"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.
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]
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]
In 1922, Australian pianist and composer Percy Graingerarranged 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]
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![\relative g'
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\partial 4 g8 g | bes4. g8 g4 | bes r g8[_( bes)] | es4 d4. c8 | c4( bes) f8[_( g)] |aes4 f f8[_( g)] | aes4 r f8[_( aes)] | d[_( c)] bes4 d | es r es,8 es | es'2 c8 aes | bes2 g8 es | aes4 bes c | \appoggiatura g8 bes2 es,8 es | es'2 c8 aes | bes2 g8 es | \afterGrace aes4( { bes16[ aes]) } g4 f | es2 \bar "|."
}
\addlyrics {
Gu -- ten A -- bend, gut' Nacht,
mit Ro -- sen be -- dacht,
mit Näg -- lein be -- steckt,
schlupf un -- ter die Deck':
Mor -- gen früh, wenn Gott will,
wirst du wie -- der ge -- weckt,
mor -- gen früh, wenn Gott will,
wirst du wie -- der ge -- weckt.
}](http://upload.wikimedia.org/score/k/9/k91aymgr893kkwljmmz96ygklhch2ei/k91aymgr.png)
