Fugue as Symbol of Living -
Brahms German Requiem
In the past, many scholars pointed out that Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) did not pursue an Orthodox belief towards Christianity even though he was raised in traditional Lutheran instruction.[1] Dvorak famously wrote in a letter “Such a man, such a fine soul - and he believes in nothing![2] He believes in nothing!” Brahms’ German Requiem is a reflection of his unique perspective on religion and the Requiem through the lens of German as language. According to musicologist Michael Steinberg, Brahms’ Requiem focuses on living from its beginning while the traditional Requiem Mass starts with prayers for the dead.[3] I argue that Brahms’ use of the fugal technique plays an important role to create the form that transforms pain and suffering into joy and comfort with the text. In other words, in German Requiem, the fugue is used as a symbol of eternal life with the transformation of the text, the key, and the texture. This paper focuses on the formal analysis of fugal sections of the work, the relationship between the text and the form, and the functionality of independence/dependence between the vocal and orchestral parts.
The importance of the contrapuntal texture in this work is already implied from the very beginning of the Requiem. The first movement opens with the fugue-like passage in a micro level between the first entry of the cello solo and divisi violas in 5th apart over the pedal F. Without any texts, Brahms states that this Requiem is about living eternally under the righteousness of some kind of higher power. Another fugal section in this movement confirms the close connection between the fugue and the joy at m. 55 highlighting the text “Die mit Tränen säen, werden mit Freuden ernten.” (They that sow in tears shall reap in joy).
The second movement opens with the funeral march-like orchestral prelude in B flat minor. The opening text “Denn alley Fleisch ist wie Gras und alle Herrlichkeit des Menschen wie des Grasses Blumen” portrays human as the flower of grass, which is an earthy element in contrast to the heavenly character of the first movement. Therefore, Brahms suggests that mortal humanity returns with the suffering of death. The pivotal text “Aber des Herrn Wort bleibet in Ewigkeit” marks the transition from the finite world and o an infinite human existence which is followed by the first major fugal section of the Requiem starting from m. 206.[4] This fugue section is transformed into B flat major, which is another aspect of fugue being a symbol of eternal salvation. The fugue is essentially a two-voice fugue having a subject in the bass that is followed by the tonal answer sung by the soprano. There is a boldness and confidence in the character of the subject characteristic through the triadic focus in comparison to the chromaticism from the first half. The frequent leaps in the subject line explore different registers which represent the blessing and the redeemed state.[5] The only full subject entry, later on, occurs only once at m. 275 in the bass, however, it still maintains contrapuntal character with the subject head especially played by the instruments in stretto, which is another aspect of gathering the voices for eternal living. There is a brief interference by previous pain and suffering at m. 238 when the register suddenly becomes low with unexpected chromaticism.
The third movement features the baritone solo in D minor in the first half. When the formal fugue starts in the second half in D major at m. 173, it again presents the transformation from mortal suffering to immortal joy through the dualism between homophony and counterpoint, and minor and major. One of the remarkable features of this four-voice fugue is the presence of D pedal tones until the very end of the fugue. This D pedal clearly formulates a new world that is apart from the rest of the movement and represents the afterlife perspective for those who came into God’s hand: “Der Gerechten Seelen sind in Gottes Hand, und keine Qual rühret se an.”.[6] This subject has an implication of the shift to the minor mode at the end: “Qual regret she an” which is a clear text setting to “Qual” (torment) in the shade of joyous celebration of life. The presence of the tritone at the end of the subject at “ruhret” also hints that the world is not perfect yet. The pedal tone also contributes to creating independence between voices and instruments. There are few moments when the instruments are simply doubling the voice lines. In this regard, my analysis treats the instrumental lines as individual voices.
The first subject enters in tenor followed by the real answer in alto at pick-up to m. 176. As expected, the other two voices enter in soprano at m. 178 and in the bass at. 181. The counter subject in a traditional sense is in tenor with “keine Qual keine Qual ruhret sie an” at pick-up to m. 176. Moreover, some other musical ideas consistently appear while the subject is played, which could be considered counter-subjects. Counter-subject 2 is presented in the oboes and violins with the first subject in tenor. Counter-subject 3 is first seen in oboes and violas starting at pick-up to m. 176. Finally, Counter-subject 4 starts on beat two at m. 178 in tenor. The exposition of this fugue creates such a dense texture stating the righteous and bold text with the implication of voices from all corners of the earth and Heaven joined together.[7] Another aspect of the independence between voices and instruments is the use of brass. Brahms adds horns and trumpets in almost all the entries of the subject to emphasize righteousness and reinforce the text. Furthermore, this fugue successfully creates the musical drive and endless flow through the multiple stretto of the subjects and the lack of cadences until the final plagal cadence.
The fugal section in movement six starts at the climactic moment of the entire Requiem. The C major resolution after the chaotic and furious section in C minor incorporating some powerful text from Corinthians: “Tod, wo ist den Stachel? Holle, wo ist dein Sieg?”[8] The beginning of the fugal section at m. 208 begins triumphantly as if these ultimate questions are answered with the first subject in alto: “Herr, du best würdig zu nehmen Preis und Ehre und Kraft.” Again, this dramatic resolution from C minor to pure C major and the contrapuntal nature of this exposition enhances the transformation of the musical world with the text. This four-voice fugue is freer in terms of form than the fugue in the third movement, however, the texture is simpler since there is more doubling between voices and instruments. The alto continues with their counter-subject one bar after the real answer by the soprano. The bass and the tenor follow with this noble and triumphant subject as expected. There is a second counter-subject starting with the alto at m. 216. The marching figure in the strings also contributes to creating the triumphant quality, however, because of the lack of consistency, it seems to function as a free accompaniment. After the exposition, the new entry of the subject starts in the alto over the new counter-subject played by the bass. This new counter-subject consists of the ascending scale portraying the uplifting and ideal world that the higher power created. This section moves to g minor area with noble entrances by horns and trumpets at every entrance of the subject. After it makes a half cadence in D major at m. 234, it presents to the episodic area in the E flat major area until the next subject comes in at m. 244. The highlight of this movement starts at m. 250 when the contrapuntal music suddenly becomes monophonic in nature with the text: “zu nehmen Preis und Ehre und Kraft” to bring a sense of unification among all the voices and instruments. This line dominates the rest of the movement with the occasional partial entrance of the subject. This phrase reinforces the idea of togetherness as everyone in the choir and the orchestra move together when the choir sings the phrase, which is powerfully presented after the intense fugal sections in this movement and the movements that precede this.
To conclude the discussion of Brahms’ German Requiem, it is clear that Brahms uses fugue as a drive and symbol of celebration of life. The transformation of several musical elements, such as the modal shift, the range of register, the musical texture, and the text settings plan an important role to create drama in each movement. In the second half, the fugue is associated with joy, positivity, hope, and immortal celebration. In contrast, the first half sets the pain and struggles that this person goes through. In this work, Brahms’ vision seems to avoid a direct reference to God in a religious way, but he focuses on people’s living more with the use of fugue.
Reference
Brodbeck, David. “Politics and Religion.” Chapter. In Brahms in Context, edited by Natasha Loges
and Katy Hamilton, 259–68. Composers in Context. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 2019. doi:10.1017/9781316681374.026.
Steinberg, Michael. Choral Masterworks: A Listener's Guide. Washington, D.C.: National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress, 2011.
Swafford, Jan. Johannes Brahms: A Biography. Alfred A. Knopf, 1999.
“Text – Brahms _Ein Deutsches Requiem_.” Sanford Universitz. Accessed November 30, 2022. https://web.stanford.edu/group/SymCh/supplements/brahms-requiem-text.html.
Tuck, Patrick. “Brahms's Ein Deutsches Requiem: Dialectic and the Chromatic Middleground.” LSU Doctoral Dissertations, 2007. https://doi.org/10.31390/gradschool_dissertations.1501.
[1] Brodbeck, David “Politics and Religion.” Chapter. In Brahms in Context, edited by Natasha Loges and Katy Hamilton, 259–68
[2] Swafford, Jan. Johannes Brahms: A Biography.
[3] Steinberg, Michael. Choral Masterworks: A Listener's Guide.
[4] Tuck, Patrick. “Brahms's Ein Deutsches Requiem: Dialectic and the Chromatic Middleground,”53
[5] Tuck, 46
[6] Tuck, 53
[7] Tuck 53
[8] “Text – Brahms _Ein Deutsches Requiem_.” Sanford University.