EIGHT SONGS AND ROMANCES (LIEDER UND ROMANZEN) OP. 14 Recording:
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, baritone; Daniel Barenboim, piano [DG
449 633-2] Composed in 1858, this set is unique in Brahms’s
early song output. In contrast to the three early sets (Opp. 3,
6, and 7), which he gave the more formal title “Gesänge,” and
all but two of which set German romantic poets, these eight
“songs and romances” all lean heavily on the “folk” idiom.
Indeed, all but one of them are to genuine folk texts, most of
which are associated with their own folk melodies. Six of these
are German folk song texts, and one is a translation of a
Scottish border ballad. The one text with an identifiable
original poet (No. 4) is a translation of a thirteenth-century
troubadour song, which is in many ways another version of
folksong. Brahms composed his own melodies for these texts.
Without sacrificing his compositional sophistication, which is
especially evident in some of the harmonies, Brahms successfully
imitates the style of folksong. Years