 69650 2
- Stone, John: Notes to HMV CD 5 68014 2
External links
- Alto Rhapsody: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
- Detailed listening guide using a recording conducted by Claudio Abbado