Gesang der Parzen

*Gesang der Parzen*
Gesang der Parzen
Choral composition by Johannes Brahms
	The composer in 1887
English	Song of the Fates
Opus	89
Text	from Goethe's Iphigenie auf Tauris
Language	German
Composed	1882
Performed	10 December 1882: Basel
Scoring	six-part choir and orchestra

Gesang der Parzen (Song of the Fates), Op. 89, is a piece for mixed choir and orchestra by Johannes Brahms.

The work uses a text from Goethe's Iphigenie auf Tauris (which had earlier been set for four voices by Johann Friedrich Reichardt).^[1] Written in one movement, the piece was composed in 1882, premiered in Basel on 10 December of the same year, and published in 1883.^[2]

It is written for six-part choir (altos and basses divided into two) and an orchestra comprising two flutes (one doubling piccolo), two oboes, two B♭ clarinets, two bassoons, double bassoon, two French horns in D, two French horns in F, two trumpets, alto, tenor and bass trombones, tuba, timpani and strings.

The piece is not often performed but has been recorded several times and has had its fans: Anton Webern admired a passage in the coda built on a cycle of major thirds^[2] and asserted that Brahms's harmonic practice was more advanced than Richard Wagner's.^[3]

References

^ "Song of the Fates", The LiederNet Archive. Retrieved 7 March 2010
^ ^a ^b George S. Bozarth and Walter Frisch. "Brahms, Johannes." In Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/51879pg11 (accessed March 7, 2010)
^ Webern 1963, 45–47.

Bibliography

Webern, Anton. 1963. The Path to the New Music, ed. Willi Reich [de], trans. Leo Black. Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania: Theodore Presser Co., in Association with Universal Edition. Reprinted London: Universal Edition, 1975. Trans. of Der Wege zur neuen Musik, Vienna: Universal Edition, 1960.

External links

Full score from the International Music Score Library Project
German text and English translation from the LiederNet Archive
Listening Guide by Kelly Dean Hansen

[1] "Song of the Fates", The LiederNet Archive. Retrieved 7 March 2010

[grove-2] George S. Bozarth and Walter Frisch. "Brahms, Johannes." In Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/51879pg11 (accessed March 7, 2010)

[FOOTNOTEWebern196345–47-3] Webern 1963, 45–47.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Johannes Brahms
List of compositions
Orchestral works	Academic Festival Overture Serenades Symphony No. 1 in C minor Symphony No. 2 in D major Symphony No. 3 in F major Symphony No. 4 in E minor Tragic Overture Variations on a Theme by Haydn
Concertante	Double Concerto Piano Concerto No. 1 Piano Concerto No. 2 Violin Concerto
Vocal works with orchestra	A German Requiem Alto Rhapsody Gesang der Parzen Nänie Rinaldo Schicksalslied Triumphlied
Chamber music	Cello Sonata No. 1 Cello Sonata No. 2 Clarinet Quintet Clarinet Sonatas Clarinet Trio Horn Trio Piano Quartet No. 1 Piano Quartet No. 2 Piano Quartet No. 3 Piano Quintet Piano Trio No. 1 Piano Trio No. 2 Piano Trio No. 3 String Quartet No. 3 String Quintet No. 1 String Quintet No. 2 String Sextet No. 1 String Sextet No. 2 Two String Quartets, Op. 51 Violin Sonata No. 1 Violin Sonata No. 2 Violin Sonata No. 3
Piano works	Ballades, Op. 10 Fantasies, Op. 116 Four Pieces for Piano, Op. 119 Hungarian Dances Piano Sonata No. 1 Piano Sonata No. 2 Piano Sonata No. 3 Rhapsodies, Op. 79 Six Pieces for Piano, Op. 118 Sixteen Waltzes, Op. 39 Three Intermezzi for piano, Op. 117 Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel Variations on a Theme of Paganini
Other compositions	Eleven Chorale Preludes Fest- und Gedenksprüche Fünf Gesänge, Op. 104 Fünf Lieder, Op. 105 Geistliches Lied Liebeslieder Waltzes, Op. 52 Neue Liebeslieder Two Motets, Op. 74 Two Songs for Voice, Viola and Piano, Op. 91 Vier ernste Gesänge "Wiegenlied (Lullaby)", Op. 49, no. 4 Zigeunerlieder
Collaborations	F-A-E Sonata
Named for Brahms	1818 Brahms Brahms (crater) Brahms Inlet
Related articles	Brahms House (Baden-Baden) Brahms Museum (Hamburg) Brahms Museum, Mürzzuschlag Brahms guitar Brahms-Institut Brahms-Preis German Romanticism International Johannes Brahms Competition Musical cryptogram Three Bs Op. 120, No. 1 (Berio)
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