Die Mainacht (The May Night) from Four Songs Op. 43 (1860 - 1866)
Lyrics by Ludwig Heinrich Christoph Hölty
When the silvery moon
Shines through the flutt'ring leaves,
When her pale, drowsy light
Over the field she throws,
And the nightingale warbles,
I go sadly o'er hill and vale.
Somewhere hid in the leaves
Two softly cooing doves fill my heart with delight
Yet, do I turn away
Turn to shadows that are darker
In my eye is but one tear
Where, O vision whose smile streams like the rosy dawn
Through the depths of my soul, where
On this earth are you?
In my eye is but one tear,
It burns me,
Burns upon my cheek.
0:11 [m. 3]--Stanza 1 (A). The warm melody begins in a low register and moves at a slow pace against the continuing “lullaby” accompaniment. The first two lines gently rise and fall, the second with slightly more intensity and adding some chromatic notes.
0:42 [m. 9]--The last two lines change keys suddenly, ending up in the minor version of E-flat, which continues through the brief bridge to the next stanza. The “lullaby” continues in the right hand, but the bass pattern breaks, introducing slow syncopations held across bar lines. The vocal phrase in the third line rises to the stanza’s highest pitch in the related key of G-flat major, while the last line makes a very slow descent to the minor-key cadence. The bridge passage is essentially a minor-key version of the introduction.
1:12 [m. 15]--Stanza 2 (B). Perhaps Brahms skipped Hölty’s second verse so that he could write this highly imaginative ternary form. The second musical verse begins suddenly in yet another new key, the rather distant B major (although the minor version of E-flat helped to get there). Musically, it is quite different, being set in a higher register, and with gentle repeated chords and double notes replacing the slow lullaby rhythm in the piano part, the right hand slowly leaping up and down. The shift in tone color is striking, including the atmospheric chromatic notes. The first half of the second line suddenly swells in volume from the quiet that has thus far dominated.
1:34 [m. 21]--The piano begins a sudden motion back toward E-flat, which is continued by the voice with the second half of line two. This unstable passage is rather disturbing and disruptive. The piano begins the shift at the top of the preceding buildup, introducing arpeggios in the left hand played in triplet rhythm. The remainder of line two (in A-flat minor) remains strong, ending with a distinctive downward leap in the voice, while the third line settles suddenly back down, both in volume and pitch, in E-flat minor. The piano motion goes back to the pulsations without the arpeggios, then slows down to isolated syncopations and finally off-beat chords.
2:05 [m. 27]--For the last line, Brahms quickly shifts back to major and an accompaniment resembling the opening (but with the right hand beginning its figures on the beats). The music magically becomes very warm and full at the climactic word “Träne.” This word is stretched out with a long note and a descending arpeggio. The verse ends inconclusively, however. The piano becomes quiet and slower in the brief interlude resembling the introduction, and comes to an expectant pause. This vocal line is strangely similar to that of the third line of stanza 3, a relationship that will become more clear at line 3 of the last verse.
2:35 [m. 33]--Stanza 3 (A’). The first two lines of the verse in the vocal line are musically the same as in the first stanza (with the exception of a syncopated emphasis and lengthening on “find”). The accompaniment, however, shifts from the slow lullaby rhythm to a more rocking and active, yet still gentle triplet rhythm derived from the lullaby motion.
2:58 [m. 39]--The surprise moment of the song! At line 3 of the last stanza, the music no longer follows that of the first verse, and suddenly the singer presents the music of the last line of the second stanza, as at 2:05 [m. 27]. The texts of the lines are obviously the same, with the first word of the final line, “bebt,” replacing the earlier “rinnt.” This is a wonderful example of allowing textual response to override musical form. What Brahms has essentially done here is to combine the material of the first two musical verses in the last one. The continuing triplet motion (including chords and double notes) makes the climax at “Träne” more intense than that at 2:05 [m. 27], however, and where that moment had become inconclusive and abortive, Brahms uses his remaining “extra” line to bring it to a fine resolution.
3:19 [m. 45]--The word “heißer” is repeated on a descending arpeggio, and at that point there is a brief harmonic shift down to E (notated as F-flat) to increase the drama just a bit before the close. From here, the music settles down. The word “Wang,” which quickly shifts back down to E-flat, is drawn out with syncopation to accomplish this “settling” to the cadence on E-flat. The triplet motion continues in the piano until it stops on a chord under the end of “Wang” and the first syllable of “herab.”
3:34 [m. 48]--The piano postlude is similar to the introduction, but with more harmonic “color” notes (mostly D-flats) that indicate the path this incredible song has taken. It is extended upward for two bars toward a final chord, doubling the length of the introduction and interludes. The close, after such a fulfilling climax, is soft and slow (and ever slower), as at the song’s hushed beginning.
4:15--END OF SONG [51 mm.]
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