Published 1864. Dedicated to Mrs. Amalie Joachim.

Brahms turned to a new voice combination for his second set of vocal duets, which
represent a significant advance upon Op. 20. All four are full-fledged male/female
dialogues. Even the third duet, which could easily function as a solo song,
assigns
the two stanzas to clearly differentiated characters. Three of the four use texts
by great German romantic poets, while the second duet uses a folk text. The first
poem’s obscure meaning is greatly clarified by Brahms’s setting. The haunting
image
of the nun remembering her knight who did not return from the crusade is amplified
by the perfectly matched music. Brahms’s restrained use of the piano in this piece
is unusual. The second duet is the only “wooing” dialogue before the much later
Op. 75, No. 3, although many solo songs are implied dialogues of a similar nature.
The second of the Op. 31 quartets, which are almost exactly contemporary to this
set, has a similar subject of wooing and resistance, but there Brahms simply has
two voices sing each character. The third duet quite masterfully combines the two
singers’ individual strophes together in a third one, with the baritone’s
protestations
of constancy seeming to win out. The last duet is a quintessential dialogue. It
is exciting and delightful throughout. Rarely did he compress so much material
into
so little time as he did into this piece’s 80 seconds. Interestingly, the baritone
has the last word in all but the first duet (where he is only a tragic memory).
Even in the second, where they end together, it is quite clear that the character
sung by the alto will give in and let him inside. In the last duet, however,
despite
his final protest, it seems that the hunter’s beloved may well lock him out all
night!
In the later duets, Op. 61 and Op. 66, Brahms returned to the soprano/alto pairing
of Op. 20 and largely abandoned dialogues. He would bring them back with a
vengeance,
however, in the four mixed-voice settings of his final set, Op. 75, which has
interesting
parallels to this early group.

Note: Links to English translations of the texts are from Emily Ezust’s site at
http://www.recmusic.org/lieder.
For the most part, the translations are line-by-line, except where the difference
between German and English syntax requires slight alterations to the contents of
certain lines. The German texts (included here) are also visible in the
translation
links.

IMSLP WORK PAGE

ONLINE SCORE FROM IMSLP (First Edition from Brahms-Institut Lübeck) NOTE: The
score
of the first edition differs from the later 1927 Complete Edition (Breitkopf &
Härtel
Sämtliche Werke) in two places. In No. 2, mm. 33-34, the alto moves up in the
Complete
Edition (as had the baritone in the corresponding passage in stanza 1) instead of
down. In No. 3, the Complete Edition replaces mm. 37-39, all 3/4 bars in the first
edition, with one 4/4 bar and one 6/4 bar, reducing the number of measures in the
entire duet by one. Thus, the piano postlude begins at m. 39 in the Complete
Edition.
The last beat of m. 37 is stretched into two, incorporating the previous alto
accompaniment
pattern for those two beats, to create a 4/4 bar. The baritone comes in on the
last
beat, against one alto note (G-sharp) instead of two shorter alto notes (A and G-
sharp),
as seen in the first edition. Measures 38-39 are essentially unchanged, but they
are notated as one 6/4 bar instead of two 3/4 bars. This recording uses the
version
from the first edition (which is also seen in the Peters edition of these duets)
in both of the relevant passages.
ONLINE SCORE FROM IMSLP (From Breitkopf & Härtel Sämtliche Werke)

1. Die Nonne und der Ritter (The Nun and the Knight). Text by Josef Karl Benedikt
von Eichendorff. Andante. Varied double strophic form. G MINOR, 3/4 time.

German Text:
Da die Welt zur Ruh’ gegangen,
Wacht mit Sternen mein Verlangen,
In der Kühle muß ich lauschen,
Wie die Wellen unten rauschen!

“Fernher mich die Wellen tragen,

Die ans Land so traurig schlagen,
Unter deines Fensters Gitter,
Fraue, kennst du noch den Ritter?”

Ist’s doch, als ob seltsam’ Stimmen

Durch die lauen Lüfte schwimmen;
Wieder hat’s der Wind genommen, -
Ach, mein Herz ist so beklommen!

“Drüben liegt dein Schloß verfallen,

Klagend in den öden Hallen,
Aus dem Grund der Wald mich grüßte,
’s war, als ob ich sterben müßte.”

Alte Klänge blühend schreiten;

Wie aus lang versunknen Zeiten
Will mich Wehmut noch bescheinen,
Und ich möcht’ von Herzen weinen.

“Überm Walde blitzt’s von weitem,

Wo um Christi Grab sie streiten;
Dorthin will mein Schiff ich wenden,
Da wird alles, alles enden!”

Geht ein Schiff, ein Mann stand drinnen,

Falsche Nacht, verwirrst die Sinne!
Welt Ade! Gott woll’ bewahren,
Die noch irr im Dunkeln fahren!

English Translation

0:00 [m. 1]--Stanza 1. After a piano bass octave, the alto’s first verse is
presented
in G minor. It is extremely quiet and hushed. The rhythm is constant (long-short
in triple meter), as is the sparse accompaniment. In the first line, the bass
octave
is held, with one right-hand chord per bar. The vocal line arches gently up and
back. The second vocal line winds downward. while the piano bass octaves move for
the first time. The piano harmonies are very austere and veer toward C minor.
0:22 [m. 10]--The third line introduces even more colorful harmonies suggesting D
minor, then major. The vocal line arches like line 1. The piano diverges from its
octaves, but the low bass note is again held. In the last line, the voice descends
to the last word, stretching it out to three bars and creating a six-bar phrase.
This extension is slightly syncopated. The piano bass again moves to octaves, and
the highly chromatic line settles on a G-major chord.
0:43 [m. 20]--A piano interlude takes the music back through G minor, arriving at
its “relative” major key of B-flat. This occurs in two rising statements (still
in the long-short rhythm) over held bass octaves.
0:57 [m. 27]--Stanza 2. A low bass B-flat signals the baritone’s first response.
His major key and more minimal chromatic harmony contrast his verse from hers.
The first line arches up and back, as had the alto’s first line. The second line
steadily descends. The long-short rhythm persists. The accompaniment is now
slightly
more active, with the left hand joining the long-short rhythm in broken fourths and
fifths in the first line, broken octaves in the second line.
1:15 [m. 36]--The third line also arches, but begins to mildly build. The harmony
briefly moves to E-flat major. The last line begins with a mild high point, as the
baritone descends from a higher pitch and moves back to the key of G minor. The
left hand motion is changed to broken sixths and tenths under this last line
instead
of octaves. The baritone’s last word (his identity, “Ritter”) is a downward-
leaping
octave, punctuated by an accented note in the piano.
1:29 [m. 44]--This piano interlude begins with the upbeat of the accented note
under
the second syllable of “Ritter.” It introduces a second voice in the right hand.
The two voices do not move together, so there is now right hand motion on every
beat. There is some syncopation in the lower voice, and the top one mostly sticks
to the long-short rhythm, but twice plays short-long groups. In the last two bars,
the top voice slows down and the lower voice becomes more active. The left hand
holds an octave D throughout the interlude.
1:45 [m. 53]--Stanza 3. The introductory bar continues the motion of the interlude
with a two-note upbeat. These two-note upbeats continue after the alto enters.
Her vocal line is as in stanza 1, as are the harmonies. The slightly more active
accompaniment has the two-note upbeats flowing into the next bar, then repeating
the pattern a bar later. The left hand has single bass notes, but they only move
in the second and fourth lines, being held through the first and third.
2:24 [m. 72]--This third piano interlude, like the first, moves to B-flat major.
It introduces a more flowing line in broken chords. There are two phrases of
generally
ascending broken chords, each introduced by the familiar two-note upbeat. The bass
line is as in the first interlude.
2:37 [m. 79]--Stanza 4, lines 1-3. For the first three lines, the baritone’s vocal
part in this stanza is the same as in stanza 2. The accompaniment is even more
active
than in stanza 3, with the flowing broken chords continuing through the first two
phrases after the two-note upbeat. In the third line, the left hand begins to play
faster broken chords. There, the volume starts to build, but now it begins a more
extended crescendo.
3:02 [m. 92]--Stanza 4, line 4 and Stanza 5, line 1. In a highly dramatic stroke,
the alto enters with stanza 5 over the baritone’s last line. This overlapping text
reveals a crucial point of the poem: that it is not a dialogue, but that the
knight’s
words are distant memories. The key moves to an almost otherworldly A-flat major
as the volume swells. At “blühend” in the alto and “sterben” in the baritone,
there
is a sharp dissonance between the voices (m. 94). The piano now has full rising
arpeggios split between the hands.
3:09 [m. 96]--Stanza 5, lines 2-4. The alto’s continuation is dynamic in
comparison
to what has gone before. The second line moves from A-flat toward E-flat major as
the piano bass finally moves from what had been eight bars of a “dominant” pedal
point on the note E-flat. The third line suddenly quiets down again, and the long-
short
rhythm is strikingly abandoned for two “sighing” phrases that are separated by a
rest. The last line, after a two-note upbeat, is lengthened to eight bars by
placing
single syllables under each “long-short” pair. The harmony here drifts to F minor
and C major. The piano arpeggios continue with some dovetailing and internal
voicing.

3:36 [m. 111]--Stanza 6, lines 1-3. The music is here marked animato, and a large
buildup begins. The piano begins the agitation with low octave tremolos and
isolated
trumpet-like calls. The baritone sings his opening phrase three times, each a step
higher. The first two of these are both sung to the first line. The third is sung
to the second line. The third line introduces a new, narrowly leaping vocal
phrase.
The dynamic harmony of the passage reaches a tentative A minor.
3:59 [m. 128]--Stanza 6, line 4 and Stanza 7, lines 1-2. At the high point, the
baritone sings the last line of the stanza to nearly the same music as the last
line
from his original strophe in stanza 2. Against this, the alto again makes a
dramatic
entrance with the just-introduced narrowly leaping vocal phrase. To this, she
sings
the first line of stanza 7, in imitation of the baritone. She follows with further
imitation (a ninth higher) on the second line while the baritone repeats the third
line of stanza 6 to a new, more active phrase (including two statements of the word
“dorthin”). The harmony veers again toward C.
4:10 [m. 136]--The baritone begins anew as the alto drops out. He repeats the last
line of stanza 6 with expanded leaps. The alto enters two bars later with a
repetition
of stanza 7, line 2. She is in closer near-imitation with the baritone, ending up
an octave, rather than a seventh above him. The baritone has now sung his last,
and from “wirst die Sinne,” the alto is alone. Under the long-held first syllable
of “Sinne,” the piano accompaniment settles and slows, quieting to an unstable
arrival
on A major.
4:29 [m. 147]--Stanza 7, lines 3-4.The alto sings the last two lines to the same
music used for the last two lines of stanzas 1 and 3. The accompaniment is a
series
of rising arpeggios with low bass notes and octaves. These continue after the
music
settles on another G-major chord at the vocal cadence. They become split between
the hands and lead to an extremely gentle closing in major instead of minor,
suggesting
the nun’s transfigured penance.
5:14--END OF DUET [161 mm.]

2. Vor der Tür (At the Door). Old German folk text, possibly from Hoffmann von
Fallersleben’s
collection. Vivace. Five-part through-composed form. B MAJOR, 3/4 time.

German Text:
Tritt auf den Riegel von der Tür,
Wie gern käm ich herein,
Um dich zu küssen.
“Ich laß dich nicht herein.
Schleich immer heim ganz sacht
Auf deinen Füssen.”

Wohl kann ich schleichen sacht

Wie Mondenschein,
Steh nur auf, laß mich ein:
Das will ich von dir haben.
O Mägdlein, dein’n Knaben
Laß ein!

English Translation

0:00 [m. 1]--Part 1. The piano bass establishes its skittish, almost giggling
sotto
voce pattern. The baritone presents his suit with a hesitant beginning on an
upbeat,
repeating the words “Tritt auf.” The entire first line (with both statements of
“tritt auf”) is repeated, establishing the halting, lilting melody and doubled by
the piano right hand in chords. The piano bass alternates between high and low
octaves.

0:11 [m. 11]--The second line is smoother, more expressive and ardent, reaching the
high pitch on a repetition of “wie gern herein.” Those words are repeated a second
time on a descent, leading to the third line. It introduces expressive chromatic
pitches in both piano and voice, lengthening the word “küssen.” The repetition of
that line and a piano punctuation swell and recede quickly, questioning and
unresolved.
The piano plays full chords and octaves throughout the passage, abandoning the
“giggling”
bass.
0:26 [m. 25]--Part 2. The last three lines of the first stanza are the only words
the alto will sing in the duet. She presents the first of these to the same melody
the baritone had used, but in the minor key (B minor). She prefaces the line with
a hesitant “ich laß dich nicht.” The notes used for the opening of the baritone’s
line repetition are omitted. She then picks up the melody again with a full (and
straight) repetition of her own line. The piano accompaniment is now secretive,
passing winding four-note groups between the hands.
0:33 [m. 33]--The alto’s second line departs from the baritone’s melody, turning
it in the opposite direction, but maintaining the switch to a smoother expression.
The accompaniment changes, with the right hand playing wide high-low oscillations.
The left hand support includes some octave doubling. With some hesitancy, the
words
“ganz sacht” are repeated. The third line (the last of the stanza) again changes
direction. It is briefer than the baritone’s corresponding passage. The
repetition
of “deinen Füßen” arrives on F-sharp. The ensuing piano bridge re-establishes the
skittish left hand under right hand arpeggios.
0:45 [m. 45]--Part 3. The F-sharp cadence and the bridge have avoided committing
to major or minor. The arrival back on B major is thus quite smooth. The baritone
sings the first two lines of the second stanza to nearly the same melody used in
his opening entreaty. A repetition of the two lines adds some new leaps to the
melody.
Against this, the alto again presents her first line (the fourth of stanza 1).
She sings in exact imitation (canon) two bars behind the baritone an octave higher,
stating the line twice, both times with the anticipatory “ich laß dich nicht.” The
piano now passes the “skittish” figures between the hands.
0:55 [m. 55]--The alto now leads the canon with her second line (stanza 1, line 5).
 It begins as had the baritone melody from 0:11 [m. 11]. She diverges after two
bars to reach her highest pitch (as does the baritone). The baritone’s imitation
sets the third line of the second stanza. The alto repeats her line three times
with two extra statements of “ganz sacht.” The baritone’s line is also given three
times, but the second repetition omits “nur” and adds “und.” It is preceded by an
extra “steh auf.” His third repetition also omits “mich,” again reiterating “steh
auf.” The canon is brought a bar closer together after the alto’s first
reiteration
of “ganz sacht,” which the baritone does not imitate. His imitation is also no
longer
exact. In the third statements of both singers’ lines, upward leaps take over.
The alto has one “extra” leap. These leaps swell in volume. The piano
accompaniment
passes four-note rising arpeggios between the hands.
1:10 [m. 69]--Part 4. The previous passage had set up an expected motion to E
major.
Instead, the climax of the buildup resolves with a “deceptive” motion to C major.
Here, the baritone presents the last three lines of the poem. Brahms marks the
passage con anima. His largely descending melody, beginning from his highest
pitch,
is presented ardently, with a strong piano accompaniment containing chords in the
right hand and descending arpeggios in the left, all with much motion from upbeats.
He repeats “o Mägdlein.”
1:18 [m. 77]--Over the words “dein’n Knaben laß ein,” which repeat the previous
music exactly, the alto enters weakly with her first line. Two extra halting
reiterations
of “dich nicht” seem to indicate further erosion of her resolve. The baritone
repeats
“dein’n Knaben” three more times, the last time adding again the final “laß ein!”
This last repetition diverges from the previous phrase. The alto completes her
line, and the music arrives on the expectant “dominant” chord of B major. This is
the climax of the duet, and Brahms marks it animato. A bridge brings back the
“giggling”
left hand figures, and the music quickly subsides.
1:29 [m. 89]--Part 5. The last part again begins in canon, now at a distance of
one bar. The vocal line of the baritone reaches higher much earlier than before.
He uses the first line of the first stanza and the third line of the second.
“Tritt
auf” is stated twice, then the rest of the line is also stated twice. The alto
uses
all of her text except “auf deinen Füßen,” words not heard since their first
presentation.
The first line has the usual anticipatory “ich laß dich nicht.” It is repeated.
The second line has the customary repetition of “ganz sacht.” The alto’s pitch
falls dramatically after the first “ich laß dich nicht,” and her imitations become
more weak, introducing narrow winding motion under the colorful word “schleich.”

1:39 [m. 99]--After another buildup, the baritone sings the music and the text of
Part 4, and the piano accompaniment follows suit. He is now in the key originally
expected at that point, E major. This arrives with the alto’s previous “sacht.”
He again reiterates “o Mägdlein,” moving back to the home key of B. The alto’s
responses continue. She reiterates “ich laß dich nicht herein” for what is now the
eighth (!) time, proving that her rejection is quite ineffectual. The last three
words are echoed on the familiar rapidly falling figure. Her second line falls
even
more in pitch over the baritone’s rising “ dein’n Knaben laß ein,” showing the
characters
coming closer, literally and figuratively.
1:46 [m. 107]--The final passage returns to the smoother motion heard at 0:55 [m.
55]. The piano plays the four-note arpeggios passed between the hands, also as
heard
at 0:55. The alto only sings her first line, the baritone only the third line of
stanza 2. The alto leads on the rising arpeggios. The baritone imitations reach
a half-step higher than she does. The text repetition becomes more fragmented.
1:53 [m. 114]--As the alto turns to longer notes lasting a full bar for a last
futile
statement of “ich laß dich nicht ein,” the baritone actually matches her pitch
rather
than reaching higher. He continues to sing one more arching arpeggio under her
longer
notes, and they come together on the same word, “ein!” They hold this pitch (on
a harmonious tenth) as the piano arpeggios become more joyous. These arpeggios
reach
even higher after the voices drop out before three bright final chords end this
wonderful,
seductive dialogue.
2:08--END OF DUET [124 mm.]

3. Es rauschet das Wasser (The Water Rushes). Text by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
In sanfter Bewegung (In gentle motion). Three part form, with two contrasting
strophes
combined in the third part. F MAJOR, 4/4 time with six 6/4 bars and seven 3/4
bars.

German Text:
Es rauschet das Wasser und bleibet nicht steh’n;
Gar lustig die Sterne am Himmel hingeh’n;
Gar lustig die Wolken am Himmel hinzieh’n
So rauschet die Liebe und fähret dahin.

Es rauschen die Wasser, die Wolken zergeh’n;

Doch bleiben die Sterne, sie wandeln und gehn.
So auch mit der Liebe, der treuen, geschicht,
Sie wegt sich, sie regt sich und ändert sich nicht.

English Translation

0:00 [m. 1]--The piano introduction is richly harmonized, with evocative rolled
chords.
It begins with an upbeat and gives a first presentation of the melody that will
be presented by the alto. Mild syncopation is introduced as it builds and reaches
upward.
0:14 [m. 4]--The introduction now takes up the melody that will be sung by the
baritone,
including the distinctive turn figure. The harmonies are somewhat smoother,
abandoning
the rolled chords and introducing a descending middle voice that includes some
chromatic
notes.
0:22 [m. 6]--Stanza 1. It is completely presented by the alto, who in Goethe’s
characterization
is skeptical of the constancy of love. The first three lines are sung in regular
two-bar phrases. The accompaniment is quite simple, the left hand playing on the
beats and the right hand after them in detached harmonies. The third line
introduces
a prominent chromatic note (F-sharp) on the second syllable of “lustig.”
0:43 [m. 12]--For the last line, the alto lengthens the phrase to three bars with
an elongation of “fähret.” The colorful F-sharp remains prominent. The line is
then repeated in nearly the same rhythm, again in three bars. This time, the notes
from “die Liebe” are shifted upward and effect a brief motion to and cadence in a
poignant A minor. The piano echoes this cadence. The accompaniment becomes
slightly
less detached and regular here. The basic outline remains, but right hand chords
are held longer and neither hand sticks to the previous rhythmic pattern.
1:06 [m. 18]--Stanza 2. The baritone takes this stanza, and argues that love is
constant and unchanging. His melody is similar to that of the alto in the first
line (as the text is also similar), but he embellishes it with the turn figure
heard
in the introduction. The accompaniment is now much smother, with active inner
voices.
It contains elements of the previous alto melody. The second line introduces the
first two 6/4 bars. These metrical extensions give emphasis to the constancy of
the stars. The word “bleiben” (“remain”) is noticeably lengthened. The left hand
begins to play solid bass octaves here. A small climax is created.
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