Written by Anna Vorhes

BORN: May 7, 1833, Hamburg, Germany

DIED: April 3, 1897, Vienna, Austria

INSTRUMENTATION: three flutes (one doubling piccolo), two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, two trumpets, timpani, percussion, and strings

DURATION: 20 minutes

WORLD PREMIERE: The orchestral version was premiered on November 2, 1873, by the Vienna Philharmonic with Brahms conducting.  The piano duet version premiered publicly on February 10, 1874, though their is evidence that the composer and his good friend Clara Schumann played it for friends in August, 1873.

SOMETHING TO LISTEN FOR: One of the identifiable features of the Classical era, when Haydn was recognized as a premier composer and teacher, was the use of clear four bar phrases (often referred to as musical question and answer phrases).  The construction of a theme often would be an AB(a) form featuring a clear section of question and answer, usually repeated, followed by a somewhat contrasting section with a remembrance of the A section at the end.  In most cases, the A section was constructed of two four bar phrases.  In this theme you'll hear two five bar phrases in the A section in duple meter.  The B section offers four bar phrases, with the return to A going back to the five bar phrases.  This set of variations offers a melody and a chord structure to build the work.  Traditionally the A section was repeated.  As you listen to the variations, Brahms sometimes changes the A within the variation as well.

PROGRAM NOTES

Musicology, the study of how music came to be created and how it has been used throughout history, has long been the pursuit of curious musicians and scholars.  This piece offers a bit of a mystery uncovered by musicologists.  Karl Ferdinand Pohl was the scholar and librarian of the Vienna Philharmonic.  He was excited to show Brahms a divertimento based on the St. Anthony Chorale that he believed was written by Haydn.  A chorale is a hymn tune, or something written to imitate a hymn tune.  There is no evidence that the St. Anthony Chorale existed before the divertimento based on it.  The chorale was created to be the basis for the divertimento.  However, since Brahms' work became popular, words were created for the chorale tune, leading to its inclusion in many hymnals.

Brahms believed this was written by Haydn and set it lovingly as a tribute to the previous composer.  Scholars, as is their passion, kept looking for evidence this tune was Haydn's work.  In the 1950s, the original tune was convincingly attributed to one of Haydn's students, Ignaz Pleyel.  Pleyel was a talented composer and instrument builder.  (Fun fact: he was important in the development of the concert harp which led to the instrument becoming a regular member of the symphony orchestra.)

Brahms presents the chorale theme played by the double reeds: oboes and bassoons.  The orchestration is very similar to the source divertimento Brahms believed was Haydn's creation.  It's hard not to imagine Brahms' lovely summer retreat as we listen to the variations.

Variation 1 (Poco piú animato) features the polyrthythm Brahms enjoyed exploring.  He sets the sections in three against two, though to the ears of those used to 21st century polyrhythms and world music, this seems quite a straightforward rhythm.

Variation 2 (Piú Vivace) asks for a quicker tempo from the orchestra, and emphasizes the dotted rhythm of the original theme.  There is a hint of Hungarian and Romani music Brahms used so successfully in other works.

Variation 3 (Con moto) returns the melody to the double reeds supported by a legato accompaniment.

Variation 4 (Andante con moto) finds us in triple meter, and introduces the parallel minor to the key of B flat.  French horns and violas join the oboes to offer a plaintive rendition.

Variation 5 (Vivace) uses the compound duple meter of 6/8.  The scherzando is lighthearted.  The wind pairs offer the intervals in thirds for a particular sound.

Variation 6 (Vivace) is a march like presentation.  Hunting horns start us off, with the orchestra responding in a loud voice.

Variation 7 (Grazioso) is in a siciliano rhythm, with flutes and violas working together to present something new with the melody.

Variation 8 (Presto non troppo) mutes the strings as the clarinet, piccolo and bassoon offer the melody.  There is a sense of Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream, a sense of exploring an otherworldly place.  This magical variation paves the way for the Finale.

For the Finale (Andante) Brahms chooses an old compositional format.  The form has been called a chaconne, or a passacaglia, or even a ground.  The bass line from the original A (the five measure section of the piece) is repeated twelve times as higher pitched instruments present the hymn tune, including with a counterpoint (polyphonic) accompaniment.  The climax asks fortissimo brass to restate the theme over a complex accompaniment involving rushing scales.   The result is satisfying.