Vier Präludien und Ernste Gesänge
Vier ernste Gesänge (Four Serious Songs), Op. 121, is a cycle of four songs for bass and piano by Johannes Brahms. As in his Ein deutsches Requiem, the texts are compiled from the Luther Bible. Three songs deal with death and the transience of life, while the fourth has an outlook of faith, hope and charity. Brahms composed the work in Vienna in 1896 and dedicated it to Max Klinger. The songs were premiered there in the presence of the composer by baritone Anton Sistermans and pianist Coenraad V. Bos. They have been recorded often by both female and male singers.
The text adapts passages from the Ecclesiastes, the Book of Sirach, and the First Epistle to the Corinthians.
Movements
- Präludium zu Nr. 1
- Denn es gehet dem Menschen
- Präludium zu Nr. 2
- Ich wandte mich
- Präludium zu Nr. 3
- O Tod, wie bitter bist du
- Präludium zu Nr. 4
- Wenn ich mit Menschen- und mit Engelszungen redete
- Postludium