"" ("Lullaby"; "Cradle Song"), Op. 49, No. 4, is a lied for voice and piano by Johannes Brahms which was first published in 1868. It is one of the composer's most famous pieces.

History Brahms based the music of his "Wiegenlied" partially on "S'Is Anderscht", a duet by published in the 1840s. The cradle song was dedicated to Brahms's friend, Bertha Faber, on the occasion of the birth of her second son.Opus 49, Fünf Lieder für eine Singstimme und Klavier at Brahms-Institut (Lübeck) website. Brahms had been in love with her in her youth and constructed the melody of the "" to suggest, as a hidden counter-melody, a song she used to sing to him. Simrock published Brahms's Op. 49 in November 1868. The lullaby was first performed in public on 22 December 1869 in Vienna by Luise Dustmann (singer) and Clara Schumann (piano).

Song The song has been described as deceptively simple. In its original publication, it only had a single verse.

Lyrics The lyrics are from Des Knaben Wunderhorn, a collection of German folk poems:

Later, Brahms adapted a second verse from an 1849 poem by :

Melody

In 1877, Brahms based the second theme of the first movement of his Second Symphony on the lullaby's tune. The melody is first introduced in bar 82 and continues to develop throughout the movement.

Reception The "" is one of Brahms's most popular songs.

Arrangements

In 1922, Australian pianist and composer Percy Grainger arranged the "" as one of his "Free Settings of Favorite Melodies" for solo piano. This study was characterized by much use of suspensions and arpeggiation, with the first statement of the melody placed in the tenor range of the keyboard. This last practice was a favorite one of Grainger.

Cultural references A 1936 biographical film of Brahms with Albert Florath as the composer, took its title from the opening lines of this song, Guten Abend, gute Nacht.

Wendy Cope's poem "Brahms Cradle Song" refers to this song.Family Values by Wendy Cope – review, The Guardian, 23 April 2011, accessed 3 November 2018.

Cultural interpretations In an article published in 2005, Karen Bottge analysed Brahms's "Wiegenlied" as an expression of the maternal voice, basing her reflections on writings by theorists such as Friedrich Kittler, Michel Chion, Gilles Deleuze, Félix Guattari, and Theodor W. Adorno.

Recordings Recordings include: 1958 Joni James – recorded for her album Among My Souvenirs. 1962 Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (soprano) and Gerald Moore on Testament Records (UK) 1206. 1989 Anne Sofie von Otter (mezzo-soprano) and Bengt Forsberg (piano) on Deutsche Grammophon 429727."All Music Guide to Classical Music: The Definitive Guide to Classical Music" 1994 Kenny G – recorded as instrumental "Brahms Lullaby" for his album Miracles: The Holiday Album. 2013 Bernarda Fink (mezzo-soprano) and Roger Vignoles (piano).Brahms Lieder, review by Richard Wigmore, Gramophone

+ Recordings of Brahms's "Wiegenlied" Rec. Singer V. type Instr. I. type Cond. (arr.) Time Issuer Released 1915 Schumann-Heink, Ernestine contralto unknown orchestra unknown 2:06 Nimbus July 1990 1935-02-26 Schumann, Elisabeth soprano Reeves, George piano — 1:35 Naxos May 2006Elisabeth Schumann: Lieder recordings (1930–1938) at . 1937-03-11 unknown orchestra Goehr, Walter 1:59 1941-05-23 Crosby, Bing vocals Trotter orchestra orchestra Trotter, John Scott 2:46 MCA 1993 1954-06-16 Cole Trio jazz trio Cole, Buddy 1:27 1941-11-12 Lehmann, Lotte soprano Ulanowsky, Paul piano — 2:17 Eklipse July 1993Lotte Lehmann: The Complete 1941 Radio Recital Cycle at . 1943-12-12 San Francisco Symphony orchestra Monteux, Pierre 2:07 Eklipse July 1993Lotte Lehmann in Concert: 1943-1950 at . 1947-12-22 unknown orchestra Armbruster, Robert 2:43 Naxos November 2007Lotte Lehmann: Lieder Recordings, Vol. 6 – 1947 & 1949 at . 1948-08-05 unknown orchestra Ormandy, Eugene 3:12 Eklipse July 1993 1950-02-12 Walter, Bruno piano — 1:47 Eklipse September 1995Lotte Lehmann: The Town Hall Recitals at . 1944-12-03 Sinatra, Frank vocals 35 instrumentalists orchestra Stordahl, Axel 3:06 Columbia 5 October 1993 1953-02-03 Clooney, Rosemary vocals Faith orchestra orchestra Faith, Percy 2:43 Columbia February 1953 1979-11 Fischer-Dieskau, Dietrich baritone Barenboim, Daniel piano — 1:24 DG 1983Track-Informationen BRAHMS EDITION V Lieder Download 449 6332: Details zu Künstler und Repertoire at Deutsche Grammophon website. 2001-04 — Lane, Piers piano (Grainger, Percy) 3:41 Hyperion June 2002

Notes

References

Sources

External links

"Wiegenlied, Op. 49, Nr. 4, 'Guten Abend, gut Nacht at muziekweb.nl (recordings)