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LIBRARY OF
WELLESLEY COLLEGE

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BRAHMS

and his

WOMEN'S CHORUSES

By
SOPHIE DRINKER, Mus.D.

1952

Published by

Sophie Drinker

249 Merion Rd.,

Merion, Pa.

Under the Auspices of

MusuRGiA Publishers

Dr. Albert G. Hess

Oui: *f 71a»

CUvft^'-UAMx, (J Ou^AA^AM^ LUi'-r'<.

by
Sophie Drinker

0 '

and his
WOMEN'S CHORUSES

Preface by Karl and Irene Geiringer

I
The Source Material and Bibliography

II
The Origin of the Hamburger Frauenchor

The Influence of Gottingen

Developments in Hamburg

Franziska Meier's Diary

"The Little Singing Republic'

The " Avertimento'

Public Performance

Choruses in Cuxhaven and Vienna

Appendix, References, and Index

ILLUSTRATIONS

Opposite
Page

The Quartette 1

Friedchen Wagner 10

Johannes Brahms 13

Sketch of Joachim 18

Sketch of Brahms 18

Karl Gradener 19

Version of a Marienlied for Women's Voices 22

Theodor Ave-Lallement 23

Franziska Meier 24

St. Peter's Church 37

Elise Brahms 38

"The Mourning Society" 51

The Volckers' House 68

Brahms' Manuscript 69

Brahms' Manuscript 70

Notation from Marie's Book 70

Brahms' Manuscript 71

Three-part Version of Mein Schatz 72

Title Page of Camilla's Book 75

Title Page of Camilla's Book 78

Brahm's Manuscript 101

Index to Marie's Book 104

PREFACE

A study dealing thoroughly with the women' s chorus, which
Johannes Brahms founded in Hamburg, has been long overdue.
In full-size biographies this episode is more or less passed
over. Yet it was of the utmost importance for the develop-
ment of young Brahms. Decisive features of his artistic
personality were first revealed in the work he did through
three years with this enthusiastic group. His peculiar
technique in writing for vocal ensembles, his interest in the
skillful combination of womens voices, his deep love for the
folksong found expression in his compositions and arrange-
ments for the little chorus. The girls' delighted response
meant encouragement, their willingness to follow him on new
paths gave him a testing ground so important for a young
composer .

Sophie Drinker, who has made it her lifetask to study
the position of women in various cultural fields, and espe-
cially in music, is singularly qualified for her work. She
collected pertinent data with the greatest energy and devotion
and succeeded in unearthing a great deal of unknown and at-
tractive material. Out of it emerges a charming picture of
a group of music-minded young ladies in the middle of the
past century and of their adored leader, the young genius,
who was still looking at the future with glowing confidence,
blissfully ignorant of the fact that there was to be no place
for him in his native city, where he was confident that he
had established an important foothold through his work with
the women's chorus.

Karl and Irene Geiringer
Boston, May 1951.

Laura Garbe, Betty Volckers, Marie Reuter,

Marie Volckers formed the far-famed vocal

quartette which evolved from the

Hamburger Frauenchor (see p. 59).

THE SOURCE MATERIAL

Brahms was thirty years old in 1863 and, before then,
he had worked for several years with women's choruses. All
of his biographers mention these groups for which he composed
the lovely music we still enjoy. But no one of the authors
gives all the available data nor do they entirely agree on
many points of interest, especially on the history of the
Hamburger Frauenchor .

The purpose of this little book is to bring the original
sources of information together in chronological order.

The unpublished material consists of:

1. Extracts from the Diary of Franziska Meier, a member of
the Hamburger Frauenchor, as copied out by Anna Lentz,
her daughter, from her original manuscript.

2. Letters from Anna Lentz.

3. Memoirs of Friedchen Wagner, the founder of the Hamburger
Frauenchor , as sent by her son, Kurt Sa nermann.

4. Letters from Hans Albrecht, who assisted me in collecting
the material.

5. Letters from Karl Geiringer, Curator of the Museum of
the Gesellschaft der Uusikfreunde , Vienna, in 1937.

6. The Stimmenhefte (music note-books) made by the singers,
who copied out their individual voice parts from Brahms'
manuscripts.

The Stimmenhefte referred to here belonged to Friedchen
Wagner, Franziska and Camilla Meier, Marie and Betty Volckers,
all members of the Hamburger Frauenchor .

- 1 -

These books contain:

I Twenty- five compositions subsequently published for
women's voices;

II Seven original songs subsequently arranged by Brahms
for mixed chorus or for solo voice;

III One original part song for women's voices, arranged by
Brahms from the solo song, Op. 14, No. 8;

IV One original part song for women's voices, transposed
by Brahms from his setting for men's voices, later
published as Op. 41, No. 1;

V Two canons not published in Brahms' lifetime;

VI A short original part song, not published in Brahms*
lifetime;

VII Two unfinished compositions;

VIII Fifty- five folk songs in 3 or 4 parts, some in both;

IX Thirty- two pieces by other composers;

X Twelve songs and canons in Brahms' manuscript. (App. E)

(See Appendix for detailed lists)

I have five of Friedchen's note-books. Four of them
contain the single voice parts of some of the music sung by
the chorus. In her "Stimme 1" book is Vineta, written out
by her with corrections and alterations in Brahms' own hand.
The fifth of the little, thin, brown volumes is the Partitur
der Volks lieder . In it is the piano accompaniment to Der
Gartner (Op. 17, No. 3). On the title page, with a list of
songs, are the words: Brahms, dreistimmig , gesetzt fur uns .
"Brahms, three part, set for us" can mean only one thing:
that Brahms made three part settings of folksongs for
Friedchen and her friends and that the songs are inscribed
in this note-book.

- 2 -

According to Anna Lentz, Franziska Meier's tiny note-
books containing only her own part were the ones she sang
from at the weekly meetings of the Hamburger Frauenchor .
Later, she and her sister Camilla made the larger books with
all the parts, including piano accompaniments to Nos . 2, 3,
and 4 of Op. 17. Franziska drew the charming illustrations
that reveal so much of fact and fancy in the lives of these
musically talented girls. (See Chapter IX)

The ten books of the Volckers sisters are especially
valuable, since they contain what is undoubtedly the complete
second soprano and alto parts of the unfinished Benedictus
and Brautgesang. (See Chapter III) I do not have the volume
with the soprano solo and a few bars of the soprano tutti of
the Brautgesang, evidently the only one seen by Kalbeck and
described by him in Vol. I, 2, p. 376 of his Johannes Brahms.
Best of all, in the Volckers' books, are twelve songs written
out by Brahms himself, three of which are reproduced in this
study. (See Appendix E)

My interest in Brahms' music for women was aroused by a
women's chorus which met in our music room at Merion, Penn-
sylvania, for about fifteen years. As I sang a second alto
part in that compelling Romantic music, I used to wonder
what those girls, who had first sung it, were like and what
were the circumstances that had led Brahms to compose it.

The enthusiasm of the Montgomery Singers was shared and,
in fact, enhanced by the interest of my husband, Henry S.
Drinker. At that time, he was translating the vocal texts
of Brahms, both the solo songs and the choral works. His
editions, with English words, of compositions previously
published and of other works originally written for the
Hamburger Frauenchor added to our repertoire and to our
enjoyment. His complete edition of Brahms' compositions for
women's voices is listed in Appendix D.

- 3 -

At this same time - 1934 - my husband and I became
friends with Etta Albrecht, a German girl from Hamburg and a
student at Bryn Mawr College. We often talked to her about
Brahms and Hamburg and wondered if we could find out some-
thing about the young women of the Frauenchor . We wished,
too, to trace the Stimmenhefte, the music note-books into
which the singers had copied their individual parts from
Brahms' manuscripts.

Etta suggested that we ask her father. Dr. Hans Albrecht,
to make inquiries in Hamburg. His interest in our project,
his industry in following every lead that might be rewarding
for our research, and his tact in persuading the families of
the Frauenchor members to share their treasures with us far
exceeded our expectations.

His first success was the acquisition of Franz iska and
Camilla Meier's books that were then in the possession of
Anna Lentz, Franz iska 's daughter. When my husband went to
Hamburg in 1935, Dr. Albrecht introduced him to Anna. She
interpreted for him the sketches drawn by her mother and
gave us Franziska's diary as edited in the J ahrhuch der
Gesellschaft Hamburger Kunst freunde , 1902. A copy of the
Jahrhuch is in my possession. Later, she copied out other
unpublished extracts referring to the Frauenchor .

The version of the Diary which follows here, pp. 24-41,
is the result first of translating the extracts published in
the Jahrhuch der Gesellschaft Hamburger Kunst freunde , 1902,
and the additional extracts copied out by Anna Lentz in 1935,
and second by piecing the two together as they must have
been in the original. Franziska often wrote incomplete
sentences which, in the translation, have been made grammatical
to simplify reading. She frequently refers to matters about
which there is no other information. But wherever possible,
explanations of puzzling references have been inserted be-
tween the passages quoted from the Diary.

. 4 -

We kept up a correspondence with Anna until her death
in 1939 and will always remember the kind old lady who used
the money we paid for the St imwenhe fte to buy her nephew a
good violin.

We were particularly pleased when Dr. Albrecht dis-
covered Friedchen Wagner's son, Kurt Sauermann, the owner of
a small bookstore in Hamburg. Kurt had a trunkful of his
mother's papers in his attic. He was willing to sell us her
Stimmenhefte and a charming photograph. He wrote us some of
his own recollections of Brahms and sent us a copy of his
mother's memoirs, in so far as they referred to the women's
chorus and to her friendship with Brahms. Kurt Sauermann is
now dead and his family possessions were destroyed during
the Second World War. But from the papers of the Sauermanns
which are here, the real origin of the Hamburger Frauenchor
can be understood.

The following year, Dr. Albrecht went to Bonn to inter-
view Frau Clara von Konigslow, the daughter-in-law of Betty
Volckers. Being unwilling to sell the St immenhefte in her
possession outside of Germany, the family kindly allowed
photostats to be made of them for us. Frau von Konigslow
gave Dr. Albrecht a picture of the old Volckers house in
Hamburg where the Frauenchor often met and also several
photographs of the singers. (See pp. 69 and 44). In June
1951, I wrote to Frau von Konigslow to ask her again to let
us have the Stimmenhefte containing the Brahms' manuscripts.
The answer was that her books and papers had all been de-
stroyed by floods of water in the basement during the war.
This unfortunate fact, however, obviously enhances the value
of our photostats.

The Stimmenhefte were known to Kalbeck, Hiibbe, Florence
May, and probably to the other biographers. Kalbeck and
Hiibbe inspected them and both did some classification of the

- 5 -

contents. But even Hiibbe's list is not complete. The books
we have contain more music than he mentions. And since they
correspond to each other down to the smallest detail, the
authenticity of the music written in them is unquestionable.
From the different volumes, the vocal parts of most of the
unpublished compositions can be reconstructed. Other books,
not yet located, or permanently lost, must have had the voice
parts of the Psalm, Op. 27, and five of the Marienlieder ,
known from diaries and letters to have been sung by the
Hamburger Frauenchor .

From the time the chorus disbanded in 1863, the
Stimmenhefte remained in private hands. At present, they
are in our library at Merion, Pennsylvania. Eventually, they
will go to the Smith College Library at Northampton, Massa-
chusetts, with the entire correspondence between us and our
German friends.

As far as the other women's choruses are concerned, the
information about Gottingen is in E. Michelmann's book Agathe
von Siebold. About Vienna, no account of women's activities
in choral singing that I know of exists. For the details of
my knowledge, I am indebted to Karl Geiringer who, during
the years 1937 and 1938, kindly wrote me voluminous letters
in answer to my queries. The correspondence with him opened
my eyes to the apparently unappreciated extent to which
women's choruses functioned in the musical life of Germany
up to the time of the First World War. Familiarity with this
particular aspect of women's participation in music gave me
a new perspective on Brahms' association with women' s choruses
and helped me to integrate the accounts of the Hamburger
Frauenchor and the von Asten's chorus with the other events
in his career.

- 6 -

The published material which I have drawn upon is as
follows:

J. Brahms, Briefwechsel (Berlin: Deutsche Brahms Gesellschaft,
1907-22). 16 Vols.

H. S. Drinker, Texts of the Vocal Works of Johannes Brahms
in English Translation, 1945. (Apply to Association of
American Choruses, c/o Westminster Choir College,
Princeton , N.J.)

Sophie Drinker, "Brahms' Music for Women", Music Clubs
Magazine, Nov. -Dec. 1939 and Jan. 1940.

Music and Women (New York: Coward-McCann, Inc., 1948.)

A. von Ehrmann, Johannes Brahms: Thematisches Verzeichniss
Seiner Werk (Leipsig: Breitkopf und Hartel, 1933.)

M. Friedlander, Brahms' Lieder (London: Oxford University
Press, 1928)

K. Geiringer, Brahms, His Life and Work, 2nd Edition (New
York: Oxford University Press, 1947)

"Johannes Brahms im Briefwechsel mit E. Mandyczewski",
Zeitschrift fur Musikwissenschaft, 1933.

W. Hiibbe, Brahms in Hamburg (Hamburg: Gesellschaft Ham-
burgischer Kunstfreunde , 1902)

M. Kalbeck, Johannes Brahms (Berlin: Deutsche Brahms Gesell-
schaft, 1904-14)

A. Kretschmer and W. von A. Zuccalmaglio, Deutsche Volkslieder

mit ihren Original Weisen, 2 Vols. (Berlin, 1840)

B. Litzmann, Clara Schumann , An Artist's Life (London:

Macmillan and Co., 1913) 2 Vols.

Letters of Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms (London:
Edward Arnold, 1927)

Florence May, Johannes Brahms (London: Edward Arnold, 1905)

Franziska Meier, "Diary", Jahrbuch der Gesel Ischaft Ham-
burger Kunstfreunde (Hamburg, 1902)

E. Michelmann, Agathe von Siebold (Stuttgart und Berlin:
J. G. Cotta'sche Buchhandlung Nachfolger, 1930)

W. Niemann, Brahms (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1929, trans-
lated by Catherine A. Phillip)

G. Ophuls, Brahms' Texte (Berlin: N. Simrock, 1898)

Susanne Schmaltz, Begluckte Errinerungen (Germany) Extracts
sent by Kurt Sauermann

- 7 -

I am indebted to these publishers for their permission
to quote passages from biographies of Brahms:

Oxford University Press, Brahms' Lieder by M. Friedlander.

The Macmillan Company, Clara Schumann by B. Litzmann.

Edward Arnold and Co. , Letters of Clara Schumann & Johannes
Brahms, compiled by B. Litzmann.

William Reeves (new edition), Johannes Brahms by Florence May.

Alfred A. Knopf, Brahms, by W. Niemann.

But especially my hearty thanks are due to both Karl
and Irene Geiringer for their friendly encouragement and
their invaluable suggestions on the final draft of "Brahms
and His Women's Choruses".

SOPHIE DRINKER
Merion, Pa.
1951

8 -

THE ORIGIN OF THE
HAMBURGER FRAUENCHOR 1856-58

"Friedchen Wagner is the principal founHer of my Verein here
and we sing at her house ..."

So Brahms wrote to tell Clara Schumann that " his favorite
pupil" was going with her father to Wildbad, where Clara was
taking the cure.

In this same letter, dated July 3, 1859, Brahms went on

to say:

"You have already met hef here (Hamburg) and, if you fee] the
least inclination to do so, you ought to see her there. She
is an exceedingly charming, modest, and musical girl and
ought to please you ..."

Brahms himself had been pleased with Friedchen since

1855. At that time, he was twenty-two years old. She was

twenty, small and not pretty, but full of fire and high

spirits. Her passionate temperament found an outlet in music

and endeared her to Clara as well as to Brahms. Her piano

playing also delighted Brahms, who remarked upon her ability

in the same letter:

"Incidentally, she plays quite well and can do all kinds of
things with her little fingers."

In 1855, Friedchen was taking piano lessons from her

cousin G. D. Otten. One evening, at his house on the Linden-

strasse in Hamburg, while she was playing duets with him she

met Brahms.

"I saw Brahms for the first time one evening at Otten' s, just
as I was playing Schubert's Divertissements for four hands
with him. When Brahms appeared in the doorway, I wanted to
stop playing but Otten wished us to play the piece to the
end which proved very profitable for me, since Brahms im-

- 9 -

*-*

Friedchen Wagner, 1831-1917; married Kurt Sauerman

in 1869. When this photograph was taken in 1865,

she was thirty-four years old.

mediately said that he himself wanted to play it over again
with me.

"After supper he offered to take me home. On the way, T
asked him to give me lessons twice a week. So the instruction
began. I had been technically prepared by my dear Mr. Ave.
It was thanks to his efforts that Brahms took such kind
interest in my playing from the very beginning, a fact which
he later expressed in a letter to Frau Schumann when she was
in Wildbad.

"My instruction continued with a short interruption while
Brahms was in Detmold. Brahms often played with me (Mozart
and Handel) and through him, I became acquainted with Bach
(We 11 -Tempered Clavier). Through his excellent fingering, I
mastered the technical difficulties relatively easily. Later,
he often played his compositions with me (for four hands).
Frau Schumann, who also came to my parents' , visited Brahms
frequently. While my piano was being repaired at He ins' in
the Pferdemarkt, I had my lessons in Heins' piano store at
5 o'clock in the afternoon. After the lesson, Brahms gave
me the pleasure of playing for me. We often played Bach's
Concerto for three pianos; his brother Fritz participating.
Once, however, I played at Heins' with Brahms and Clara
Schumann. It was at Brahms' suggestion. I was nervous and
lost my place. Frau Schumann encouraged me. We were able
to continue and it went off all right. Frau Schumann said
that such a thing could happen to anybody. In playing the
third piano in Bach's Concerto, I had to count twenty-three
bars rest! "

Friedchen's family belonged to the upper middle class.
As a group, these people were both industrious and prosperous,
spending much of their leisure time in cultivating the arts.
They sang part songs and played instruments at home. They
founded choral societies by the score. Their familiarity
with musical terms and idioms enabled them to appreciate the
skill of professional performers and to understand con-
temporary composition. With their informal music and public
concerts, they made Germany the Mecca of musicians the world
over.

Friedchen lived with her parents and her two sisters,
Thusnelda and Olga, on Pastorenstrasse. Brahms was a frequent

- 10 -

visitor at the Wagner's house. Besides giving the musically
intelligent girl her piano lessons, he played for her and,
above all, talked with her.

At that time Brahms was steeping himself in the rich
treasures of German folksong, sharing with other scholars a
vivid interest in the old songs, as well as in those of
contemporary origin. At the same time, informal singing by
truly musical people was an entertainment that had no com-
petition with mechanically made music. It was so popular a
game that it challenged the attention of those with a talent
for invention. Brahms had already dedicated a set of songs
to the Schumann children and was busy making piano accompani-
ments to others. And his interest was more than a youthful
enthusiasm for he never lost sight of the musical value of
the folksong nor of the social value of home singing. At the
end of his life, he compiled a volume of 49 Folksongs and
composed such inimitable piano accompaniments to them that
no one could doubt his respect for the original material.

In Friedchen's Memoirs, she reported her reaction to

her conversations with Brahms about his favorite folksongs:

"While I was taking lessons from Brahms, I asked hira one
morning -- since my two sisters and I often sang together —
to compose folksongs for that purpose, which he was very
willing to do. "

Friedchen gives no date but Hiibbe attributes her request
to the summer and autumn of 1856.

The songs that Brahms first offered the girls may have
been some of the 28 Deutsche Volkslieder for solo with piano
accompaniment. He was working on this set between 1854 and
1858. Those arranged for three women's voices from this set
are:

Der Bucklichte Fiedler (Es wohnet ein Fiedler)
Trennung (Da unten im Tale)

- 11 -

Gang zur Liebsten (Des Abends kann ich nicht schlafen
gehen)

Der Zimmergesell (Es war einmal)

Drei Voglein (Mit Lust that ich ausreiten)

Gunhilde

Der Todte Gast (Es pocket ein Knabe)

Altes Minnelied (Ich fahr dahin)

Die Versuchung ( Feins liebchen, du so list)

Die Wo 1 lust in den Mai en

Friedchen continued the story in her Memoirs but still

without a definite date:

"After a short time, several young ladies came to take part
in the singing and thus gradually a women's chorus was formed
in my parents ' house . "

The authentic account of the beginning of the Hamburger
Frauenchor thus occurs in two sources which correspond:
Brahms' letter of July 3, 1859, to Clara Schumann and
Friedchen Wagner's Memoirs. At first, Friedchen sang folk-
songs arranged by Brahms with Thusnelda and Olga. Then, she
invited other young women ... probably one or two at a time,
possibly different ones on different evenings . . . until
circumstances drew many more music lovers into the original
intimate group.

- 12 -

Johannes Brahms, as he looked at the

time of the founding of the

Hamburger Frauenchor.

Ill

THE INFLUENCE OF GOTTINGEN

1858

During the late 50s, Brahms did not stay in Hamburg all
the time but travelled around Germany on business or pleasure.

In June, 1858, he was invited by his friend, Julius

Otto Grimm, the popular founder and leader of the Cacilia

Verein in Gottingen, to come there for the summer. Grimm

well knew what appeal to make. Clara Schumann would be

there. Brahms would find an organ to play on and, best of

all, singing.

"If it would please you to have a few good voices, lodged in
very lovely girls, sing for you, they will take pleasure in
being at your disposal. Come now quickly!" ^

Brahms decided to accept the invitation and found that
Gottingen offered more than he had anticipated. One of the
lovely girls in Gottingen was Philippine, Grimm's wife, nick-
named Pine Gur, on account of the gutteral way she pronounced
the letter R. Daughter of the piano manufacturer Ritm'iiller,
she was a brilliant pianist herself as well as a good choral
singer. Another singer was Agathe von Siebold, with whom
Brahms fell in love, and she with him. All summer long, they
sang and played together.

Brahms' songs in Op. 14 and Op. 19 belong to this period,
inspired by Agathe and her beautiful soprano voice. The
duets of Op. 20, Nos. 1 and 2, composed in September, 1858,
were sung by Agathe and her friend Bertha Wagner, whose
wonderfully rich alto voice also delighted Brahms.

Philippine, Agathe, Bertha, and other young women be-
longed to the Cacilia Verein, Grimm's chorus of ninety

- 13 -

members. They also sang in a women's chorus. For both
groups, Grimm wrote music. He loved to compose and, in his
day, it was quite customary for conductors to perform their
own compositions. His style was post-Mendelssohnian and,
although he was a most prolific composer, none of his music
has survived on modern programmes. His devoted women friends,
however, no doubt sang it with zest, especially a set of old
Low German poems, called by Grimm, Ein Liederkranz .

When Brahms arrived, these choruses were in full swing.
Fresh from his Hamburg circle of girls, he looked with
interest upon those of Gottingen. His musical ingenuity was
challenged and he was eager to experiment with women's
voices. One composition was a Benedictus from a Mass upon
which he had been working in 1856. Unfortunately for the
choral literature of women, he did not finish the Benedictus .
Its canon was used later in the Motet Op. 74; Warum ist das
Licht .

Another trial composition was a Brautgesang (Bridal
Song) for soprano solo and women's chorus. The words are
Uhland's:

Das Haus benedei'ich and preis es laut .

"1 bless the house that has received a beautiful bride and

praise it. Into a garden it must blossom."

For some unknown reason, the Brautgesang missed fire.
It was evidently basically inferior, pronounced so by his
two friends, Clara and Grimm.

Clara expressed her disapproval:

"I like certain parts of the Brautgesang very much -- the
last bar on p. 15 is wonderful. But it has struck me that
here and there the motifs are a little bit commonplace -- I
should have thought of Hi Her, or some other musician, and
not of you -- Forgive me, I dare say what I have said is
silly, but every time I played the piece through, I felt
this more and more . "

-14 -

And in writing after Brahms had left for Detmold, Grimm
was at first non-committal:

"I could not send the Brautgesang back yesterday because I
only received it this afternoon. I had to read it through
and play it to the ladies Gathe and Gur. That has been done
and they think it is glorious, delightful, refreshing, and
so on. I, too. But the two songs of Uhland's, Op. 19, Nos.
2 and 3, (Scheiden und Meiden; In der Feme) have so moved
me that, at the moment, there is no place left for the
Brautgesang. Both words and music in those songs are too
moving to allow me to enter the blessed house in a congenial
mood. Iwill be glad when Gathe can sing them properly ..."

Another letter is more forceful:

"Your Brautgesang did not please me so much (as the
Grahgesang) . I am not being silent about anything. I will
not presume hastily and impudently to approach it."

Brahms answered from Detmold:

"Thank you for your criticisms ... The Braut lied is dis-
gracefully ordinary and dull. The poem could be beautifully
composed. As it is, a poor composer sits sadly and alone in
his room and conjures up thoughts which are none of his
business. And a critic sets himself between two beautiful
ladies ... I don't want to picture it any further!"

Brahms could not have been entirely convinced that the
Braut lied was "disgracefully ordinary and dull" or he would
not have allowed the voice parts to be copied out later into
the St immenhefte of the Hamburger Frauenchor . Although no
mention of its performance or even of its practice is made
in the diaries or letters at hand, the Braut lied must have
been sung in Hamburg between 1859 and 1862. But Brahms
eventually abandoned it as a choral composition for women's
voices and used the melody in his magnificent song von Ewiger
Liebe. (See p. 70)

In spite of the failure of the Brautgesang, the ex-
perience at Gbttingen deepened Brahms* perception of the
potentialities of a women's chorus. While there, he came in
contact with a large and well-trained group of women. He

- 15 -

immediately conceived original compositions for them, com-
positions which were in a different musical category from the
simple folksongs he had set for the Hamburg girls.

His next attempt had a happier fate. The Ave Maria,
Op. 12, was a success from its conception at Gb'ttingen in
September, 1858. The text is the liturgical invocation to
the Virgin Mary.

Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus te cum, benedicta tu in
mulier ibus , et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Jesus.
Sancta Maria! Ora pro nobis!

Brahms broke many precedents by clothing these words in
a romantic idiom and by offering the composition to a choir
of laywomen. His inspiration to do so may have come partly
from the sight of wayside shrines with peasant women kneeling
and offering flowers to the Virgin. But it was certainly
the spirit of Agathe herself, a Catholic with an under-
standing of the religious text, that ultimately kindled his
imagination.

The original version had an organ accompaniment, as if
it were intended for church use by a women's choir. Whether
the Gbttingen girls sang it before Brahms left for Detmold
at the end of September 1858 is at present unknown, but might
be disclosed in forgotten letters or diaries of members of
the chorus. (Appendix F)

Although Grimm's chorus was in no sense under Brahms'
leadership, it must be included in any account of his
association with a women's chorus since it provided him with
the incentive that started his serious work for soprano and
alto voices.

In Detmold, where he conducted the choral society at
the castle, he lost no time in giving his new Ave Maria
publicity in the court circle. He asked the Princess

- 16 -

Frederica and the other women members of the Schloss-Chor to
sing his compositions for women's voices, offering them both
the three-part folksongs and the Ave Maria. Then, encouraged
by their enthusiasm, he carried the manuscript with him to
Hamburg when he returned home at the end of January, 1859.

- 17 -

Joachim conducting the Brahms Serenade,

op. 11, March 26, 1859.

Sketch by Franziska Meier.

Brahms conducting his 2nd Serenade^

op. 16, March 28, 1860.

Sketch by Franziska Meier.

It is interesting that Brahms appears here

with spectacles on, since the fact that he

wore them has not been remarked by others.

DEVELOPMENTS IN HAMBURG

Like most German cities, Hamburg supported several
choruses. One of them was the Hamburg Akademie, directed by
Karl Gradener. According to the custom of the times, the
women members often sang without the men, especially to per-
form music composed by Gradener himself.

One day, in April, 1859, Gradener inquired whether the
chorus would like to sing a composition by Brahms. "Fraulein
Gobbin and the whole alto section rose in assent", wrote
Franziska Meier in her diary.

The enthusiastic response suggests that these young
women already knew Brahms or had heard favorably of him.
Probably most of them had attended the concert in March when
the Serenade, Op. 11, was played, Joachim conducting.
Franziska was there and recorded the sentiments of at least
some of the concert-going public. Her diary of March is
filled with details of how she and her friends haunted Wormer's
Hall for the rehearsals and the performance of the Serenade.
After the concert, her excitement was intense and compelled
her to make pen and ink drawings of the musicians. The
following entry refers to this memorable event:

"March 29. I spent an almost sleepless night during which I
wrote in my diary, made poetry and drew sketches of Joachim
and Brahms. "

Although somewhat crudely executed, these sketches are

authentic and genuine impressions of the two artists.

Some of the members of Gradener* s chorus probably knew
Friedchen and might have been accustomed to sing with the

- 18 -

Karl Gradener, conductor of the Hamburg Akademie,

an institution which existed from 1851 to 1867.

He composed for the women members

of that chorus.

Wagner sisters. It seems practically certain that the girls
were singing the three-part folksongs arranged for them by
Brahms during the spring of 1859. Brahms was in Hamburg then;
Friedchen was studying piano with him. And above all, it was
to Friedchen that Brahms turned for advice when an oppor-
tunity arose for him to hear his Ave Maria again.

One of Gradener's pupils, Jenny von Ahsen, was married
on May 19 in St. Michael's Church. Brahms played the organ
at the wedding and Gradener conducted his girl choir in the
singing of a motet he had composed for the occasion. The
text was taken from the Bible; Psalm 127:

"Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain who
build it."

It was set for four parts and the fourth voice had the cantus
firmus, which was the old melody so often used by Bach, the
famous Morgenstern Chorale (Wie schbn leuchtet der M or gens tern).
Although Gradener's composition has disappeared from the
catalogues, it was well received at the time and was per-
formed later by Brahms in a church concert. (See p. 40)

Brahms was so favorably impressed with the singing and
with the general effect of the women's voices in the church
that he immediately conceived the idea of creating an oc-
casion for the performance of his own Ave Maria and of com-
posing more music to religious texts for women's voices.
Since he was engrossed at the time in studying Palestrina
and other masters of the a cape 11a school, he wrote two four
part motets in the 16th century style. The first was 0 Bone
Jesu and the second, Adoramus . These were later published
as Nos. 1 and 2 of Op. 37.

Brahms apparently appealed to Friedchen for help in
organizing a group to sing his music. She responded by in-
viting a number of singers to her house. Among them, un-

- 19 -

doubtedly, were her own friends and Gradener's chorus of the
girls who had performed at the wedding.

On Monday, June 6, twenty-eight volunteers turned up at
the Wagner's house. Brahms conducted them in singing. A
lady, whose name Hiibbe does not give, told him that they sang
"a quite beautiful Ave Maria to which Ave listened with open
mouth and was filled with rapture."

0 Bone Jesu and Adoramus were also practiced. These
seemed to the lady who was Hubbe's informant very difficult
and not so pleasing. Gradener, too, was at the rehearsal and
evidently helped Brahms through a fit of embarrassment which
seized him as he confronted the new group. The next morning,
however, the programme was repeated. On June 8 the chorus
went to St. Peter's Church and sang the Ave Maria and the
two motets there.

Encouraged by the enthusiasm of the chorus and eager to
make the most of the opportunity for composition, Brahms
asked the young women to sing with him once a week. Two of
the singers were Marie and Betty Volckers. Many years later,
Marie told Kalbeck:

"My elder sister Betty belonged to a singing society and, as
so often happened, several ladies of the chorus were asked
to sing at a wedding in the church; it was under the direction
of Gradener. Brahms played the organ and, after the ceremony,
he asked the ladies if they would like to sing some songs
comnosed by him. The proposal was accepted with enthusiasm
and regular rehearsals were arranged in the mornings. From
that originated the Frauenchor ."

Either Marie had not been intimate with the Wagners or,
if she had sung informally of an evening with the three
sisters, she did not regard a small group of girls singing
part songs for fun as a Frauenchor . After the wedding,
Brahms made a definite engagement to be present at meetings
himself, promising not only to conduct but to supply the

- 20 -

chorus with compositions that could be performed before an
audience. He even invented a motto for them. FIX ODER NIX,
Up to the Mark or Nothing. The formal organization of the
Frauenchor took place then.

On June 20, Brahms brought a novelty for the chorus . . .
two Marienlieder . These are songs in which the Virgin Mary
is heroine in all kinds of imaginary adventures. German
literature is full of them, a great many poets eind musicians
having contributed to their making. Before 1858, Brahms
himself harmonized one, Der englische Grass, which appears
now as No. 8 of the 28 Deutsche Volkslieder for One Voice and
Piano Accompaniment. It is the angel's greeting to Mary, the
Annunciation. But the composition he offered the women's
chorus was original, his own melody.

Brahms* appreciation that this type of song would be
attractive material for a women's chorus resulted in the
composition of six Marienlieder for two soprano and two alto
voices. When writing later to the publisher Simrock, he ex-
plained how he used the folkpoems but made his own music:

"The poems are all beautiful folksongs and the music somewhat
in the manner of the old church music and folksong."

The two that he brought to the rehearsal on June 20 were
Der englische Gruss and Maria* s Kirchgang. The second of
these is in Franziska Lentz' book, Versammlung 3, written a
whole tone higher throughout than Brahms' published edition
of the Marienlieder for mixed voices. Op. 22. It is the only
one that appears in the Stimmenhefte .

When Mary once to church would go
She fain would cross a deep, wide sea.
And as she reached the waters' flow
A boatman there she chanced to see.
"Oh boatman safely ferry thou me,
What e'er thou ask I'll give to thee."
" I' 11 bear thee safely over the sea,
If thou wilt come and marry me."

- 21 -

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marked V'^rsammlung No. 3.

"Before I deign to marry thee,

I'll swim alone across the sea."

Now as she neared the other side,

All the church bells ringing out far and wide,

Both large and small, with one accord.

Proclaimed the Mother of our Lxird.

And ^^ihen the shore they did regain.

The boat -man's heart was broke in twain.

In the musical treatment of this poem, Brahms gave the
melody to the first altos and, where the text refers to the
church bells, he had the voices reproduce the sound of bells
ringing by repeating over and over the intervals of fourths
and fifths. (See Appendix D;

Unfortunately, the Stimmenhefte containing the other

Marienlieder later sung by the Frauenchor are still missing.

But in several of the books is one by Johann Eccard, a 16th

century composer.

Uber's Gebirge Maria geht
Over the mountain goes Mary

This had previously been copied out by Brahms into his 1854

notebook. At some point in the Frauenchor' s history, Brahms

transposed it from the setting for S. S. A. T. B. up a major

third to arrange it comfortably for the range of S. S. A. A.

A. (See Appendix D)

The young women's enthusiasm for the choral singing was
equalled by that of Brahms. He mentioned the chorus to three
friends with whom he corresponded during the summer. In
answer to one of his letters, Clara Schumann wrote:

"How delightful about your Gesangverein. I hope you have a
large number of charming girls in it. But don't you include
men as well? I should think you would soon find women's
singing alone monotonous. I should like to hear your songs.
How did you like the songs which you tried with the organ on
June 9? Aren't they very difficult? Did your girls sing
them well?" ^

But Brahms did not find women's voices monotonous. Nor

- 22 -

Theodor Ave-Lallement, a music teacher and

member of the committee for the Philharmonic

concerts. He and Brahms were

intimate friends.

did Ave andGradener, who both attended most of the rehearsals.

In August, Brahms alluded to the Frauenchor again when

writing to Joachim:

"A little singing society (ladies only) detains me. Other-
wise, I would have been on the Rhine or in some beautiful
forest." 1°

And a little later, he offered Fraulein von Meysenbug,
one of the singers in the castle chorus at Detmold, two ex-
planations of his interest in the women's voices:

" I am here and shall probably remain until I go to Detmold.
Some very pleasant pupils detain me and, strangely enough, a
ladies' society that sings under my direction, till now only
what I compose for it. The clear, silver tones please me
exceedingly and, in the church with the organ, the ladies'
voices sound quite charming."

- 23 -

Franziska Meier in 1861

1859

Franziska Meier was twenty-three years old in the summer
o£ 1859. She came from the same type of upper middleclass
family as Friedchen Wagner. Her mother, Frau Senatorin Meier,
served as a member of the committee of Grund's Academy, a
concert-giving institution. Her sister Camilla, aged twenty-
one, played the piano and sang in the mixed chorus of the
Cacilia Verein, conducted by Dr. Spengel.

Franziska herself was a girl with a talent for sketching,
making poetry and music. (See illustrations, p. 79) She
studied both voice and piano and attended concerts enthu-
siastically. Her special companions were her sister Camilla
and Susanne Schmaltz. They called themselves "The Three
Crows". (See p. 79) From Susanne *s book, BeglUckte
Erinnerungen, and from entries in Franziska* s diary of March
and April, 1859, the girls* sentimental adoration of Joachim
and Brahms as musical heroes is revealed. (See Chap. TV) In
view of this, it is surprising that neither the two sisters,
Franziska and Camilla Meier, nor Susanne Schmaltz had joined
the Frauenchor before August 1, 1859.

On Monday, August 1, Franziska wrote in her diary:

"A new life is now to begin; new horizons are opening up
before me. Finally we have succeeded, after having always
' forged energetically ahead' . "

The words immer rustig vorwarts were used by Joachim to in-
spire his orchestra to greater efforts. They were adopted
by "The Three Crows'* as their motto eind signet seal.

- 24 -

Af ter " the new life begins", Franziska continued writing
on August 1:

"At 9 o'clock Tilla Sthamer called for me; ten minutes after
9, we were at Fraulein Gliihr's on the Holzdamm. Tilla
introduced me to Fraulein Gliihr, then to Olga Wagner. She
was supposed to introduce me to Brahms, but she neglected to
do it, so I turned to Mme. Gradener (who acted as chaperone
to the young girls). She was very friendly, as always. She
took me to Brahms and said: 'Fraulein Meier does not know
whether she is to sing first or second soprano?' Brahms
looked at me in an examining manner, as though he could tell
that by my face. He said, 'Could you possibly sing first
alto?' The question surprised me and I did not answer im-
mediately. Then he said quickly: 'Well, then, sing second
soprano' .

"We sang Psalm 23 by Schubert and The Serenade Zbgernd leise
(Through the Darkness) by Schubert. We practiced hard; then,
in the intermission, Brahms talked only to Fraulein Wiechern.
I spoke to Mme. Gradener and later to Tilla, who is very
unsure of herself.

"Brahms is pleased that his little flock is growing, . . He is
very precise at practice. No one looked at him. I believe
I was the only one. At first, it was hard for me to follow,
then later, it came very easily.

"At 11:15 Brahms announced that if anybody wished to take the
music home she should say so. I asked for one part. Brahms
asked me whether it had been hard for me to follow. I
answered;

'In the beginning, very.'

"Then he said:

'Ladies, next Monday, be here at five minutes before 9,
at the latest.'

"In the meantime, my friend Susanne Schmaltz had seen Mme.
Gradener and asked her if she might take part in the singing.
She received a very friendly answer that she might. "

"Monday, August 8 at the Wagner's. I wrote in my diary.
Shortly after 8:30, Tilla Sthamer called for me to go to the
Frauenchor. She scolded me terribly for not having spoken
to Fraulein Wagner about Susanne Schmaltz. I remained very
calm and told her that Susanne had spoken to Mme. Gradener

- 25 -

herself and that that ought to be enough. At the door we
met Mme. Gradener and Susanne Schmaltz. Susanne's heart was
probably beating even faster than mine. Upstairs, I intro-
duced her to Til la, Fraulein Gliihr, and the three Wagners.
They were all very friendly. Toward 9, Gradener arrived,
greeted us and was just about to start when Brahms came. We
waited a little, while he amused himself. Then Ave came in
and greeted me with a deep bow. Brahms and Gradener still
had much to talktoeach other about. Finally, at ten minutes
after 9, we began: Psalm 23 by Schubert first with, then
without, the accompaniment. Papa Ave was quite thrilled.
Now came the main thing; two Marienlieder --Der Jdger (The
Hunter No. 4) and Ruf zu Maria (Prayer to Mary No. 5)."

These were new ones, not 1 and 2 which had already been

tried in June.

"Brahms said: 'The Hunter is always the first' . We prac-
ticed hard. The Hunter was difficult. At every criticism,
Brahms looked straight at the two of us. We were furious.
But he looked at us also at each word of praise, at every
explanation, when he asked us to repeat, and when he thanked
us. So then our anger turned to joy. If he would observe
us, he would soon see how seriously and earnestly we take the
whole thing. His remarks always amuse us. 'Fraulein Seebohm
deliberately sang the wrong note!' "The altos sing too
harshly!' 'Please, a little bass pedal!' Susanne and I went
away together. She turned around to say goodbye to Mme.
Gradener and to thank her. We went together to Kainer's,
dizzy with joy. Brahms, Ave, and a lady behind us along the
whole Alster St."

"Monday, August 15. At a quarter past 6- -Brahm-a-ho!

Susanne could hardly withdraw from the embrace of the Heaven-
born Morpheus. Finally the beloved motto immer riistig
vorwdrts --forging energetically ahead- -succeeded in arousing
her."

Franziska used the word "Brahm-a-ho" more than once, obviously
as an expression of enthusiasm.

Her allusion to Heaven-born Morpheus was a joke about

the text of Canon No. 1 (in Op. 113). It was evidently sung

by the Frauenchor during the first two weeks of August.

"About a quarter to 9, Susanne and I went to the Sthamer's.
Tilla was far frcrni ready. We ran through the Hohe Bleichen

- 26 -

and Diistern Street. We had hardly reached Pastoren Street
when Brahms appeared.

"Til la and I sat down in the center of the 2nd sopranos. We
sang the Psalm by Schubert, two songs by Brahms, three by
Schumann, and then 'Poor Peter' by Gradener, for six-part
women's chorus--terrifically difficult! It went very badly.
I admired Brahms' patience. We practiced only the first two
parts, then in conclusion, the Psalm over again. I like
Brahms as a conductor exceedingly. He noticed us especially,
and so he should! Once when he looked at me for so long, I
tried to respond to his steady glance. Suddenly, it came
into my mind: now he is thinking of the letter! And then I
lost courage and willpower and had to look away."

Franziska's allusion to " the letter" is explained in

her diary entries of March 28 and April 1:

"I brooded over a plan I had... Jenny and Camilla have
approved and even promoted it."

The plan was to write Brahms a letter of congratulation

on his Serenade Op. 11 which had just been performed with

Joachim conducting. The Three Crows went over to the

Fuhlentwiete, the street where Brahms lived; they bribed a

little boy to deliver the letter. (See p. 79) The girls

then became nervous about their boldness.

"All day I felt as though I had corrmitted a murder. It is
hard for me to try to fool my mother. At breakfast (a few
days later) we confessed. Thank goodness that abyss has been
crossed. "

Franziska, with her facile pen, made a sketch of a little
bird carrying a letter in its beak. Kommt ein Vo^el geflogen
(A little bird came flying, bringing me a letter) , are the
words of a folksong.

(August 15 continued)

"We practiced very hard until long past 11. When Susanne
and I had already opened the door to go, we suddenly heard
the piano marvellously played upstairs. We ran up again, sat
down on two empty chairs that were standing in the doorway.
Brahms noticed us and smiled. After the playing was over,

- 27 -

Brahms walked ahead with N^. Peterson. We, in high spirits,
and as if in a dream, followed them."

"Monday, August 22nd, at the Gliihr's. A quarter to 9... away
to the Gliihr's! As Brahms came in, I greeted him. He re-
turned the greeting, somewhat surprised, but in a friendly
way. We began with 'Hansel and Gretel', always, the first
two parts. Finally, we were a little more successful.

"During the intermission, I spoke to IVhe. Nordheim. She was
complaining about the text of The Hunter -- Then I hurried
back to my place. Brahms, following my example, had taken
the same route. He then turned directly toward me -- 'you
did not take part when we sang with the organ in church?' I
answered that unfortunately this was only my fourth rehearsal.
He said: 'I think we will repeat that at the earliest oppor-
tunity. Everybody enjoys singing with organ accompaniment
so much.* I asked what we were to sing. Then he said: 'An
Ave Maria that you do not know yet and a Psalm which is not
ready yet.' 'Something of your own composition?' 'Yes, of
mine.' "ITiat is fine. Shall we begin it next Monday?' He
answered: 'If it is ready. I shall probably have it ready
by then but the voice parts will have to be written out.' "

Each girl always copied out her own part into her own

note-book {Stimmenheft).

"'And then we must first be through with our imgodly songs.'
I answered: 'Oh, I like these songs very much for a change
with the religious music' 'Why certainly, Fraulein, other-
wise we would not sing them at all.' 'And now the building
in St. Michael's Church, which was so disturbing at the time,
is finished, isn't it?' He said: 'Yes, indeed, but we are
going to sing this time in St. Peter's vi^ere it will sound
very much better. In St. Peter's Qiurch, the sound is good.
There one sings throughout the length of the church. Tliese
things are easier, too, much easier than the one by Gradener.'
'The composition by Gradener is difficult, I think, especially,
for the alto.' He said: 'Yes, certainly the second alto has
peculiar things to sing, notes that one is not at all accus-
tomed to hear in succession. Quite odd intervals! difficult
to strike!' I said that on the whole, I believed alto was
much more difficult than second soprano. 'Altos always have
to sing the notes which are missing.' Then he laughed:
'Certainly, alto is always difficult. If I let the ladies
do as they pleased, not a single one would sing alto. They
would all sing second soprano. TTiat is the favorite part.'

- 28 -

'It is the most natural range. Most people don't have the
alto notes at all. But now you have gained excellent support
for the altos in Mme. Nordheim.' 'Yes', he said, 'I noticed
that at once and I am very glad. She has a good voice and is
musical. '

"He turned just as suddenly away and left me alone with my
joy. I guess he simply wanted to know what kind of a person
I am! In any case, I made the most of the moment. What will
he think? He notices us. If he cxvly keeps up this attentive
observation, he will at least discover our zeal. Gradener
begged for his old Peter again. After some opposition, we
sang parts 1 and 2, repeating the bad places.

"Then Av6 asked for Schumann's Rosmarien, Jdger Wohlgemuth
(Happy Hunter) and Der Wassermann (The Merman), (all Op. 91).
He thanked us. Then, after we had nearly said good-bye,
Friedchen asked for one by Brahms. He let us sing both. At
the crescendo in Prayer to Mary, all of us did not think of
the crescendo but sang softly. I, alone, shouted on and on
jubilantly. Brahms looked at me, nodded with a smile and
said: 'good!' I know what that means. Such a good means
more than when Degenhardt says: 'That you play absolutely
wonderfully. ' "

Degenhardt was her piano teacher.

"Monday August 29, at the Wagner's. At a quarter to 9, we
went to the Sthamer's. Of course, Tilla was not ready. Then
we ran to the Brahmafest. Oi Diistern Street, I was possessed
with the idea that I must look back. I saw Brahms behind us;
also, he noticed us and the distance between us became less
and less. Why did that make me so nervous? We arrived at
the door at almost the same time as Brahms. Fraulein Lucy
Albers drove us in a cab. With her was a young lady who was
called by some Fraulein Trier. Brahms opened the door to the
adjoining room and let them in. Then he said to us: 'We can
go straight in here; we ought to have some privileges.' I
opened the door and went in. The others followed. He spoke
only a few words to us about our seats and our parts, about
mistakes in writing, and other difficulties. Ave was there;
in my part, there were several mistakes. I showed them to
him and argued with him. He asked Brahms, and the mistakes
were corrected. Then Ave asked whether we would like to sing
at his house, Hiihnerposten 2, next Monday. He walked around
among the ladies aind asked every third or fourth one over and
over again. To me , he said: 'You know where I live, Fraulein

29 -

Meier. I would like so much to have you come to me next
Monday! '

"I look forward so much to entering into this new world of
artists, to seeing lovely pictures, to talking again to Mme,
Ave in memory of these happy times. So many beautiful and
good things continually cross our path -- things with which
one never reckoned. One must only know how to enjoy them."

The evening before Brahms had written Clara Schumann

about his new Psalm (Op. 21).

"Tomorrow my girls are rehearsing a psalm which I have com-
posed for them. I wrote it in the evening a week ago last
Sunday and it kept me happy until midnight. If you want to
look at the text, it is the 13th. As it has organ accom-
paniment, we shall again sing in church -- this and my Ave
Maria -- I have at least forty girls now."

(August 29 continued)

"The Psalm is wonderful, but Brahms had already so fatigued
himself with the bewitched Liese (Gradener's Motet) which
went very badly. It was much too hard for me, almost im-
possible to follow. I tried very hard and was ashamed of
myself before Brahms and everybody present and before myself.
He noticed it possibly and let us repeat it only twice. He
said himself that it was very difficult. Then he let us all
sing it together. I was surprised that it went as well as it
did. We listened as he talked to Fraulein Garben and we were
afraid that she was going to be forced on us as a support to
our part. But it did not come to that."

Franz iska speaks of this Fraulein Garben who does not
appear elsewhere in the annals of the Frauenchor . She un-
doubtedly means Laura Garbe , one of the best singers, who
sang soprano in a solo quartette with three other members of
the chorus.

"In the wonderful Psalm, we had to join the first sopranos.
It is written for only 3 voices. It is much easier and more
beautiful, much more natural and more original than Gradener's.
God forgive me this sin!

"After our poor director had worked so hard to beat these
new things into us, he was besieged by }l\me. Peterson to play
something for us! He has the reputation of being unaccom-

- 30 -

modating, proud, arrogant, and disagreeable. 0, how can one
wrong a person like that? He played some Kreisleriana which
I did not know and which he had not played for a long time.
The poor man -- when he made a mistake, he blushed purple,
made an angry face, and shook his head. Then he asked us to
excuse his stiff fingers. They would not do what he wished
them to do. Ave then asked for the E major Sonata but Brahms
did not want to play it! 'No, that is too mighty for me, it
has gone out of my fingers entirely. ' 'Then play the Sym-
phonic Etudes!' *0, I do not know them well. Should I not
better play the Beethoven Variations?' 'Yes, just as you
like, but do play the Symphonic Etudes.' I found him un-
usually accommodating. He did play us the 12 Etudes. One
could hardly believe it -- 12 Etudes!

"Before leaving, I asked if I might take Gradener's book
along. 'Gradener's book? No, you may not.' 'What a pity!'
Susanne interrupted: 'We need it so badly.' He laughed.

"I asked if we might then take his Psalm. 'My Psalm, yes,
you may take it along.' *0, good!'

"Then we went away, Ave, Brahms, Susanne and I. Lucy Albers
went with the others, always two by two. We had to wait on
the Steinweg. Soldiers were going past. We were both em-
barrassed. Susanne, after some protest, came to our house.
We looked in the catalogue for the Kreisleriana and the
Symphonic Etudes."

"Thursday, September 1. Grund came after breakfast. I

sang Schumann, also the one with the risque words, my voice
being rusty. Then I told him about Brahms, unfortunately
showed him the music. He said, 'One should not write so high.
That is a mistake. But he is a pleasant little fellow.' I
was a bit afraid -- now everything is all right. Grund
practiced intervals with me, to get them exact. Tliat is very
use f ul for me . "

F. W. Grund was her singing teacher, a leader in the
musical life of Hamburg. He was conductor of the Singakademie ,
founded in 1819, and of the Philharmonic Concerts, both im-
portant institutions. At this time, he was soon to retire.
Brahms hoped to succeed him. Grund may have been aware of
Brahms' ambition and may have resented it, showing his annoy-

- 31 -

ance by speaking condescendingly of the "pleasant little
fellow".

"September 4. Visited Schmaltz. Theoldman was very humorous ;
he said a toll-collector got 15 Thaler an hour and Brahms only
5 Thaler. They ought to change places!"

"Monday, September 5. We went on cur way to Ave's. He was
friendliness personified. He shook hands with me right away
and asked for the picture. I was happy."

This may have been the sketch Franziska made of Brahms,
(see p. 18)

"He showed me one of Brahms and told me about Stockhausen
and Von Biilow. He showed us an old Miserere for four women's
voices by Hasse that he had found among old notes. We are
to sing it next year!

"We sang the Psalm by Brahms. After practicing a long time,
we had an intermission. The piano was then rolled into the
middle of the rocMn and GrSdener's piece was rehearsed. 'When
my grandmother had bewitched Liese, the people wanted to
drown her.' Susanne and I were alone in our part. There
were six on each of the other parts. Brahms noticed us and
treated us differently from the others. At the end of the
period, Brahms wished his own songs sung. TTiere were two new
ones, then the Angel's Greeting, when Mary Went to Church;
then the Hunter and Prayer to Mary. "

The two new Marienlieder were Magdalena (Easter Morn
No. 6) and Maria's Lob (Praise of Mary No. 7).

"We decided that everybody should bring 5 Silhergroschen on
Mondays. We hope it will amount- then to about 2 Portugaleuser. "
(A gold coin of high value at that time in Hamburg.)

"Brahms played the Variations by Beethoven and the chromatic
variations by Bach. Marvellous! But the piano is not as
good as Friedchen Wagner's. One can hear the fingers
touching the keys. I was beside myself with happiness, as if
in a dream, I asked Brahms if we could take the bewitched
Liese along with us. 'I don't think that would be possible.'
*0h, the poor Liese, we need it so badly!' 'Let me ask
Gradener about that. Come along with me! GrSdener, may the
ladies take your voice parts home with them? They would like

- 32

to practice the Liese.' Mr. Gradener bowed courteously and
gave us his kind f)ermission. Brahms gave me the book. I
thanked him and hurried away, elated, with Susanne through
the adjoining room, pressing her hand and his as I passed
them.

"Oh, how lovely this time has been. Hew much charm life has
if one only enjoys it. And how gladly I will, as long as I
am able to. In a week --at the Wagner's. Mother went out —
I practiced Gradener 's and Brahms' Psalms. Then Chopin and
Brahms and how I want to practice from now on! "

"Friday, September 9. I heard an uncanny noise outside.
John brought in a card: 'A gentleman is outside and asks if
he might have his music' Johannes Brahms! I could hardly
believe my eyes. I looked out and asked him to step inside
for a moment. He entered the little room. I expressed my
regrets that he had to take the trouble to come here. *0,
that does not matter at all! Ave is also outside. You have
the voice parts, don't you?' I asked him to come in and
speak to my parents but he looked around the corner and said:
'I have not a moment's time.' He hunted in the dark with me
for the music on the piano, and then he hurried quickly away.
But the goblets of bliss were spilled, the fair fruits
scattered and night was darkening round about.

"In the meantime, mother had noticed who it was and came in
with a light. But, too late. Camilla had heard everything
from upstairs and hurried down as fast as possible. But he
was too quick on his feet. I, stupid thing that I was, should
have lit a light in the beginning myself! I had not the
patience to embroider so I wrote in my diary instead. He
thinks so well, so kindly of us here. I don't believe he is
angry because of my idea and my silly letter; he will never
misunderstand it! Today, a visit with a card bent over at
the corner. I have kept it!"

When a caller left a visiting card bent at the corner,
it meant that the call was for the whole family.

"Monday, September 12, at the Wagner's. Susanne and I

stormed in a great hurry through all the dirt. I thought for
sure they would have started, but they had not. My first
glance into the cloak-room assured me that no gentleman's hat
was there. While we took off our coats, Brahms came. He is
always so quick and also today, went in right away. When I

- 33 -

came in, he walked up to me: '0, Fraulein, I bothered you
quite unnecessarily. The voice part I needed, you did not
have.' 'Did you want your Psalm?' 'Yes indeed, I have
changed something in the voice parts. I am sorry I gave you
the trouble. '

"Could he only know how happy I was about this little visit
and the card. Now the parts were distributed. I got a 1st
soprano. I was looking for the right one when Brahms stepped
up, apologized and looked with me. *0 yes, excuse me, for
the other songs, quite right, for the other things, you must
have your 2nd soprano.' He looked with me through all the
books. Then we sang the Psalm. The high notes have been
taken out. It is much more comfortable this way. How
beautiful this psalm is, how pious and devout! He certainly
must be a good person. While he was accompanying us, he
looked at the picture of Schumann all time. How deeply
attached he must have been to this fatherly friend.

"Then we sang an Ave Maria, the first in the Brahms book,
written with a goose-quill. It looks so attractive. This
Ave ^klria is marvellous! Fraulein Garbe, my neighbour, was
also completely overcome by our friend. During the inter-
mission, I asked Friedchen for the money, 2 Silbergroschen.
Where shall we put it? In the little drawer of the desk.
Nobody really took care of this properly. I looked at the
pictures. Ntne. Wagner came. She had been sick, looked pale
and drawn, sat down on the sofa. After I had talked there
for a while to Thusnelda about Toni and her children, Ave
came and asked if it were not more comfortable for us this
way. Then Brahms came up to us two and said: 'Shall we begin
again now?' Susanne and I went immediately to our places.
We went through the Ave Maria thoroughly -- each part
separately -- then the Psalm, then when Mary Went to Church.
How simple, how peculiarly touching and impressive he has
made the sound of the chimes. Absolutely wonderful!

"Then he thanked us again, as always. After a moment,
Susanne asked: 'May we take the book with us?' 'Yes indeed
you may!' 'We have not yet sung the Ave Maria in the chorus.'
*0, you haven't sung it yet. The others have already
practiced it. Yes, with this song, you started.' We went
out. I put on my coat. Susanne was just about to put on her
rubbers. It was raining hard. When we heard some marvellous
broken chords played, Susanne threw her rubber quickly down
and we dashed in. Suseinne found a chair. I was standing.
Ave said it was a Sonata by Friedemann Bach. The first move-

- 34 -

ment reminded me of the second page of the Tartini Sonata
but then it became completely different. Ave said after he
was finished: 'Typically Johann Sebastian.' I entered the
music room and stood at the table. Fraulein Gar be beckoned
me there. 'Here is room enough.' Brahms looked at me and
smiled. He played variations of his own composition. He
played marvellously -- for the last time! And now, just a
word about his compositions. I told Friedchen Wagner that I
was now playing his Scherzo in E'' minor Op. 4, whereupon she
said: 'All out of gratitude?' And I told her that I had
played it even last spring after I had heard the Serenade.
She thought that very touching. She should know how much
this little man has occupied our thoughts since then.
Brahma-ho! How often his name has been on our lips, how
often his melodies sung. Serenade! Susanne and I, quite
intoxicated, hurried through the dirty Fuhlentwiete after the
Dioscuri -- Ave and Brahms — They vanished. Who can tell
me where to?"

"Thursday, September 15 at the Wagner's. Brahms was already
there. We greeted each other like old friends. Quite a few
were absent to-day. Brahms approached me and gave me the
second part and although we sang the first, I was happy about
it. Then we sang the Psalm by Brahms. *Now it goes very
well, much better!' Then Ave Maria. 'Be careful in the
second soprano. Very good!' We were blissful! Then in the
intermission, Friedchen produced the money. But he would
not accept the money at all. He said, the rehearsals had
given him so much pleasure that the money would spoil the
whole fun for him. If only he really comes back. Friedchen
is afraid that he will get a steady position somewhere. And
yet, we ought to rejoice in that case. Then we sang Gradener's
Wedding Motet:

'Except the Lord build the house.'

"Brahms assigned us two to a second soprano part. Then he let
the third voice be sung by itself. Then he came to me and
asked if I wished to join in singing the chorale. I was
afraid to and I asked Susanne. She hesitated too. Brahms
looked annoyed and said: 'Well, then we will first sing it
through this way a couple of times.' I was very angry with
myself on account of my stubborness, but it was too late. We
sang it several times through and I was angry and sad that I
had been so disobliging. Ave said: 'One cannot hear any-
thing of the Chorale at all.' Brahms said sadly: 'I have
just asked some of the ladies -- some of the best ones, to

- 35

sing it, but they do not seem to feel inclined.' After a
while, Brahms came up to us with three of the Chorale parts
and asked: 'Who of the ladies will be so kind as to sing
the Qiorale?' Susanne and I were over blissful, got up as
if obsessed eind each one shouted I. Then he was pleased and
his face looked happy. 'New you have overcome your obstinacy. '
Then I said: 'Here one only needs to count. That is easier
than to hit the note.' 'Yes, if you can count, then you can
sing this.' It went well. We received a lot of praise today.

"Then Brahms took leave of us: 'We shall see each other on
Monday, to be sure, but I would rather say goodbye today.
Thank you. On this occasion, you have helped me out in such
a friendly way. Monday at 10, we meet in St. Peter's Qiiirch.
If it is your wish, then we shall certainly repeat one thing
or the other and then, I think, we shall begin again as soon
as I return, if it gives you pleasure.'"

Here Brahms definitely proves his pleasure.

"0, this is marvellous. What wonderful anticipation! Then
we went away and put our coats on slowly. I asked again if
we were supposed to sit up near the organ. 'No, in the other
place.' 'In the choir gallery?' 'Yes, in the choir gallery.'
A strange feeling, a mixture of sadness and overwhelming joy
had taken hold of me. Susanne and I got dressed while Brahms
was talking to the two Volckers in the vestibule and they
were trying to tell him how they had enjoyed singing \inder
his direction. I also told him how I had always looked for-
ward to Monday through the whole week. He bowed slightly.
I was ashamed of this silly compliment. Then Brahms went in
again; as we went away, he was standing at the staircase and
I said: *I thank you for all the trouble you have taken with
us.' 'And I thank you.' And then we went out into the rain."

"Monday, September 19 in St. Peter's Church. At 9:30,
Susanne and I were the first ones in the church. A few
listeners were there too: Lucy Albers , my mother, Pastor
Bitter and his wife with their nephews, Jenny and Tony
Volckers, and some strangers. The man opened the gallery for
us. We took off • our hats. Ntne. Brandt came with her niece,
the little girl from Vienna (Bertha Porubsky). Nine. Brandt
has looked at a silver inkstand with a laurel wreath at the
top at Brahmf eld's. It costs about 90 Silbergroschen. I
think an inkstand is a very suitable present for a composer."

- 36 -

The chorus wished to give Brahms a present, since he

had refused to accept a fee for conducting.

"Time passed and the church filled up. When Armhrust and
Brahms came, it was understood that Camilla was to stand up-
stairs. Armhrust and Brahms both spoke to her. She was
happy and felt quite compensated for everything she had had
to miss. "

Camilla had evidently been ill and unable to join the

chorus sooner.

"Brahms came down, greeted us and said: 'We shall sing here
again next Monday.' Splendid! I ran down to bring Fraulein
Trier up. Brahms went back up again to Armhrust. They were
trying the organ. Camilla was to help. To work the bellows?
0, God forbid! ' Let me begin at the beginning. Susanne and
I took the first places in the 2nd row. Brahms looked at us
fixedly. Armhrust played too slowly and insisted that he
could not see the conductor. Brahms said: 'But I can see
him, so I am sure he must be able to see me, too.' We took
it over again — but this boring Armhrust could not play, it
sounded terribly -- as if he were a beat behind. Brahms
turned white as chalk. His lips were pale. He clenched his
left fist in order to appear calm before us. I pitied him
indescribably. We looked with steady gaze at the baton but
we were the only ones, I believe. Poor Brahms!

"Gradener offered to beat time up there, but he could not see
Brahms either. I asked: 'Can we not go up there instead? If
we all stand, there will be enough room.' Brahms answered:
'We can at least try it.' So we all walked up; it was very
narrow there, but we managed. Camilla crawled around be-
tween us, pulled out the stops, turned over the pages of
Armhrust 's music, was teased and was happy, as happy as we
were. Brahms looked at us, as always. We sang the Psalm
twice. The pastor's wife was called home on account of a
child ill with chickenpox. Tony Weinkauf took her place.
Gradener went alternately back and forth. The wonderful Ave
Maria pleased everybody. All were beside themselves. Then
came Gradener' s Motet, 'Except the Lord build the house' --
Brahms asked Camilla: 'Will you play the cantus firmus?'
'If I only knew it! You mustn't scold ms, if I do it badly.'
'How can I scold?'

"Susanne and I kept our excellent seats and sang the chorale;
for the second time Camilla had to turn pages, she lost the

- 37 -

Elise, Brahms' sister, never sang in the women's

chorus but she was intimate with several of the

members. After Brahms had left Hamburg, she

kept up her friendship with Laura Garbe and

the Volckers,

count. Susanne and I counted to help her, she did not notice
us, but later found the place herself. 'In the second part,
you got lost once.' Then the two choir boys of GrSdener's
were called in. They ran like mad. The composer had to play.
The smaller boy sang the chorale with us. Then I asked for
the Ave Maria. 'Yes indeed, if you wish it, we have sung
that for such a long time, we are used to it.' Then again
at the end, the Psalm. Then he asked us to look again over
the two new Marienlieder , Easter Morn and Praise of Mary,
and the two Latin verses, 0 bone Jesu, and Adoramus . Since
Brahms had given Camilla the music three times, she believed
that she could very properly sing with us but she would not
ask him. I plucked up courage and asked. *0 certainly, very
gladly.' Then he took leave of us, met mother downstairs.
She was charmed with the Ave Maria. Father, mother, and
sister Brahms were congratulated over and over again. I
would have liked to do that, but I chatted a little with \fciie.
Ave. I was too happy. Tony Weinkauf and I went together.
She also was thrilled with the Ave Maria."

"Thursday, September 22 at the Wagner's. Camilla and I got
ready for the 'Brahms Academy' . Camilla was in a feverish
excitement. We did not want to have her between us. Tilla
was not with us. The singing was, unfortunately, rather weak.
The few ladies came late, they had not practiced as well as
we had. We sang both the Latin Motets and both the new Marien-
lieder, 'On Easter morning' and 'Praise to Mary' . He recog-
nized Camilla immediately as the girl who had recently
played the organ. He w^s not satisfied. I had a toothache.
Then \tne. Brandt came up to me. She said the inkwell (the
present for Brahms) would be ready on Saturday. Ave did not
feel well. Mme. Peterson was not there at all, so there was
no one on hand who could ask him to play. Brahms went into
the other room, came back, went smiling through the room up
to the piano. He knew what we were thinking. There was a
new picture of Clara Schumann there in a thick wreath of ivy.
She looks at the picture of her husband and he looks at
Brahms. Then Brahms said good-bye to Camilla especially.
We three went home, Ave and Brahms behind us. Camilla and
Susanne turned back in to Fuhlentwiete, since Susanne had
forgotten her pocketbook."

"Sunday, September 25 at the Wagner's. Got up at 6 o'clock,
early Mass. Susanne came, we had breakfast, then with fever
and sadness, in haste and excitement to Pastorenstrasse.

- 38 -

Tilla was not there. She was in church. Brahms was there,
greeted us in a friendly way. We practiced hard. He was in
a good mood. 'I can't stand the short rows.'"

The meaning of this is not clear. Did Brahms mean that
all the chairs were not filled: The rows were short?

" 'You must take breath when you can! ' Ave had brought a
little gray man in. Who was he? No one knew him, yet it
seemed as if everybody thought everybody else knew him.
Brahms asked, 'Who will take the parts by Gradener home?'
No one answered. I went up to him and took them fron him and
found out that I was not to sing the chorale but in a chorus
part.

"Then Susanne asked him: 'Couldn't we also practice this?'
'No, it would be of no use to start something else now.'
Then Ave came up. He said to me: 'How I shall miss him! At
least three times a week he came to see us and was always so
amiable! ' How true. Brahms sat down at the piano and began
Bum! Bum! with the left hand. Then he rose, opened the
piano and played the intermezzo from his Ballad. Then some-
thing by Schumann from the Fantasiebilder , the Davidsbiindler -
tdnze , and from the Kreisleriana . I thin'k, about eight
different things. Everybody was charmed and delighted. But
no one told him so. I could hardly help doing so, but then
I controlled myself. We left with the books under our arms.
Thusnelda said to me: 'You are certainly awfully zealous.'
How could it be otherwise! We went; Ave, Brahms and the
little gray man in front; eleven ladies followed. Tilla
deserted us, Susanne and Camilla walked home with me but,
since nobody was there, I went with them to Mne. Brandt's to
take a look at the inkstand. We all liked it very much and
so did \tne. Brandt and her niece.

"Brahms' song: Die Schwalble ziehet fort -- Op. 7 No. 4

'The swallows fly away, far away.

Far to another land fly they,

And I sithere alone and sad,' . . .

"The two Volckers, with their eternal friendliness, called
us 'The Mourning Society. '

"We heard that all the publishers were besieging Brahms to
surrender his treasures of music to the public. Might it he
that we had some part in this?"

- 39 -

Franziska's suggestion here that "The Three Crows" might
have influenced the publishers to notice Brahms is a reference
to a "frightful plan", they had concocted in April, (1859),
after Brahms Serenade, Op. 11, had been performed in Hamburg,
with Joachim conducting. The girls had been more than en-
thusiastic about the Serenade and were convinced that Brahms
was not appreciated. They thought that if they went to the
music stores and asked for Brahms* compositions, they could
persuade the dealers to keep his works on hand. (See p. 79)
In April, she had written

"Anna and I on the hunt -- Anna went to Jowien's and so is
the work finally begun. Then vwe went with Camilla to all the
music stores and put them all on the alert -- A Brahmanen
run -- Anna, Camilla, and I were again at the hunt. I, to
Schuberth's, Anna to Brunner's, Camilla toNiemeyer's and
then a second time to Schuberth's."

"Sunday evening, September 25. Tomorrow for the last time

Brahms will be in the church. This morning, it was too
wonderful, never will I forget the bliss which has moved me
today. The whole week has been full of hectic excitement.
Tomorrow there will be the parting from this amiable, unusual
man who now is filling all our thoughts. I say with Ave:
'How we will miss him! ' Hew we have become attached to him,
how pleasant, friendly, patient, and liberal he has been
toward us! I hope, when he thinks of his 'Academy' , he will
think especially of us, and we will think especially of him.
How is it possible for me to write down the experiences of
this whole week?"

"Monday, September 26, in St. Peter's Church. About 9:15,
we were going to the Hitter's. Susanne and both sisters were
there. We went on. In front of the closed church door, we
met Mme. Brandt and her niece (Bertha Porubsky). We made
someone open the door for us. Then Brahms came. 'All in
black?' Some ladies had proposed that. 'We are going up,
aren't we?' Camilla went after the organ blower. Brahms
said to me: 'Your sister seems to be well acquainted with
things here.' We were very merry. Brahms opened the door
to Paradise. The ladies were weak, came late, and were not
zealous. At 10:30 we were singing the Motet by Gradener,
twice. Then three of the Marienlieder: The Angel's Greeting,

- 40 -

Mary Went to Church and the Hunter -- The Psalm by Schubert.
It went badly. Then Brahms* Psalm and during the singing of
that, he went down into the church (to listen). Gradener
conducted, a little uneasily. We repeated it, the second
time even worse than the first. The alto and 2nd soprano
draped behind. Then Prayer to Mary (a \farienlieder). Then
Adoramus and 0 bone Jesu; and finally the Ave Maria. At the
end of it, I asked if we could not repeat it, too. 'No, we
cannot do that.' I said that down there they would think it
was a second verse. Then Brahms laughed and let us sing it
again.

"And now, everything is over. No, not yet. Armbrust played
the New Year Greeting by Schumann and a fugue by Bach in his
name. B^^-A-C-H (H is b natural). He could not do it!
Brahms saw that I had failed during the singing of the church
bells in the Marienlied. He frowned a little. I was terribly
ashamed and Camilla put her hands over her face. Then we
said goodbye to him. Ntne. Nordheim was working the bellows.
I went down with Susanne. We got ready. Upstairs there
seemed to be crowds of people. Gradener and von Konigslow
asked: 'What is the matter?' The answer was: 'One of the
ladies is being taught how to work the bellows.' At that
point Brahms leaped out and Camilla heard the cry *0 God, it
is my sister! ' (see p. 79) Everybody laughed. Then I said
goodbye to Brahms and wished him a good journey. He was very
friendly. We went along with Mme. Peterson. She spoke en-
thusiastically of our friend. Ave has already invited Joachim
for this winter and Stockhausen will be asked soon for
February when Brahms will be here again.

"I went to Bohme's. They had only one copy of Brahms' songs
in the store. They never have things because the compositions
are still so new. Susanne asked at Jowien's for Op. 7 (The
Swallow) in vain. He is going to get it for her.

"Tomorrow morning at 5:30, Brahms leaves. At 7:30, von

Konigslow, I 'Everybody who is a little bit of

somebody! ' "

41 -

THE "LITTLE SINGING REPUBLIC"

As soon as Brahms arrived in Detmold, where he was to
conduct the castle choral society again for the fall months,
he wrote to Friedchen Wagner about the inkstand:

Detmold, end of September, 1859

My dear Fraulein:

Nothing could be nicer than to be compelled to write a
letter such as this one.

I think constantly of my joyful surprise when I discovered
the inkstand charmingly concealed iinder flowers, given me in
memory of the Frauenchor.

I have done so little to deserve it that I would be
ashamed did I not hope to compose a lot more music for you
with it; and really more beautiful tones will resound about
me, when I see on ray writing desk this lovely and beautiful
gift.

Will you give my heartiest greetings and thanks to all
those you are able to reach.

Seldom has a more pleasing joy come to me and, indeed,
our gatherings will always be to me one of my favorite
recollections. But not, I hope, till later years!

Your heartily sincere
Johannes Brahms

He also sent a note to Bertha Porubsky, another member
of the Frauenchor:

"On that last evening in Hamburg, I had great joy. I believed
I knew where the inscription and the flowers came from. So,

- 42 -

for many reasons, I wrote to Fraulein Wagner. Aye, for such
a present, I may work!" -^

And on September 30, a long letter went to Clara:

"But on Monday in the church, what a touching farewell it
was! Everything was sung twice over and the audience could
not help being pleased with such a concert. When I got home
in the afternoon, I found a little box and, in it, charmingly
hidden among flowers, a silver inkstand inscribed with the
words:

'In memory of the surmier of '59 from the girls' choir.'

"What will next summer not bring in the form of Psalms and
songs of joy! As a matter of fact, I am becoming quite a
cult in Hamburg. But I don't think that can do any harm.
In any case, I am writing with even more zest and there are
signs in me which suggest that in time I may produce heavenly

1 • "Ml

things

The other section of this outpouring to his confidante
Clara is particularly significant for my story, since it ex-
plains certain aspects of the Frauenchor that have been ignored
by some biographers and misunderstood by others.

"But above all, I must tell you about my fascinating Hamburg
ladies' choir. 0, my dear girls, where are you? I shall
certainly not stare about me when you are singing me the
pretty things I have written for you; all forty of you shall
stand before me and I shall see you and hear you in my mind's
eye. I tell you that one of my most endearing memories is
this ladies' choir, and only think of its nice, graduated
arrangement, like a funnel: first the full choir, next a
smaller one, for which I arranged three -part folksongs which
I made them practice; and then a still smaller one, which
only sang me songs for solo voices and presented me with red
ribbons." ^^

The "nice, graduated arrangement of the choir, like a
funnel" was, of course, pure romancing. He knew that Clara
understood what he meant. The three choirs he alluded to were
not sections of one large chorus but symbolized the different
types of musical activity the girls engaged in with him. The
"full choir" was the chorus which rehearsed all summer on

- 43 -

Monday mornings preparing for the church concert on September
26. "The smaller one" was Friedchen's group of intimate
friends for which he set the folksongs. They had their
meetings in the evening. Some, if not all, of these girls were
in the "full choir". Then the "still smaller one" consisted
of four girls with specially good voices who sang Brahms' solo
songs and vocal quartettes. These girls were Laura Garbe,
Marie Renter, and the two Volckers. They were all in "the
full choir". His reference to the "red ribbons" is some joke
between him and the girls, as yet unexplained.

And then .the paragraph follows:

" I implore you to regard this as a rational letter in spite
of its unpardonable sentimentalities regarding the forty
girls!"

The Frauenchor was definitely much more to him than "an
endearing memory".

Clara, apparently, had not seen the music until September
of 1859. She wrote Brahms from Honnef on the Rhine about the
Motets Nos. 1 and 2 of Op. 37.

"The songs are charming and must sound quite unconmon. How
beautifully the Adoramus flows, in spite of its classic form.
I at once noticed how particularly tenderly the end fits the
words Dein kbstlich Blut before I had seen that you yourself
had called attention to these words. If only I could hear
all these things!" ^^

A little later, in November, she sent her approval of
the Ave Maria, Op. 12.

"The Ave Maria, with its wonderfully touching simplicity,
must sound exquisite. How delightfully the voices are clothed
with tender melodies and tiny ornaments. The passage in
unison, Sancta Maria, with the F F is magnificent, and then
the swell up to ora pro nobis, until the P comes again, and
the close which alas! comes all too quickly. From the first
bar one firels one's self in a strangely happy frame of mind
and one is unwilling to be torn from it so soon. The whole

- 44 -

feeling reminds me of Bach's magnificent pastorale, which we
have sometimes played together."

In the same letter, came the note of criticism of the

Marienlieder which seems to have been felt by several friends:

"The songs, too (Marienlieder) I like extremely and among
them Der Jdger to begin with in which I especially like the
second part. In the second, Ruf zur Maria, I cannot imagine
the general effect so well, but in Magdalena the blending of
alto with soprano is charming. But the ones I like best are
Der englische Grass and Maria's Kirchgang though I should
not care to hear them unless they were unusually well sung.
The alto parts, in particular, ought to be sung by perfect
voices if they are to be adequately interpreted."

And finally, Clara expressed her delight in Op. 27:

"And now for the Psalm! The Psalm seems to me as profound
and full of meaning as the Ave Maria is charming and graceful.
I put it higher as regards their musical worth although it
is easy in both works to trace the same inspired interpre-
tation of the words. It is extraordinary how in each you
have succeeded in expressing in music the exact feeling; in
one, peace; in the other, a conflict which grows in intensity
until the final victory is won. It is so difficult to de-
scribe each separate beauty in writing, things that can be
expressed far more warmly face to face, look so cold on paper,
but I cannot stop saying this is so beautiful and that is so
beautiful; e.g. at the very beginning of the psalm I always
love that third 'Lord* in D major, and then it goes on so
wonderfully 'consider and hear me'. In 'Lighten mine eyes'
the allegro in 6/4 rises so wonderfully with the words, and
then grows softer again at 'My heart shall rejoice that Thou
helpest so gladly' -- *so gladly' -- how beautiful that is!
And now comes one of the most beautiful passages, where the
parts continually interchange, 'I will sing unto the Lord'
up to the full chorus. Ah! if only I oould hear it."

Brahms answered this letter from Detmold on November 9:

"I don' t mind saying that I am very much pleased with my things.
I really believe, dear Clara, that lam growing, but you will
probably be able to understand how one 'sings unto the Lord
because he hath dealt so bountifully, so bountifully with
one' . Has he dealt so bountifully with me? — The Ave Maria
and the first Psalm are also at the disposal of whoever cares

- 45 -

to have the parts copied out, although they will not be his
property. "

But the tenor of his song was the ardent wish of every
composer:

"I long for nothing more than to have my things performed."

Brahms had already written to Bertha Porubsky of his
satisfaction that the Frauenchor was still prospering:

"I gladly learn that the Frauenchor still exists as a little
republic. Shall I send songs? Gay, fresh little songs? I
would like to give them directly to you, if you wish. Who
has come into the alto section? I advise Fraulein G. and I
would like to see others joining. And the new lady from
Vienna is after all the famous pianist Marianne? Then does
the Gewisse Graue come into the house? To whom could the
ladies be better entrusted? He will not take them to the
bowling alleys or compose sonatas over which one can be
ruined." ^^

Who was this Gewisse Graue --a certain gray old man?
According to Franziska's diary for Sunday, September 25, he
had once come to a rehearsal. The letter to Bertha leaves no
doubt that the chorus continued to meet during the autumn of
1859. Brahms' references to "gay, fresh little songs" for
the chorus was in memory of the Viennese folksongs the vi-
vacious Austrian girl had often sung to him. She was one of
Brahms' many flames and her pure soprano voice added greatly
to her charm. Evidently she gave her aunt Augusta Brandt,
with whom she was spending the year, some anxiety on the
score of her intimacy with Brahms.

The aunt warned Bertha in Goethe's words:

"One does not crave to own the stars,
But loves their glorious light."

Brahms had set the beautiful poem to music in November.
1858, so Bertha must have known it and probably had it in her
own repertoire. It is Trost in TrSnen, Op. 48, No. 5.

- 46 -

Luckily for her, she was able to accept her aunt's advice
with good grace.

True to his promise, Brahms thought about music for the
Hamburg girls and, in December, sent Friedchen the following
letter:

Detmold, December 1859

My dear Fraulein:

Here are scHne new songs for your little singing republic.
I hope they may assist in keeping it together.

If I can help toward this end, pray conmand me.

Kindest greetings to you and yours.

Most sincerely

Johannes Brahms

These new songs may have been folksongs, or canons, or
some of the Romances, Op. 44.

Brahms returned to Hamburg to give a concert at Gradener* s
Academy on December 2, 1859, performing the Schumann concerto.
He conducted his own Burial Song, Op. 13, and his Ave Maria,
Op. 12, which was sung by the Frauenchor . Possibly the
orchestration of strings, two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets,
two bassoons, and two horns was made for this performance as
the wind instruments were already on hand for the Burial
Song. Hiibbe refers to a criticism in the Correspondent which
said that the Ave Maria was "spirited, with extraordinarily
delicate and tasteful treatment."

As the year drew to an end, Brahms received further en-
couragement about his music for women's voices. His good
friend Grimm wrote:

"Have you the chorus and orchestra parts of your 13th Psalm?
Will you send it to me? I have the greatest desire to study

- 47 -

the Burial Song, Ave Maria, and the Psalm, and when my
orchestra is assembled to go through them, if you have nothing
against it, and put two pieces at least in the programme of
my concert.

"If you do not say no -- then send them as soon as possible,
for I should like to begin to study them next week with my
girls." 21

- 48

THE AVERTIMENTO
1860

When Franziska was asked to contribute portions of her
diary for the Jahrbuch derGesellschaft Hamburger Kunstfreande
in 1902, she offered the entries for the summer of 1859 and
regretted that she had been unable to find the diary written
in 1860. This is an irreparable loss, since she must surely
have had a great deal to say about the details of the
Frauenchor* s organization, the meetings, and the parties of
that year. Letters and Memoirs, however, supply enough data
for us to follow the chorus quite closely.

Brahms stayed in Hamburg during the winter and spring
of 1860. His second Serenade, Op. 16, was rehearsed on March
28. Franziska attended and made another sketch of Brahms
conducting.

One of the first letters of his 1860 correspondence went

to Joachim in January:

"I let a dozen girls sing old German songs to me. I keep
them constantly at it."

The "dozen girls" are also mentioned by Susanne in her

Recollections :

"At the same time there was in Hamburg a small women's chorus
founded, whose leader was Johannes Brahms. I was asked to
take part and this choral singing was a source of great joy
for all who took part. We assembled weekly in the evenings
changing to the different families' houses. Brahms composed,
or set, old songs into three parts for us. There were ex-
actly twelve of us so each voice was sung by four singers."

- 49 -

This, of course, refers to the small, intimate group.
But the large chorus must have been "in full swing" too,
according to Clara's letter of February 5, 1860.

"I am glad to hear that your Ladies' Choral Society is in
full swing. What things youdowrite about it, tobe sure!" ^^

Brahms was composing for it, probably with another concert
in mind. Op. 17 consists of four numbers, unrelated to each
other except that they have the same accompaniment and are
all laments. The first is Es tont ein voller Har fenklang, a
poem by Ruperti:

I hear a harp, whose deep-voiced tones.
With love and yearning swelling ...
My love is dead . . .

The idea was taken from an old elegy sung by the young
lacemakers when their lovers went away.

The second song -- Come away, death --is taken from
Shakespeare's play "Twelfth Night", with the words translated
into German. The third one is Der Gartner (The Gardener)
by Eichendorff. Both of these are men's love songs, not
suitable texts for women and neither is one of his more in-
spired creations. But the fourth and last is an ideal song
for a women's chorus. The text is a part of Ossian's Fingal,
a long romantic poem about the heroes and heroines of ancient
Ireland. The Maiden of Inistore mourns for her lover Trenar,
slain by his enemy Cuthullin.

Brahms had thought of setting the four laments to the
accompaniment of two horns and a harp. For the first and
last numbers, the accompaniment is tremendously effective,
transporting singers and listeners to the milieu of a remote
past when hunting horns and lyres were common.

The use of the wind instruments, however, was so novel
that it was the subject of much correspondence between Brahms

- 50 -

;/„ ..: ' .

..'.., - /.^l.

'/.^ac^.-

:. . .^..,.^.

-r ^-'<

r ^- . - — ' '% • •

• » ' ' '' •'.,

.. . ' ^ L r- .

' ^'^^V

An invitation to an evening "sing", by the
light of hurricane lamps, arranged in honor
of a visit of Joachim's on March 29, 1860.
Drawn by Henny Gabain, a member of the
Hamburger Frauenchor.

and his friends. In March, Brahms wrote to Grimm:

"On the following Tuesday, I shall try out a few things for
women's and for mixed chorus with harp and horns, to which
naturally I cannot invite people. The harp stories or
similar things can be done again in April."

Grimm praised the Fingal piece, but expressed doubt as
to the value of the others.

"Above all, I am pleased with the Fingal piece of Op. 17 and
the little Minnelied. I wish it had a four bar ending. --
But the Fingal piece is glorious."

As usual, the warmest response came from Clara:

"What made you think of a harp and horns? I cannot imagine
what the combination of these instruments would sound like,
but it would certainly be most uncorrmon if not actually spell
binding. There must have been a very pretty girl in your
choir who happened to play the harp and for whom you composed
the piece. Provided the horns do not sound too harsh in the
hall, I should think the general effect would be full of
feeling. Please write me about it, lam deeply interested."

On April 2, Brahms wrote Clara:

"Sunday evening was particularly delightful and that was due
to my girls, whom I summoned to do honour to Joachim, or
rather to do honour to them ... It was charming. I had
spoken to Joachim about a certain girl who wore a black dress,
but when we arrived, they were all in black. In spite of
their joy over Joachim, they insisted on putting on mourning
because our evenings were over. Wasn't it sweet of them?
Unfortunately, we could not get a harp and two bad hornists
accompanied us. Joachim enjoyed the whole thing very much
and I was obliged to promise to go on with it.

"It is really quite pleasant. The girls are so nice, fresh,
and enthusiastic. Without being soft and sentimental. On
the way home (an hour's journey away), it unfortunately
rained, otherwise we usually have a lot of fine singing and
serenading on the road. My girls, for instance, will walk
quite calmly into a garden and wake the people up at midnight
with their singing ...

"I cannot help thinking that you must be here next time ...
The girls are always available. I am sure you would enjoy

- 51 -

them imnensely and you do not yet know Ossian, Shakespeare,
etc. with harp and horns."

Another composition for four women's voices, dated by

von Ehrmann April 1860, is Vineta, the poem about the sunken

city.

Up from out the lowest depths of ocean.
Far-off sounds of muffled evening chimes
Tell us of the fair and wondrous city
Deep engulfed in long- forgotten times.

Deep from out my inmost heart's recesses,
Ringing faint like far-off muffled chimes,
Comes to me the magical remembrance
Of forgotten love in by-gone times. (See App. D)

Vineta was published in 1868 as No. 2 of Op. 42 for a
six part mixed chorus. Why the romantic song never appeared
in the original version is unknown. That the Frauenchor
sang it would seem certain. It is in the Stimmenhefte . In
Friedchen's book, there is a date -- May 20, Sunday -- on
the pages which has her manuscript corrected in Brahms'
handwriting. This was the day of a picnic mentioned by
Clara. But more information than this -- how the chorus
liked it, whether any friends heard it, what Clara and Grimm
thought of it -- has vanished, like the sunken city itself.

Successful musical experiences led Brahms to ask his

friends to share his satisfaction. On April 15 he invited

Joachim:

"Will you seriously consider spending some time during the
summer in Hamburg? Frau Schumann may be here too. Then it
would be worthwhile to continue with the Frauenchor in order
to entertain you."

By April 26, he had become even more determined to have

Clara in Hamburg:

"I feel certain that you have enough youthful spirits to be
amused by my Girls' Choir, by which I have for once indulged
in a conventional pleasure. It is not to break up. The

- 52 -

choir meets onMonday evening, after which the best alto will
be leaving us, so you must hear it on that evening. But you
absolutely must enjoy Monday evening with us, so that you can
have a taste of the most important of our distractions. It
is bright moonlight just now and we will be in a particularly
charming house half an hour's walk from the town. You will
also be able to hear duets by me, but only on one particular
day owing to the departure of the alto.

"Please be here on Saturday, because Sunday afternoon or
evening I have to call upon one or two nice girls, near the
town.

"P. S. You will not hear a note of my music the whole of the
summer if you do not hear the perfectly charming new
Minnelieder on Monday."

He must have been alluding to the Romances of Op. 44
and the duet mentioned above was No. 3 of Op. 20, composed
in April, 1860.

Before Clara came, however, Brahms wrote out some
amusing by-laws for the Hamburger Frauenchor . He was
studying Latin at the time with Dr. Hallier and so adopted
an archaic style with plenty of Latin words inserted:

AVERTIMENTO

Whereas it is absolutely conducive to Plaisire that it
should be set about in right orderly fashion, it is hereby
announced and made known to such inquiring minds as may
desire to become and to remain members of the most profitable
and delightful Ladies' Choir that they must sign in toto
(Partoute) the articles and heads of the following document
before they can enjoy the above-mentioned title and partic-
ipate in the musical recreation and diversion.

I ought in sooth {zwaren) to have dealt with the matter
long ago, but whereas during spring's fair preamble
{preambuliret) and until summer end {finiret), there should

- 53 -

be singing, it should now be timely for this opus to see
the light of day.

Pro primo be it remarked that the members of the Ladies'
Choir must be present.

As who should say: They shall bind themselves {obligiren)
to attend the meetings and practices of the society {Societat)
regularly.

And if so be that anyone do not duly observe this
article and (which God forbid! ) it were to come to pass that
anyone were to be so lacking in all decorum as to be entirely
absent during a whole practice {Exercitium):

She shall be punished with a fine of 8 shillings
(Hamburg currency).

Pro Secundo it is to be observed that the members of
the Ladies' Choir are to be present:

As who should say: they shall be there precisely
ipraecise) at the appointed time.

But, on the other hand, whosoever shall so transgress
as to make her due reverence and attendance at the society a
whole quarter of an hour too late shall be fined 2 shillings
(H.C.)

In consideration of her great merits in connection with
the Ladies' Choir, and in consideration of her presumably
highly defective and unfortunate constitution (Complexion) ,
a subscription shall now be established for the never enough
to be favoured { favor irende) and adored (adorirende) Demoiselle
Laura Garbe, in accordance with which she need not pay the
fine every time, in lieu of which a moderate (moderirte)
account shall be presented to her {praesentiret) at the end
of the quarter.

Pro tertio: the moneys so collected shall be given to the
poor, and it is to be desired that none of them get too much.

- 54 -

Pro quarto it is to be observed that the manuscript
music {Musikalien) is largely confided to the discretion of
the ladies. Wherefore it shall be preserved in due love and
all kindness by the honourable and virtuous ladies, married
or unmarried, as being the property of others, eind shall also
in no wise be taken outside the society.

Pro quinto: That which cannot join in the singing is
regarded as neutral (Neutrum) ; to wit: listeners will be
tolerated, but be it observed, pro ordinario, in such wise
that the due usefulness of the exercitia be not impaired.

The above mentioned due and detailed proclamation is
herewith made public to all and sundry by the present General
Rescript and shall be maintained in force until the Ladies'
Choir shall have reached its latter end {Endschaft) .

And you shall not only observe the above without fail,
but also use your most earnest endeavours that others may in
no wise or ways act or behave in a manner contrary to it.

To whom it may concern: such is our opinion and we
await your judicious and much-to-be-desired approbation
thereof.

In expectation whereof, in deepest devotion and veneration,
the willing scribe of the Ladies' Choir, who always keeps
time and is at all times theirs to command.

Johannes Kreisler, Jun.
(alias Brahms)

Given this Monday, the 30th of the month Aprilis, A.D. 1860.

Brahms used the surname Kreisler instead of his own as
a kind of magic password into the world of romantic poetry
and music. Johannes Kreisler Jr. was a character in his
favorite novel Kater Murr by E. T. A. Hoffman.

- 55 -

The facetious remark about Laura Garbe, whose beautiful
voice strengthened the soprano section, was made because she
was always late and Brahms never wished to begin the rehearsal
without her. To her protest against the somewhat disparaging
joke, Clara suggested that the allusion to her individually
in the " Avertimento" would surely make her famous.

Each member received a badge. It was a three-leaved
design with a circle in the center. The circle showed a B
in a red ground; the three surrounding rings were marked with
the letter H. F. C. Hamburger Frauenchor . (See p. 79 and
Chapter IX)

In Susanne Schmaltz' s book, she described the little

insignia:

"Each one of us had a medal with the inscription, Hamburger
Frauenchor , which we considered sacred. In spite of that, I
unfortunately lost it with the watch towhich it was attached
and could never find either. "

One copy of the Avert imento has the following signatures:
Auguste Brandt - (aunt of Bertha Porubsky)
Bertha Porubsky - (a young girl from Vienna)
Laura Garbe - (soprano, one of the quartette)
Marie Seebohm
Emilie Lentz
Clara Schumann
Julie Hallier

Marie Hallier - (m. Prof. Junghaus and lived in Eppendorf)
Charlotte Ave Lallement - (Ave's daughter)
Friedchen Wagner - (m. Kurt Sauermann in 1865)
Thusnelda Wagner - (m. Landvogt Johannes Hiibbe)
Marie Renter - (one of the quartette)
Betty Volckers - (one of the quartette; m. 0. von.Konig-

slow in Bonn)
Marie Volckers - (one of the quartette; m. Music
Director Boie in* Altona)

- 56 -

Henny Gabain - (see her sketch of Brahms)

Marie Bohme

Franziska Meier - (m. 1861 Lentz in Cuxhaven)

Camilla Meier - (sister of Franziska)

Susanne Schmaltz - (author of Begluckte Err inner un gen)

Antoine Mertens

Ejnma Gradener - (daughter of Gradener, m. Emil Hallier)

In the original of the Avertimento, the signature of
Emma Gradener was missing. Instead, following the names of
Antoine Mertens, probably added after April 30, were:

Emilie Bur chard, Ida Begeman, Auguste Bachmann, Olga

Wagner, (m. Max Rausch) ^

Although Clara's name appears on the Avertimento, she
was not present at the meeting on April 30. The signatures
must have been made a few days later, after her arrival. Nor
was she in Hamburg in time for the private performance of the
songs with harp and horns, Op. 17, at Gradener' s Academy.
The last and best one -- The Fingalpiece or Lament for
Trenar -- was not sung. It was not quite ready, nor were
Nos . 1 and 2 of Op. 44; No. 1 being the "perfectly charming
new Minnelied", Der Holdseligen S<mder Wank.

On May 6, Brahms wrote Grimm requesting him to return
his Frauenchor compositions which Grimm was evidently in-
specting:

"I am still sitting here, maybe for the whole summer. I
always have the urge to go away and I can't get myself
started at anything. I don't want to call my women's chorus
together again. I feel that I must be on the Rhine . . . Frau
Schumann is coming to-morrow, for a fortnight. I would like
to ask you to send my Frauenchor canpositions. I should like
to have them sung for her. Send them at once, so I can have
them for Wednesday . . .

"Of Qssian and the a cape 11a Frauenchor things I have no voice
parts. My girls have to write the voice parts themselves and
it has to be done by sending them around every few days." ^

- 57 -

Thus Brahms himself explained how the Stimmenhefte were
made.

In the same letter is a significant sentence which is
itself enough to prove that the activities of the large
chorus and the small, intimate group were different.

"A small group of young girls sing with me in the evenings --
German folksongs and the things I write."

Susanne Schmaltz never forgot those evenings:

"I remember one wonderful evening in the early part of the
year. We sang as usual a capella. V/e stood under a
blossoming apple tree in the moonlight, Brahms conducting in
the middle."

The song she quotes is the famous Minnelied: probably
in the 3 part version. Der Holdseligen Sonde r Wank, Op. 44,
No. 1. Her recollections continued with:

"Often, after the musical evenings with Brahms, we went home
singing, dropping the members one by one."

Clara arrived on May 6 and concealed herself in a hotel

until the 7th, which was Brahms' birthday. Her visit was a

happy one from everybody's point of v^ew. She recorded it in

her diary:

" I stayed in Hamburg from May 7th to 24th and spent the time
very pleasantly on the whole ... We had a great deal of music
together: The Serenades, The Harfenlieder , and to my constant
joy, The Mar ienlieder and Volks lieder given by the Ladies
Choral Society. There was one delightful evening, when
Johannes told us about his childhood. On Sunday (the 20th),
a party of us including some of the Ladies Choral Society,
went for a delightful expedition in the steamer to Blankenese.
When we got there, we sought out the most beautiful trees in
the garden and sang under them, Johannes sitting on a branch
to conduct. " ^

So precious was the memory of this occasion that Clara
referred again to it in a letter to Brahms written on June

14, 1863.

- 58 -

These expeditions made such an impression on everyone
who joined in them that there are several accounts. The
Halliers lived in Eppendorf which, at that time, was quite
in the country. Julie and Marie were in the chorus and Emil
was intimate with Brahms. The chorus often met at the
Hallier's and Hiibbe describes an outdoor meeting there.

"A huge hothouse was scantily furnished as a dwelling. Be-
tween this and the hill was an enclosed pond situated between
slopes planted with vineyards with a grotto at the south
side. Above it stood a temple surrounded by trees. This
garden was occasionally the scene of pleasant and cheerful
meetings. In the sunmer of 1859, the Frauenchor had a picnic
there. The ladies had brought paper lanterns with which the
pond was encircled while the gentlemen filled the pauses in
the singing with fireworks. The chorus had formed in front
of the temple and Brahms often hilarious to the point of im-
ruliness, climbed one of the trees and conducted the singing
from there. Finally, the party, in the gayest mood, illumi-
nated by the lighted lanterns, from them went a saying
through the village." ^^

If the party had taken place in 1859, it certainly must
have been before August 1, since Franziska makes no mention
of it in her diary.

Hiibbe goes on to say:

"Occasionally Brahms could be impolite even, according to
conventional social ideas, especially if he noticed that they
would burden him with ovations, for which he had little
liking. One time he was at Ave's. As he was leaving, he
was urgently reminded that a small circle of ladies awaited
him in order to celebrate his birthday. He accepted with
hesitation. But he returned unexpectedly. When he was asked
with astonishment why he had not gone with his ladies, he
calmly answered he had sent them instead of himself a fine
cake."

On May 24th, Brahms accompanied Clara to the Rhine
Festival at Diisseldorf. He asked the vocal quartette of girls
from the Hamburger Frauenchor to go with them. The quartette
consisted of Laura Garbe, Betty and Marie Volckers, and

- 59 -

Marie Reuter. Brahms showed his pride in these musical
friends who sang his 3 of 4 part songs, one voice to each
part. In fact, he thought so much of their talent that,
later on, he begged them for a photograph. They complied
with his request, inwardly rejoicing, of course, but out-
wardly pretending that he wanted it only to "draw up the fire
in a refractory stove." ^^ While they were at the Dusseldorf
Festival, Brahms suggested to Clara that she give them a
chance to prove their worth. She arranged an informal re-
cital and invited a large group of distinguished people, in-
cluding Joachim and Stockhausen, to hear them. Clara herself
substituted for Marie Reuter who was taken ill at the last
moment and could not sing. Apparently, everyone was de-
lighted but no one now, it seems, knows which songs were
performed.

Brahms stayed away from Hamburg until August 10. When

he returned, he again got in touch with the singing girls

and wrote Joachim on September 13:

"Ifere nothing happens besides my girls' singing. Before the
night is over, we'll cross the Alster River for it." ^

During the spring and summer of 1860, Brahms carried

on a lively correspondence with Grimm about the Marienlieder .

These letters are valuable as showing just why Brahms changed

the Marienlieder and did not publish them for a women's

chorus. Grimm wrote:

"My girls have sung your Psalm and the two first Marienlieder
and gave me great pleasure thereby. If we practice on it
again, it will go well. The deep altos sound very beautiful.
I have a few -- It may be advisable to go cautiously with
it. They won't be able to stand it, if they have to work on
it much longer; the same thing for the high sopranos in the
Psalm. If all goes well with the chorus at the first or
second rendering -- good, allright -- to practice them is
exhausting, and the result would not be satisfactory, were
the personal influence of the conductor less felt than with
you or I. In this sense, I think your handling of the voice

- 60 -

parts is not practical, when all is said and done. The Psalm
pleases me -- so warm, so vital and always fervent."

After Brahms had written Grimm on May 6 asking him to

return his Frauenchor music, he received the following reply:

"Everything that I have of yours, I return herewith. Shall
I write you all my ideas? — I would not risk it for four
women's voices --

"1. Because the deep voices sound much better sung by tenors
and are more effective, as for instance, in your Benedictus--
what a wonderful piece it is!

"2. Because the studying of the piece has its exhausting
difficulties. As soon as the high sopranos take breath in
the pauses, they laugh at the bass struggles of the second
alto voices. They are annoyed and confound them all and
yearn for tones that stand within the five lines.

"This, of course, is nonsense but, for that reason, the treat-
ment of the second alto should be cautiously handled, if the
beautiful songs are to be sung with pleasure, and well. I
can't help it, I myself do not care to hear the deep alto
pitch through a whole song of many verses, even as the sound
of a chorus, where the basses struggle exclusively below C.
They must come up fresh, preferably in their middle pitch,
which is really more advantageous for each voice. Besides
which, the deep altos do not sound characteristic to me, as
you perhaps thought (at best only in a few places). They
remain (at least to me) too weak for a thorough foundation.
Forgive me that this chatter has grown so long. "

Then Brahms returned:

"I would like to double and thicken your thin 'buts'. I am
going to try the Marienlieder in the next few days for 1
tenor, 1 alto, and 2 sopranos. I hope to find, in some
degree, a good reception." ^

It was clear enough what Grimm thought; he agreed with
Clara's first estimate that the alto parts of the Marienlieder
were too low and therefore ineffective.

In September, Brahms tried Joachim out:

"About the Marienlieder , which you probably do not know yet,
I should like to bear a word --do you like them? ^

- 61 -

But on October 3, of the following year, 1861, he wrote

Joachim again, this time thoroughly discouraged:

"Now I shall send my Marienlieder to Rieter and while, in
former times I was happy hearing them, they now seem to me
like an empty piece of paper. I don't like to send them off,
yet I could not make them any different, in short, I wish I
were rid of them! " ^'

The Marienlieder were published as Op. 22 in 1862 for
SSAT. In this setting however, they have not been much en-
joyed. What mixed chorus will select a composition that has
no bass part? Brahms missed a chance here to further the
performance of his music. At that time, women's choruses
would have welcomed the addition of these charming and suitable
pieces to their scant literature. Brahms could readily have
made a few obvious alterations in the 2nd alto part, as Prof.
Geer has recently done in the Vassar Choral Series. Or they
can be sung exactly as they are transposed up a tone.
(Drinker Choral Library U. of P. Choral Series No. 75) (See
p. 22) The only one of the seven that cannot be sung by
merely transposing it is No. 3, Mary's Journey, which was not
in the Frauenchor' s repertoire and must have been composed
in the new arrangement. And the songs, in their original
form, had evidently pleased enough people to justify their
continued existence. Franziska never mentioned any difficulty
on the part of the chorus with them; Clara noted in her diary
that she heard them to her "constant joy". Even some years
later, Franz Wiillner performed them at the Cologne Conserva-
tory, when Teresa Behr Schnabel was a pupil there. She sang
the 2nd alto part in the chorus and remembers the jJfarieniiec/er
with satisfaction.

- 62 -

Between 1859 and 1863, Brahms composed the twelve
Romances for four part women's chorus, published in 1866 as
Op. 44. They are all in the St immenhe fte . No. 1, Der
Holdseligen Sonder Wank, is written in two versions, in three
parts and in four. Obviously, the three-part song was in-
tended for the group of twelve girls, four to each part, as
Susanne Schmaltz explained. In one of Friedchen Wagner's
books, the same enchanting melody is set to words adapted for
a bridesmaids' song. But for what couple the felicitation
was intended, we have not the slightest clue.

1. Der Holdseligen Sonder Wank; poem by J. H. Voss,
To my darling one, strong and gay,

Love is bidding me sing to-day . . .

2. Der Brautigam; poem by J. von Eichendorff,
From every mountain sounding . . .

I hear the voice of spring.

3. 0, Fischer auf den Flttten, Fidel in; Italian popular

song.
0, fisher come thee hither, Fidelin.

4. Wozu ist mein langes Haar; Slavic folksong.
0, why have I long and curly hair?

5. Die MiJhle; poem by von Chamisso.

The sails of the wind mill are sweeping.

- 63 -

6. Die Nonne; poem by L. Uhland.
Within the cloister meadow

A weeping maiden sighs.

7. Nun stehen die Rosen; poem by P. Heyse, Aus dem

Jungbrunnen .
The red, red roses are blooming
And Love again his snare has set.

8. Die Berge; Aus dem Jungbrunnen.

The mountains are cold, and the mountains are steep.

9. Am Wildbach; Aus dem Jungbrunnen .
The willows by the water

are waving night and day;
our love will never waver,
nor will it pass away.

10. Und gehst du uber den Kirchhof ; Aus dem Jungbrunnen,
And when you go to the churchyard,

A newly made grave is there . . .

11. Die Braut; poem by W. Miiller.

This gay colored apron, thou, my mother gave me.
It were waste to buy it, waste to weave and dye it.
By to-morrow morning will my tears have made it
Look no longer blue but colorless and faded.
(See p. 92)

12. Marznacht; poem by L. Uhland
Hark! The March wind is roaring.

The torrents are gushing to-night, hark!
Shyly filled with delight
Loveliest Springtime is near.

Every one of these poems expresses the spirit of romantic
love and the longing to live life to the full in the green

- 64 -

forests, near the rippling streams, where flowers bloom and
birds sing. "The Bridegroom" (No. 2) is the very essence of
romance, and combines the expression of a subjective emotion
with the objective quality of a ballad in a way that makes
the text ideal for a chorus.

From every mountain sounding

Rejoicing echoes ring.

O'er hill and dale resounding

I hear the voice of spring.

Thru castle yard is ringing

A summons clear and gay,

My love to me is singing,

'Come ride with me away.

'Ah, whither are we going.

So fast o'er dale and hill?'

The breeze is softly blowing

The sleeping wood is still.

Away! together fare we,

The moonlit forest thru.

The night is still; what care we?

Where Love may take us two!

The music, too, rushes on like the steed that carried
the lovers. It is one of Brahms' most successful and ap-
pealing pieces for women's chorus.

Another four part composition from the same period, and
also written in the Stimmenhefte , is Es geht ein Wehen by
Paul Heyse, Aus dem Jungbrunnen. For some unknown reason,
it was not included in Op. 44, and was never published for
women's voices, but is now available at Drinker Choral
Library U. of P. Ch. Ser. 22. It appears for mixed voices in

- 65 '

Op. 62, No. 6 slightly changed at the end. The beautiful
words recommend it for any setting:

A sigh goes floating thro' the wood,

I hear the wind's bride singing.
She's singing of her Dearest one,

and 'til she is his very own.
With anxious heart she must go on,

across the wide world winging.
The song that thus so ghastly sounds,

the sound so wild, so troubled,
Has set my heart on fire, my precious one!
A thousand, thousand times, good-night!
The day will come, before we know,

when we will be together.

And the music is especially effective when sung by women.
The first verse, about the wind's bride, sounds more ethereal
and mysterious than is possible when men* s voices participate .
The almost magical contrast which comes when the voices move
up half a tone to the affirmation of human love is therefore
all the greater. But no mention is made of this treasure
for women's voices by the singers or other friends!

Clara came to Hamburg on January 9 and stayed at the
Halliers. The happy memories of the previous year induced
her to invite the Frauenchor to sing at her concert on
Tuesday, January 15, at 7 P.M. in the great Wormer's Hall.
The programme for this great occasion read as follows:

- 66 -

CONCERT
by Clara Schumann

with the kind cooperation of a Ladies* Chorus

and

Messrs. Joseph Joachim, Johannes Brahms, Nicolaus

Schaller (harp)

Programme

1. Sonata for piano and violin Beethoven Op. 47

Clara Schumann and Joseph Joachim

2. Songs with harp and two horns J. Brahms

a. Es tont ein voller Harfenklang (Fr. Ruperti)

b. Komm herbei. Tod (Wm. Shakespeare)

c. Der Gartner (J, von Eichendorff)

The Hamburger Frauenchor

3. Symphonic Etudes . . R. Schumann Op. 13

Clara Schumann

4. Andante and Variations for Two Pianos R. Schumann

Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms

5. Barcarolle and Scherzo for violin Spohr

Joseph Joachim

6. Songs for Women' s Chorus J. Brahms

a. Minneiied (J. Voss)

b. Der Brautigam (J. von Eichendorff)

c. Gesang aus Fingal (Ossian) with harp and horns

The Hamburger Frauenchor

7 . Nocturne Fr . Chopin

Gavotte J. S. Bach

Clara Schumann

- 67 -

The concert was repeated in Altona on January 16. Clara's
own account of her visit is in her diary:

"Johannes made my stay very pleasant by his kindness and his
often beautiful playing. He played a great deal of Schubert."

"Tuesday, January 15. I gave a soiree. Joachim came on

purpose to play and Johannes also played some pieces for two
pianos with me. Besides these, the Ladies Choral Society
sang some of his Ossian songs with harp and horn obligato.
They are pearls. How can one help loving such a man?"

"January 16. Soiree at Altona. Johannes' songs again and
also Joachim, magnificent. I can well put up with concerts
of this kind. Then it is a joy to have music." ^

In 1861, the public appearance of a Ladies' Choral Society
was quite unusual. If a performance were given by a women's
chorus, it took place in a private house before invited
guests and had the nature of an entertainment. Or else, a
concert was given as part of the activities of the music
school, in the Conservatory building. A third and not so
general an outlet for a women's chorus was in a Protestant
Church, upon the occasion of a wedding, a funeral, or a
christening. But it was not until the 20th century that a
women's chorus appeared in public on the concert stage on a
par with a mixed chorus, an orchestra, or a soloist. In
Germany, the change in custom did not take place until 1912,
when Margarete Dessoff conducted her Frankfurt women's chorus
at the Brahms Festival.

Clara's concert of January 15, 1861, therefore, was very
important in the annals of women's choruses. It had im-
mediate repercussions because, through it, people became
familiar with the Harfenlieder . On April 5, Frau Franziska
Cornet, a singing teacher in Hamburg gave the Fingal piece
at a concert of her 40 pupils. And on April 27 of the
following year, Clara wrote Joachim from Paris:

"The German Choral Society is going to get the Harfenlieder
(Op. 17). I have been happy about this for days past." ^

- 68 -

There is every indication that the Frauenc/ior was active
during the winter of 1860-61. Brahms was in Hamburg and the
amateurs of the city had evening after evening of pleasure
with music. Franziska told Frau Marie Zacharias, who organ-
ized the material for the Jahrbuch of 1902, that she re-
membered March 3 vividly since she became engaged on that
evening. The Frauenchor met and practiced the canon
Marznacht (Op. 44, No. 12) with special diligence.

During the summer of 1861, Brahms lived at Frau Dr.
Rosing' s in Hamm. She was the aunt of Marie and Betty
Volckers and lived next door to them in a low, broad country
house at the corner of the Schwarzenstrasse. Here, Brahms
had a studio to himself where he could work undisturbed but
have pleasant company when he desired it. He thoroughly en-
joyed the informal gatherings at these two houses, as well
as at the Wagner's, at the Brandt's, and at the Hallier's
who always welcomed artists, poets, and musicians.

At the end of October, Clara returned to Hamburg and
gave another concert on November 16, 1861, at which she
played a piano quartette by Brahms from manuscript (Op. 25).
Again, she invited the Frauenchor to participate. This time,
sixteen ladies sang six songs which were received by the
audience "with vigorous acknowledgement." But which ladies
and what songs?

During most of the spring and summer of 1862, Brahms

continued to live at Frau Dr. Rosing' s, whose place he had

grown to love. The Volckers were still next door £ind the

informal music went on. After several years, when he had

left Hamburg and Marie Volckers, as Frau Professor Boie, had

gone to Bonn to live, he wrote her:

"If you have any more photographs taken, bear in mind the
two houses, which are very dear to both of us and then think

- 69 -

/ /

6U 4.

TT^^

Brahms' dedication in one of Betty V61ckers' Stimmenhefte :
''I bless the house ..." {ixom \h^ Brautgesang) .

of me again, too. There is no other time that I would rather
recollect! I can think of nothing better."

In one of Betty's books, he wrote a dedication:
"As a friendly remembrance of our sociable music making. "

Curiously enough, he used the phrase from the Brautgesang to
honor her house :

" I bless the house "

Marie Volckers Boie shared Brahms' feelings:

"Often distinguished guests asked if they might visit us.
Frau Schumann, Joachim, and others. And although we lived
so far from the city, Brahms always wanted the Frauenchor to
meet at our house. What a source of pure joy and beautiful
memories that time affords! It was so wonderful that I can-
not describe it or recreate it in words. Brahms came over
almost every day, played for us far into the night, fulfilling
every wish and every request willingly. I also had the good
fortune to be his pupil. With Frauleins Garbe and Reuter,
we sang the beloved songs; he gave the note and beat time a
little and we (called by him "his girls' quartette") competed
jubilantly with the nightingales of the garden. He sent us

M 41

over new songs ...

Everybody mentions the nightingales in the gardens and
the beauty of their song. Certainly, it must have been these
birds that inspired him to set Die Verzauberte Nachtigall
(The Enchanted Nightingale), write it out for them in his own
hand, and take it to the girls who "competed jubilantly with
the nightingales."

To resume Marie's story:

"He sent us over new songs . .. one was the splendid Und gehst
du ixber den Kirchhof (And when you go to the Churchyard),
Op. 44, No. 10. Another one we practiced was So hab' ich
doch die game Woche (Through all the week I had awaited),
published as Op. 47, No. 3 for solo voice. At our request
he set for us Wenn ich ein Voglein wdre (If I a bird could
be) from Schumann's (jenoveva; ^kin Schatz ist nicht da, (Far
over the sea is my own dear lad) published as Op. 14, No. 8;
Morgen muss ich fort (To-morrow I must go); and still other
songs in four parts."

- 70 -

n^iA''"rM v'^y^'h:

In one of Marie Volckers' Stimmenhefte, there are several insertions in Brahms'

handwriting. One of these is Die Verzauherte Nachtigall

(The Enchanted Nightingale).

Notation from Marie Volckers' singing-book.

^ •' 1

1-^^f^~;

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-_rfc3

("H V(

5t:=«=5f

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-<^r.. If^i^i^i>

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■9.:^^ ^U fe^^;/ /^^^ ... .i. .'.r.7

5^EF?=^^=^

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t>^. /^^M^^/iTJ

4S.

Brahms' 3 part version of Mem Schats ist nicht da, (op. 14, no. 8) as composed

for Betty and Marie Volckers and Laura Garbe in April 1862. In the last

bar of the first system and in the sixth bar of the second system,

the signs V indicate repeat for those bars. Brahms has

substituted the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 to save himself

the work of copying.

Attached to one of Marie's St immenhefte is a card in-
scribed in the thinnest and finest German script:

"If I a bird could be;" and "Far over the sea is my own
dear lad." Manuscript by J. Brahms for Fraulein Garbe,
Betty and me. Written on Easter eve April 8, 1862."

The three part arrangement of Mein Schatz ist nicht da
is particularly interesting since this was one of the songs
composed while Brahms was under the spell of Agathe at
Gottingen in 1858. (See Chapter III) The words have the
added value of being appropriate for girls.

Far over the sea,
Is my own dear lad,
And I think of him oft.
And my heart is so sad.
Fair blue is the sea,
And my heart full of pain.
There is no joy for me
Till my love comes again!

The solo version must have been the earlier for the first
love and the trio was the result of his infatuation for
Laura Garbe' s equally beautiful soprano voice. Only this
time, Betty and Marie Volckers claimed attention too. That
the three part version became appropriated by the Hamburger
Frauenchor can be seen from the neat edition in Franziska
Meier's book, Versammlung No. 3.

When the autumn came, the good times were over and, un-
fortunately, forever. Brahms went to Vienna. Although he
had fully intended to return and did return the following
summer, he never called his Frauenchor together again. It
was not because some of the girls had married and moved away--
they could have been replaced by others. It was not because
he had lost interest in the women's voices. His contacts
with different groups of women in Vienna dispose of that

- 71 -

I "^OC^J...^^

'~y

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?=P

VS=^

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'!^.j.4^.:^'^

^.yl-

.,^.j/^i/^

y^-

^^/... .^

?=r

^F^

"Mein Schatz ist nicht da". This version is from Franziska Meier*s
book, Versammlung No. 3.

suspicion. The real reason was that his attitude toward his
Hamburg friends had changed. He was deeply hurt that they
had not offered him the leadership of the Singakademie and
the Philharmonic Orchestra when the opportunity to engage
new directors arose. The citizens of his native town failed
him at a critical moment of his career. While the members
of the Frauenchor were not themselves influential enough to
have sponsored him, their families could probably have ex-
erted pressure upon the managers of the Hamburg musical in-
stitutions. As it was, he felt too angry to continue his
formal association with the Ladies* Choral Society.

The girls were still singing, singing the music he had
given them. One day, a few of them had gone to Baurschen
Park in Blankenese for a picnic and were surprised to see
Brahms walking alone, deep in thought. They wondered how to
attract his attention until they agreed: "We will simply
sing one of our old songs!" So they chose the folksong
"There stands a tree in Odenwood." At the sound of the
familiar voices, Brahms forgot his ill-humour and joined the
singers.

Canon No. 12 in Op. 113 is dated Hamburg, May 7, 1863
and may have been a birthday present from Brahms to his old
friends. He celebrated his 30th birthday in Hamburg, we
know, and probably several members of the Frauenchor were
there, singing this new canon and the others he had previ-
ously written for them.

1. Gott licher Morpheus; text by Goethe.

Heaven born Morpheus.

2. Grausam erweiset; text by Goethe.

Cruel, ah cruel, has love been to me.

8. Ein Gems auf dem Stein; text by Eichendorff.
A ram on the height.

- 72 -

10. Leise Tone der Brust; text by Riickert.

Softly plucking the chords.

11. Ich weiss nicht; text by Riickert.

I wonder why the dove so sad is cooing.

12. Wenn Kummer hatte zu tbdten; text by Riickert.

If grief were able to kill me. (dated May 7, 1863)

I have numbered these as they appear in Op. 113, published
several years later. There are three other canons, however,
written in the Stimmenhefte that were not included in Op. 113.
One of these is:

Time, Under nder Klang.

Music however soft, thou hast no cure for my anguish.

It was later published for S. A. T. B. but not in the
original key of G minor. The musical feature of it is the
continuing change of key back to the original scale. At the
entry of each voice, a sharp is added to the preceding key.
With four voices each entering 3 times, the cycle is com-
pleted. (See Appendix D)

The other two appear in Brahms' handwriting: Mein lieb,
blau Blumelein and Der Herr erharm sich unser . They are the
refrains to a song which begins Dem Himmel will ich klagen
and to the Lied der geissel hriider . (See p. Ill)

The history of the Hamburger Frauenchor ends on Brahms'
birthday, May 7, 1863. It is still an incompleted history
with many discrepancies in the biographers' accounts and
many puzzling questions still unanswered. For example, was
the chorus supported by the piano at the rehearsals? If so,
who was the accompanist? No mention is made of one. In the
informal gatherings, did Brahms improvise accompaniments to
the folksongs? How much we should like to know about such
details !

- 73 -

But, in substance, the diaries, letters, and other
written accounts agree. One of the Volckers' St immenhefte
contains a letter from Bertha Porubsky in which she has in-
scribed the first bars of the song; "Oh God, how sad is
parting," followed by an expression of her own feelings when
she left Hamburg:

"How hard has been my parting from a circle in which I found
so much love

And, in Marie Volckers' own words, the years 1859 to
1863 evoked "beautiful memories" and the Frauenchor was "a
source of pure joy" to the members and to Brahms.

As a conclusion to the records of the Hamburger Frauen-
chor , Friedchen Wagner's Memoirs serve very well. One
passage shows the warm friendship that existed between her
and Brahms:

"During one of the last lessons before he left for Vienna, I
asked him to write something for me as a souvenir and he
promised me to do so. Since I preferably played things by
Bach under him, he chose a chorale melody, elaborated by him
(also for the organ). 0 Traurigkeit , 0 Herzeleid. He did
not give it to me during the lesson, however, but promised
that I should soon have it. It was very hard for me to say
goodbye to him; I had so very much to thank him for. As I
was very sad, I did not open the piano for some days, but
when I did open it again, I found there the beautiful gift I
had been promised: the marvellous chorale prelude to 0
Traurigkeit , 0 Herzeleid. My maid told me that Herr Brahms
had put it in the piano himself."

Another recalls the beginnings of the Hamburger Frauen-
chor and some of her most vivid memories:

"While I was taking lessons from Brahms I asked him one
morning -- since my two sisters and I often sang together --
to compose folksongs for that purpose, which he was very
willing to do. After a short time, several young ladies came
to take part in the singing, and thus gradually a women's
chorus was formed in my parent's house. Rehearsals took
place every Monday morning at 10 o'clock and Brahms composed

- 74 -

a number of folksongs for us. The chorus grew to twenty
members and gave great pleasure to Brahms and us.

"The very numerous statutes which Brahms worked out are still
in existence. We members received a neat insignia which was
made of pure silver, particularly beautifully made. The
letters B. F. C. were on three circles.

"My sister Thusnelda and I, Laura Garbe and Marie Renter were
always present. We sang several times in church, the last
time in St. Peter's, under his leadership. Often also out-
side the city in Hamm, at the Volckers'in the Schwarzenstrasse.
Marie Volckers was also a pupil of Brahms. At the end of the
Volckers' garden, somewhat elevated, stood an arbor in which
some of the members of the chorus sang together with me and
my sister Thusnelda Hiibbe. In the evenings, after the re-
hearsals, Brahms always played for us and then accompanied
us home. One evening, several members of the chorus had
assembled in the garden and, since we were all in a very
happy mood, we went to an inn and sang there more songs."

Friedchen's statements of fact do not agree word for
word with other accounts but memories, after all, are not
daily recordings. To one who has reached middle age, the
events of the past merge into one another. One cannot re-
member whether one had a pleasant evening this summer or that.
Her impressions, however, correspond to everyone else's who
shared those happy experiences.

75 -

■A

-♦ '>,U

■M^l'~^

miMiriiif#.;»i

ohne

Title page of Camilla's new song-book (see p. 78)

THE WOMENS' CHORUS

AFTER 1863

When Franziska Meier married and went to live in Cuxhaven,

she was determined to organize a women's chorus there. Her

first problem was to get copies of the music sung by the

Hamburger Frauenchor . Her reminiscences in the Jahrhuch of

1902 explain her first step in overcoming this difficulty:

"My sister Camilla asked Brahms whether he had any objection
to our singing the folksongs and choral songs by him in our
little chorus in Cuxhaven. She received the following most
gracious letter."

Dear Fraulein:

Permit me to write you somewhat hastily and briefly
that I do not begrudge you any of the things you wish, which
you yourself can get together.

I myself do not possess a single note and do not know
who may have saved anything.

Unfortunately, my unsettled life prevents me from
guarding the memory of lovely musical and sociable pleasures.

The fbl lowing pieces have been published: the Harfen-
lieder , Ave Maria, and in the near future will appear some
sacred songs, Adoramus , 0 Bone Jesix, and Salve Regina.

Give my regards to all of you ...

J. Brahms

In 1865, Franziska could not genuinely have regarded
this as a "gracious letter". Nor did others who read it.
Some of Brahms' biographers have used it as proof that he

- 76 -

attached no value to the women's chorus in Hamburg or to the
music he composed for it. Seen in the light of his dis-
appointment in Hamburg, however, the indifferent tone of the
letter is clearly explained. It was certainly far from the
truth that he did not "possess a single note" of the music
he had written for women's voices. At that very time, he
was negotiating with different houses for its publication.
Obviously, he was still too angry with his Hamburg contempo-
raries to help even his loyal friends.

With characteristic energy, Franz iska and Camilla made
new copies of the Stimmenhefte, writing out the complete
parts of the songs. Both music and words in these books is
clear and legible, in contrast to the writing in the old
Stimmenhefte , which is extremely difficult to decipher.

According to Anna Lentz, the thinner script with the
open half-notes was the work of Camilla. The volume marked
Franziska Lentz, Versammlung No. 3, contains a verse by
Camilla:

In treuer Liebe abcopiert
Und meinem Franzchen dedicirt ,
ytenn mir ein Fehler dr in passirt
Irn Schwester liebe subtrahirt

Copied out in the spirit of true love
And dedicated to my little Franziska,
If there should be a mistake,
Sister love will subtract it!

In the books written by Franziska, there are charming
examples of her "sister love": drawings to illustrate their
favorite songs. Franziska' s daughter, Anna Lentz, gave the
interpretation and wrote the captions for us on the page
opposite the sketch.

- 77 -

1. Beginning in the upper left hand corner of the page,
the girl and boy sitting near the spider-web illustrate one
of the Romances of Op. 44, No. 7.

Nun stehen die Rosen in Blute

Da wirft die Lieb ein netzlein aus .

The red, red roses are blooming
And Love again his snare has set.

2. The little man, with knapsack and outstretched hand,
depicts Ich fahr dahin , an old folksong in which the young
man, as he goes away from home, trusts his heart to his
dearest wife, begging her to remain in her cottage and be
true to him.

"The day has come, when thou and I,
My dearest, one must say good-bye,
I leave my heart behind with thee.
So far away; but it must be!
Ear, far away; far, far away."

3. At the bottom of the page, on the left hand side, a
boy stands looking at a tall tree which, in the sketch, winds
from the bottom to the top of the page. He is thinking of
the times he went to the forest of Oden with his loved one
and listened to the birds sing.

Es steht ein Baum in Odenwald

There stands a tree in Oden wood

4. Then turning to the bottom of the right hand side, a
singer stands with his guitar. On account of the carnations,
Anna Lentz thought that Schumann' s 3 part song. Op. 29, No. 2,
was intended.

In meinem Garten die Nelken

The pinks that bloomed in my garden,
Are turning pale and wan,
Roses have faded and withered.
Since you are gone.

- 78 -

The Three Crows, see p. 24

The Letter, see p. 27

The Visit to the Music Stores, see p. 40

The Organ, see p. 41

The Medal, see p. 56

5. Above, a rather belligerent looking girl laments
that the thistles and thorns sting no more than the false
tongues gossipping about her. The folksong is Sfein Schatz
ist auf die Wanderschaft .

My lover is away, wandering.

6. Next, a maiden is weeping about her sad heart.

Me in Herzlein thut mir gar zu weh!

My heart is so sad.

And last, at the top right hand corner, Franz iska has
drawn two lovers galloping away on horseback. This is Der
Brautigam (The Bridegroom), Op. 44, No. 2.
My love to me is singing,
'Come ride with me away' !

The other page o-f drawings illustrates some of the girls'
activities in connection with Brahms and the F r auenchor .
They have already been explained on pp. 24, 27, 40, 41 and
56.

In Cuxhaven, Franziska not only organized the chorus

but conducted it herself. Anna's letter of July, 1935, to

me, written in her own English, gave some interesting

details :

"TTie choir of my mother in Cuxhaven was not so very important
and, as far as I know my mother let never sing in public,
because the members had little practice, and sang only for
enthusiasm. It kept up a good deal of years interrupted by
the childbeds of my mother. She had ten children, but the
difficulties were great because the members were not at all
accustomed to read notes, had domestic duties, and in the
storm, Cuxhaven with bad roads, in the old times they had
much trouble to assist the practices. In the beginning, my
mother had to write all the Stimmenhefte herself, until
gradually the ladies learned to write them. The first
exercises were when I was a baby, 68 years ago, and I have
often been disturbing the singing by crying aloud. Later,
my mother had founded a second choir in the 80' s in which I
and three sisters joined."

- 79 -

In the meantime, Brahms himself had been carrying on
with another women's chorus. When he went to Vienna in 1862,
he found some of his Hamburg friends already there. Karl
Gradener was organist at the Evangelical Church and also
professor at the Conservatory of the Gesel Ischa ft der
Musikfreunde . Through Gradener, Brahms met the von As ten
famiJ-y. Frau Schuttenmayer von Asten lived in Gundelhof with
her three daughters, Marie, Julie, and Anna. When Clara
Schumann was in Vienna, she always stayed with them and gave
Julie piano lessons. Brahms now took over the young lady as
pupil and went to the von Astens several times a week. One
day, he happened to say that he missed the Hamburger Frauen-
chor . Whereupon, Julie and Anna (who later became a singing
teacher at the Berlin Hochschule) invited several ladies from
the Singverein to their house and so organized a small women's
chorus to be conducted by Brahms. These women were good
musicians and all had wonderful voices. Several of them sang
in concerts. Karoline Bettelheim, Ottilie Hauer, Marie
Geisler, and Frau Anna Franz, nee Wittgenstein, belonged to
the group and became life-long friends of Brahms. Through
them, he was introduced to many people of influence in the
musical world.

In April, 1863, the von Asten chorus gave a concert for
invited guests at which they sang six of Brahms compositions
for women's voices.

In December, he composed a Salve Regina for the chorus,
in which he challenged the skill of these expert singers.
The solo voices have an extremely difficult canon to sing
while the chorus breaks in with its Halleluia. The Salve
Regina was published in 1866 with Adoramus and 0 Bone Jesu
(of Hamburg days) as Op. 37 and immediately attracted the
attention of critics. A Catholic paper commented upon the
"spiritual, serious, and artistically wonderful" quality of

- 80 -

the music: high praise for a Protestant composer who might
easily have offended those with scruples about an unorthodox
use of liturgic texts.

Julie, Anna, Marie von As ten and their friends kept up
their chamber music for a year or more. Anna took lessons
from the well-known singer Pauline Viardot-Garcia. One
summer, Anna and her other pupils asked Brahms to write them
a serenade that they might celebrate their teacher's birth-
day. This he did and conducted the performance by the young
ladies outside Mme. Viardot's house early in the morning.
Friedlander says that the three part folksong Da unten im
Tale (Down in the Valley) was placed at the disposal of
Julie and Anna for this occasion but unfortunately he gives
no hint as to the musical setting of the folksong in a
Serenade. ^^

While in Vienna, Brahms renewed his friendship with
Bertha Porubsky, who had married Artur Faber. When their
second child was born, Brahms sent her his famous lullaby
Guten Abend f Gute Nacht, reminiscent of the lovely folksongs
she used to sing in Hamburg when she was visiting her aunt
Augusta Brandt and singing in the Frauenchor . The melody of
one of her favorite waltzes was incorporated into the piano
accompaniment .

Later, Bertha organized a chorus which met in her house.
It was both a mixed and a women's chorus, conducted by
Eusebius Mandyczewski . Many of Brahms* compositions were
sung by the " Faber-Chor".

In Vienna, the aristocrats were real lovers of music.
Some women belonged to several choruses and went from house
to house, singing for many hours a week. Mandyczewski was
popular as a conductor of these groups and devoted years of
his life to collecting, editing, and also composing music

- 81 -

for women to sing. In 1892, he married Albine von Vest, a
singing teacher and also a conductor of a women's chorus of
her own. After their marriage, Mandyczewski fell heir to
Albine's chorus and, together, they kept it up for many years.
Much of their knowledge about choral literature for women
was passed on to Margarete Dessoff, who then brought it to
New York where she came after the First World War and founded
the Adesdi Choir.

Mandyczewski shared Brahms* interest in canons. The
two friends carried on a voluminous correspondence as to
the best way of scoring them. In one letter to Brahms,
Mandyczewski made a Joke on the text of "Heaven-born Morpheus"
-- the God of Sleep. He changed the name to "Orpheus" -- God
of Singers. "Heaven-born Orpheus, where are the parts to
the Canons? I need them next Monday, since we wanted to
sing them in Purkersdorf, and without canons, it is no fun.
I know well that you do not approve of it, but I would like
to ask, if I might softly come into the apartment and look
there for the Canons." ^^ He wanted the Canons for the
singing society he conducted in Frau von Hornbostel's house
at Purkersdorf. She was the former Helene Magnus, a pupil
of Stockhausen and an excellent interpreter of Brahms' songs.
Brahms often went to the von Hornbostels and sometimes
attended the rehearsals of the women's chorus. The first
time he came, he was surprised to hear the text of the folk-
song about an imaginary little man, who brought candy to
good children and switches to bad ones, transformed as
follows:

Villa, villa, vill, Herr Brahms is coming.
Villa, villa, vill, what does he bring?
Villa, villa, vill, such lovely canons
Villa, villa, vill, for us, tonight, to sing. ^^

Frau von Hornbostel and Mandyczewski had developed the
chorus to a pitch approaching perfection. They agreed with

- 82 -

Brahms that "Canon singing is, above all, a social enter-
tainment and must be able to be improvised. They are not
adapted for large choruses ..." ^

It was probably the virtuosity of this group that led
to the selection of thirteen canons for Op. 113. In a letter
to the publisher, Brahms wrote:

"Op. 113 is an opus for which I have special fondness and
special wishes. First, I wish to call attention to the fact
that these are not difficult canons -- but that they are
amorous, innocent little verses which ought to be easily and
gladly sung by beautiful girls. I think that private
quartette singing has come into fashion partly through my
efforts in that line and I wish that the same may become
true with regard to the singing of canons."

Brahms certainly succeeded in making the canons attractive
for small groups. Nos . 3 and 4 of Op. 113 are familiar folk-
songs "What bird is that in the pine-tree there" and

"Sleep baby sleep." They are simply enough arranged for
children to sing. One never tires of the others, composed
with such technical skill including the use of double canons,
inversions, and canons in contrary motion. No. 13 of Op. 113
is especially interesting -- "Love ever sings the same sad
song. " The form of it is like that of the old 13th century
round, "Sumer is a 'cumen in." Four sopranos sing a canon
and two altos imitate each other as a foundation for the
composition making a double canon. As an added charm, the
melody is Der Leiermann by Schubert. And indeed, all the
canons have lovely melodies. Brahms never sacrificed beauty
of tone to form but gave each one a lyric impulse that makes
them delightful to sing. Best of all is March Night, No. 12
of Op. 44.

Hark! the March wind is roaring,

The torrents are gushing to-night, hark!

Shyly filled with delight

Loveliest Spring-time is near!

- 83 -

It is in strict canon form throughout but the whole mood
of the song changes with the last two lines. It becomes a
romance of unexpected brilliance; for that reason, probably,
it became one of the Lieder und Romanzen , Op. 44.

March Night had been in the repertoire of the Hambttrger
Frauenchor with the canons Nos . 1, 2, 8, 10, 11, 12 of Op.
113. On the page upon which No. 12 is written in Marie
Volckers' Stimmenheft is the date 1868. Marie and her friends
evidently did enjoy " private quartette singing" long after
Hamburg days .

In Op. 113, Nos. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 13 belong to the
Vienese period:

3. Sitzt a schons Vogerl; folksong text and melody a 4.
What bird is that in the pine-tree there?

4. Schlaf, kindle in , schlaf; folksong text and melody

a 3.
Sleep, baby, sleep.

5. Wille, wille, will; folksong text and melody a 4
The man is coming.

6. So lange Schonheit; text by Hoffman von Fallersleben

a 4.
As long as beauty shall enthrall.

7. Wenn die Klange; text by J. von Eichendorff a 3.
Sounds of music sweetly swelling.

8. An' s Auge des Liebsten; text by F. Riickert a 4.
The eyes of the lovers cling and cleave to one

another.

13. Einformig ist der Liehe Gram-, text by Riickert a 6.
Love ever sings the same sad song.

- 84 -

Other canons for women's voices not included in Op. 113
or Op. 44 are:

1. Mir lachelt kein Fruhling; composed before 1881.
Spring does not smile for me.

2. 0, wie sanft die Quelle; posthumous

0 how slow the waters flow, thru the meadow winding.

3. Grausam erweiset , not the same of Op. 113, No. 2.

4. Wann , warm? Warm hort det Himmel] composed in 1885.
When, when, 0 when will Heaven send protectors
From all these autograph collectors?

Soon after Brahms became director of the Singakademie ,
a special Brahms' Abend was held on April 17, 1864. The
women members of the chorus performed Ave Maria, Op. 12.
Vineta, Op. 42, No. 2, was also in the programme without the
other numbers of Op. 42. It seems probable, therefore, that
Brahms* original setting of Vineta for four women's voices
was given, rather than his arrangement of the romance for
mixed voices. During the first ten years of Brahms' stay in
Vienna, several performances of his compositions for women's
chorus took place there and in other cities. (See Appendix G)

Except for possibly two canons, the last composition
Brahms wrote for women's voices was an arrangement of
Schubert's Ellen's Zweiter Gesang, Op. 52, No. 2 for soprano
solo, chorus of sopranos, 1st and 2nd altos, accompanied by
four horns and two bassoons. It was performed at a Gesell-
schaft concert on March 23, 1873. The text is Ellen's second
song in Scott's poem " Lady of the Lake".

Huntsman rest! Thy chase is done
While our slumbrous spells assail ye,
Dream not, with the rising sun.
Bugles here will sound reveille.

- 85 -

Sleep, the deer is in his den
Sleep, thy hounds are by thee lying
Sleep nor dream in yonder glen
How thy gallant steed lay dying.

Brahms* enthusiasm for wind instruments as suitable
accompaniment for women's voices is quite remarkable. One
of his very early compositions, dated 1856, was the canon
Spruch for soprano and horn. At that time, Brahms probably
played the horn himself, taught by his father, but who sang
the soprano part? In 1860, he wrote Op. 17, Four Songs with
Harp and Horns, and finally, about 1873, he composed the
setting for "The Lady of the Lake". He must have found
fascination in the combination of sounds.

Taken as a whole, Brahms' choral works for women excel,
in both volume and in significance for the singers, those of
other nineteenth century composers. Brahms offered a greater
number of compositions to women's choruses than Schubert or
Schumann, more even than the prolific Gustav Hoist of the
twentieth century.

Into the choral literature for women which was rapidly
developing " in pari passu" with the choruses themselves,
Brahms incorporated a reform made necessary by some of the
followers of Mendelssohn with their sentimental and insipid
style. Brahms had strong romantic tendencies but he avoided
the danger of sentimentality by mixing his romanticism with
the austerity of the old masters of polyphony. His major
works for women are remarkable for the compelling way in
which the classic style merges with the romantic.

Then, too, he forged ahead of his contemporaries by
providing women with choral music that is related to their
experiences and at the same time has religious import.

- 86 -

Brahms generally, although not always, selected texts which
gave women the feeling that they were in an active relation
to life. The religious music has this quality, especially
the Ave Maria, which is like a tableau, or a little drama.
The women answer each other in antiphonal choirs, as if
different groups of worshippers were in reality approaching
the image of the Virgin. As they make their eternal invo-
cation Ora pro nobis: "Pray for us", the singers are them-
selves the suppliants.

For the secular music, Brahms depended upon folksongs
and upon the Romantic poets who derived their basic material
from our rich heritage of myth and legend in which women had
played an important part. In folklore, many work songs,
lullabies, love songs, wedding songs, and dirges are created
by women and imitations or accounts of women workers, lovers,
brides, mothers, and mourners fill the poetry of nineteenth
century men. The Dirge for Trenar, Op. 17, No. 4, was a
particularly appropriate choice of text for a women's chorus,
since dirges form the largest group of women's songs, partly
because of the ancient belief that women brought about the
rebirth by wailing and singing. Brahms' treatment of the
chorus and instruments was the very antithesis of the eight-
eenth and nineteenth century conception of female choral
singing. Instead of the dulcet tones of repressed young
misses in a drawing-room, the music calls for the harsh, deep
sounds of mature women expressing grief in an attitude that
has been a religion with women since the dawn of history.

Some of the biographers intimate that Brahms placed no
importance upon the music he wrote for the women's choruses
but that he used the compositions merely as studies for
larger works. If Brahms had published none of his com-
positions for women's chorus, this suggestion might have
value. He did, however, publish opuses 12, 17, 27, 37, 44.

- 87 -

and 113, which are complete in themselves, beautiful and
satisfactory. All of Brahms* biographers agree that he re-
leased no music that he regarded as unimportant or with
which he was not thoroughly satisfied.

Everybody recognized Brahms' craving for perfection in
his art and an appealing example of this characteristic of his
has come from Kurt Sauermann, Friedchen Wagner's son. When
Kurt was about 11 years old, his mother took him to hear
Brahms conduct his 3rd Symphony at the Philharmonic Concert
in Hamburg. After the concert, Kurt and his mother waited
outside to congratulate Brahms.

"How did it go?" asked Brahms.
"Oh, fine! "was the boyish answer.

And then Brahms said:

"But it must become still better, must it not, still better?"

88 -

A - Lists of music contained in the Stimmenhefte.

B - The other compositions for women's chorus.

C - List of the poets.

D - Editions of Brahms' compositions for women in the Drinker
Choral Library.

E - Lists of the Brahms' manuscripts in the Stimmenhefte .

F - Names of some of the members of Grimm's chorus in
Gott ingen .

G - Dates of the composition, first publication, and some of
the performances in Brahms' lifetime of his music for
women's chorus.

H - References and Index.

- 89

Appendix A
List of Music in the Stimmenhefte

I. Twenty- five compositions for women's chorus subsequently
published.

1. Op. 12 Ave Maria for S.S.A.A. with organ or instru-
mental accompaniment. (strings, two flutes, two
oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns.)
(see index. )

The Ave Maria, or Hail Mary, as an accepted devo-
tional formula, cannot be traced before about 1050.
It occurred in the Little Office, or Cursus, of the
Blessed Virgin Mary which just at that time was coming
into favor among the monastic orders. The words,
however, are found in a Syriac ritual, 513, and also
in the Liber Antiphonarius of St. Gregory the Great
as the offertory of the Mass for the 4th Sunday of
Advent. The first verse consists of the salutation
of the angel Gabriel, Luke 1-28:

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women.

The second part is taken from the greeting of Eliza-
beth, Luke 1-42:

And blessed the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

The third sentence is stated by the catechism of the
Council of Trent to have been framed by the Church:

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now
and at the hour of our death. Amen.

The official recognition of the Ave Maria in its
complete formwas finally given in the Roman Breviary,
1568.

- 90 -

2. Op. 17 Songs with horns and harp for S.S.A.

1. Es tont ein voller Harfenklang (see p. 50)

2. Koinm herhei , Tod (see p. 50)

from Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night", Act II,
Scene 4. The (ierman translator was A. W. Schlegel.

3. Der Gartner (see p. 50)

4. Gesang aus Fingal (see p. 50)
"Fingal"was the name of a song cycle supposed to
have been composed by one Ossian, an Irish hero
of the third century. The Gaelic material, the
bulk of which was collected in the eleventh
century, appealed to James MacPherson (1736-96).
He was among the first to utilize old verses for
his own purposes. Writing in English about
Ossian and his companions, he claimed to have
translated portions of the Gaelic epic and pro-
duced his work as original. The Gesang aus Fingal
is a dirge for Trenar, the lover of the maiden of
Inistore. The name of the German translator is
unknown .

3. Op. 37 Sacred Choruses for S.S.A. A. (see p. 19)

1. 0 Bone Jesu

An old ecclesiastical form of prayer, derived
from the Bible text of Luke XVII, 13, "Jesus,
Master, have mercy on us"; and of I Peter I, 19,
"But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a
lamb without blemish and without spot."

2. Adoramus

A versicle and antiphon from the Roman Breviary
for the festival of the discovery of the Holy
Cross, celebrated on May 3.

- 91 -

We adore thee, Christ, and we bless Thee, for
through Thy Holy Cross, Thou hast redeemed the
world. Thou, who suffered for us, have pity
upon us , Lord .

Op. 44 Twelve Songs and Romances for S.S.A.A. and
piano ad lib. (see p. 63-65)

1. Minnelieri (Der Holdseligen Sonder Wank)

2. Der Brautigam

3. Barcarole

4. Fragen

5. Die MiJllerin

6. Die Nonne

7. Nun stehen die Rosen

8. Die Berge sind spitz

9. Am Wildbach

10. Und gehst du uber den Kirchhof

11. Die Braut (see below)

12. Marznacht

William Miiller, author of Die Braut, made the
following interesting notes on his poem. There
was an old custom in the Riigen peninsula, sur-
viving from matriarchal times. A daughter was
allowed to inherit property and was also allowed
the privilege of choosing her own husband. When
she was ready to marry, she would hang an apron
from her window. At this sign, all the marriage-
able young men would file past her house to be
inspected. The bride announced her choice by
sending the young man a silken scarf and he gave
his consent by accepting the gift. In the case
of the bride in this poem, her lover was drowned.
She tells her mother that the blue apron (the
color blue being a symbol of the sky goddess)
she was about to hang out will be faded white by

- 92 -

her tears. Instead of rejoicing as a bride she
must mourn as a widow and sit, bowed with grief,
in the special place assigned to widows in the
church. (see Ophiils p. 488)

5. Op. 113 Thirteen Canons (see p. 120)

1. Gottlicher Morpheus a 4

2. Grausam erweiset a 3

8. Ein Gems auf dem Stein a 4

10. Leise Tone der Brust a 4

11. Ich weiss nicht , v/as im Main die Taube girret a4

12. Wenn Kwnmer hatte zu tod ten a 3

Psalm 13, Op. 27, is the only published composi-
tion missing in the Stimmenhefte . It must have
been in another book, not yet located,
(see p. 28 and 45)

II. Seven original songs, here for women's voices, which
were subsequently arranged by Brahms for mixed chorus or
for solo voice with piano.

1. Todtenklage or In stiller nacht for S.S.X. and
S.S.A.A. {Deutsche Volks lieder fur vierst immige
Chor No. 8) (49 Deutsche Volks lieder No. 42)

Those women's choruses which now sing an arrangement
from the version for mixed voices should look to
the original settings for women. For many years
Brahms passed his composition off as a folksong.
Later in his life, he conceded that the melody was
his own. The poem is attributed to the Jesuit poet
Spee.

2. Vineta (Op. 42, No. 2) for S.S.A.A. (see p. 52)

- 93 -

3. Sonntag: So hab ich doch die game Woche (Op. 47
No. 3) for S.S.A.

4. Es geht ein Wehen (Op. 62 No. 6) for S.S.A. A. (see
p. 66)

5. Vergangen ist mir Gluck und Heil (Op. 48 No. 6)
(Op. 62 No. 7) for S.S.A. A.

6. Der Gang zum Liebchen; Es glanzt der Mond (Op. 48
No. 1) (Op. 31 No. 3) for S.S.A. A.

7. Maria's Kirchgang (Op. 22 No. 2) for S.S.A. A.
(see p. 21)

This Marienlied poem is in Kretschmer-Zuccalmaglio
II, 47 (see bibliography) and in F. L. Mittler's
Deutsche Volkslieder , p. 308 (Leipsig 1855)

The other Mar ienlieder (poems) known to have been
sung by the Hamburger Frauenchor but not written in
any of the Sti/Timenhe/te at hand, may be found in the
following books:

Der Englische Gruss in Kretschmer II 268 and
Mittler 292.

Der Jager in Des Knaben Wunderhorn by A. von
Arnim and C. Brentano (Heidelberg 1806) and in
Mittler p. 292.

Ruf Zu Maria in Mittler p. 297; in F. M. Bohme's
Altdeutsches Liederbuch No. 591 (Leipsig 1877).

Mary Magdalene in L. Uhland's Alte hoch und
nieder deutsche Volkslieder p. 846 (Stuttgart
1845), and in Wackernagel* s Das deutsche
Kirchenlied p. 75 (Stuttgart 1841).

Maria's Lob in Kretschmer-Zuccalmaglio II, 270.

- 94 -

III. One original part song for women's voices, arranged by
Brahms from a solo song previously composed.

Mein Schatz ist nicht da (Op. 14, No. 8) for S.S.A.
and S.S.A. A. (see p. 71).

IV. One original part song for women's voices, transposed
by Brahms from his setting for men's voices.

Ich schwing mein Horn (Op. 41, No. 1) for S.S.A. A.

In Friedchen's notebook, there is written in her hand-
writing under the 1st soprano part for this song: "original
version for four men's voices". The only men's chorus, with
which we know that Brahms had anything to do before 1859, was
one which he had conducted at Winsen in 1847, when he was 14
years old.* For this chorus, he wrote several pieces and
probably this one. If this supposition be correct, this is
the earliest composition by Brahms that we have. The song is
in the style of the a capella period and the old melody with
the words, dates back to 1519. Friedlander says that the
song is allegorical, having been written by Duke Ulrich of
Wiirttemberg, a mighty hunter, apropos of his not being per-
mitted to marry his love, the Countess Elisabeth of Branden-
burg, but instead the far from lovely Sabina, niece of the
Emperor Maximilian; Sabina being the hare in the song.

V. Two canons not published in Brahms' lifetime.

1. Tone lindernder Klang for S.S.A. A. in G minor
(see p. 73)

2. Grausam erweiset for S.S.A. A. (not the same as
Op. 113) (See Appendix D)

VI. A short original part song, not published in Brahms'
lifetime.

Dein Herzlein mild (not the same as Op. 62) (See
Appendix D)

- 95 -

VII. Two unfinished compositions.

1. Brautgesang (accompaniment lacking)

2. Benedictus (probably without accompaniment. See
Chap. Ill) A facsimile of the Benedictus forS.S.A.T.
can be seen in Heineman' s collection, New York City.

III.

55 Folksongs

Title

First Line

AbschiedsUed

Ich fahr dahin

Ade von hinnen

Altes Liebeslied

Mein Herzlein thut
mir gar so weh

A lies Lied

Mein feines Lieb

Das Lied vom

Es stehen drei

ei fersiichtigen

Sterne am Hinunel

Knaben

Dauernde Liebe

Mein Schatz ich
hab' es er fahr en

Der Baum

Es steht ein Baum
im Odenwald

Der Bucklichte

Es wohnet ein

Fiedler

Der Gottesacker

Wie sie so sanft
ruhen

10.

Der Jager

Bei nachtlicher
Wei 1

11.

Der Ritt ztm

Ich stand auf

Kloster

hohem Berge

12.

Der Fitter und

Es stunden drei

die Peine (MS)

Rosen auf einem
zweig

13.

Der todte Gast

Es pochet ein Knabe

14.

Der Traum (MS)

Ich hab' die nacht
getraumet

15.

Der verstellte

Es ritt ein Re iter

Rauber

wohl durch das Ried

16.

Der Zimmergesell

Es war einmal

Voice
Parts

2nd voice only

3 & 4
3

4
4
3
3
3
4
3

3
3

- 96 -

17.

Des Marker a fin

Es war ein Markgraf

Tochter lein

ijber'n Rhein

18.

Die Bernauerin

Es r it ten drei

Re iter zu Munchen

19.

Die Drei

Es leuchte drei

Kon igskinder

Stern'

20.

Die Ent fijhrung

Auf, auf , auf,

Schatzelein

21.

Die schone Judin

Es war eine schone

Judin

22.

Die verzauberte

Nachtigall , sag,

Nachtigall (MS)

was fiir griiss

23.

Die Versuchung

Feins 1 i ebchen , du

sollst

24.

Die wieder-

Der Konig zog wohl

ge fundene

uber den Rhein

Tochter

25.

Die Wollust in

der Mai en

26.

Drei

Mit Lust that ich

Voglein (MS)

ausreiten

27.

Erlaube mir

Erlaube mir, feins

Madchen

28.

Gang zur

Des Abends kann ich

Liebsten

nicht schlafen gehn

29.

Gottesgericht

Zu Frankfurt

30.

Gunhilde

Gunhilde lebt gar

stille

31.

Heimliche

Kein Feuer , Keine

Liebe

Kohle

3 & 4

32.

Ich hort' ein
Sichlein

rauschen (MS)

33.

Innsbruck, ich

muss dich las sen

34.

Liebeslied

Gar lieblich hat

sich gesellt

35.

Liebestreu (MS)

Es war en zwei

Kon igskinder

- 97

36.

Lied der

Es ging sich unsre

Geisselbrijder

Fraue

(MS)

Me in g'muth ist

see under Hasler

mir verwirret

(next section)

37.

Mein Schatz ist
auf die Wander -

schaft hin

38.

Minnelied

Ach , bin inn ig lich
immer

39.

Minnelied or

So will ich frisch

A lies Lied

und fr oh lich sein

40.

M or gen muss Ich

fort von hier

41.

Pfaf fen sch lich
(MS)

Der Graf stand oben

42.

Scheiden

Ach Gott , wie weh

43.

Scheiden

Sind wir geschieden

44.

Schifferlied

Dort in den Weiden

3 & 4

45.

Schnitter Tod

Es ist ein Schnitter

46.

Schwab is che

Volkslied

47.

Schwes ter lein ,

Schwesterlein (MS)

48.

Spannung

Gut en Abend

49.

Standchen

Wach auf, mein' s

Herzen's Schone

50.

Tageweis' von
einer schoner

Wach auf, mein Hort

Frauen

51.

Trennung

Da unten im Tale

52.

Verstohlen geht

der Mond auf

53.

Vor dem Fens ter

Soil sich der Mond

54.

Wenn ich ein

Voglein ware (MS)

55. Zu Strassburg
auf der Schanz

- 98 -

The German words to most of the folksongs can be found
in Kretschmer-Zuccalmaglio.

Nos . 3, 13, 14, 26, 35, 39, and 48 of my list have been
published. (see Appendix D)

Nos. 1, 3, 6, 8, 10, 11, 16, 17, 20, 28, 30, 31, 32, 33, 37,
40, 42, 43, 47, 49, 50, 53 and 55 of my list have been trans-
cribed from the Stimmenhefte and are now in our library with
the other material which came from Germany.

Nos. 3, 4, 5, 7, 14, 18, 20, 31, 32, 35, 37, 40, 43 and 55
of my list were used only for women's voices and not in any
other setting. No significance, however, can be attached to
the fact, since they are not distinguished from the other
songs by any characteristic of being more suitable for women
than for other groups.

The song Verstohlen geht der Mond auf is noteworthy on
account of the fact that Brahms used the melody in his Sonata,
Op. 1, and placed it as the last in his final version of the
49 Folksongs, published in 1894. It was certainly one of his
favorites. He gave it to his love, Agathe, to sing and he
set it in three parts for the Hamburger Frauenchor .

Verstohlen geht der Mond auf has an interesting history
both from the point of view of women's fertility rites and
of musicology. ^ Similar verses had long been sung by women
who dressed flax. They stood in rows in front of the flails
in order to begin the threshing. Then they sang:

"Wo geht sich denn der Mond auf?

Blau, blau Bliimelein!
Obern Lindenhaum da geht er auf .

B lumen im Tal ,
Madchen im Saal,
0, du tapfre Rosa!"

' 99 -

Where, then does the moon rose?

Blue, blue little flower!
It mounts over the Linden tree

Rose in the dale,
Maid in the vale,
0, fairest Rosa.

The verse was repeated as many times as there were women
present and the dwelling place of each one was indicated as
the rising place of the moon. This singing game was
originally a women's rite for prosperity and luck in their
work. The allusion to the moon places it definitely in the
category of ritual. Folklore of all peoples brings the moon's
cycle and women into accord and associates blooming flowers
with girls, never with boys. But

"Wo geht sich denn der Mond auf ,
Ohern Lindenhaum da geht er auf."

is not precisely the same as:

"Verstohlen geht der Mond auf,

dutch Silberwolkchen fuhrt sein Lauf."

The poet-musician A. W. von Zuccalmaglio had changed it
and improved it artistically, but then passed it off as a
genuine folksong, calling it A It deutsches Minnelied. Probably
he used the original folk melody as a basis for his revised
version, just as he did with the song called Schwesterlein .

Brahms took the song from Deutsche Volkslieder mit ihren
Original Weisen, compiled by Zuccalmaglio and Kretschmer,
the source book he used most frequently.

It is surprising to learn that, for a long time, Brahms
did not discover the song to be an invention of Zuccalmaglio* s
and that he also used other verses composed by this ingenious

- 100 -

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man in the belief that they were real songs of the people.
In fact, of the so-called folksongs, which he set for women's
voices, only a small proportion were genuine. These are:

Die Schone Jiidin

Er laube mir , feins Madchen

Trennung (Da imten im Tale)

The truth of the matter is that Brahms did not care whether
the music was a genuine folksong or not. Child of his own
times, he lived when many poets and musicians made cult of
collecting folklore and using the old tales as inspiration
for art, as grist to their own mills. Brahms followed the
fashion himself when he took Spec's poem In Stiller Nacht ,
made his own melody and pretended it was a folksong. His
attitude toward Zuccalmaglio was, therefore, one of tolerance
and sympathy. It was not the exact history of every song
that had significance for him, as he showed by his lack of
interest in Ludwig Erk's monumental researches. It was
rather the spirit in which the material was presented that
appealed to him. Even after he knew that the "folksongs"
he had selected were contemporary compositions, he did not
discard them but merely made the comment:

"Not really folk -music! Well, then we have one good composer
the more.""^^

Es stuncien drei Rosen is a ballad telling the story of
the Sleeping Beauty. Friedlander attributes both the text
and the melody of this version to Zuccalmaglio. Brahms'
musical setting is in imitation of the form used since time
immemorial by choruses of men or women when they worked or
when they entertained themselves. The leader sang the verse
and the chorus joined in the refrain. Brahms arranged it
first for three women's voices and later included it in his
edition of 49 Folksongs.

- 101 -

Solo. .. .Three roses once grew on a single stem;

Chorus. . . .Fair is the summer!
Solo.... A nightingale merrily sang to them;

Chorus. .. .Fair is the summer!
Solo.... And under the blossoming rose-bush there

Chorus. ... Fair is the summer!
Solo.... Lay dreaming a maiden young and fair.

Chorus. . . .Fair is the summer!
Solo. . . .The knight rode by where the rose-bush grew,

Chorus. ... Fair is the summer!
Solo.... "And what, little horse, is it startles you?"

Chorus. .. .Fair is the summer!
Solo. .. ."What glimmers red in the grass and dew?"

Chorus. .. .Fair is the summer!
Solo.... "As pink as roses of the brightest hue?"

Chorus. ... Fair is the summer!
Solo.... What glorious tangle does he behold?

Chorus. . . .Fair is the summer!
Solo.... But curly locks of fine spun gold.

Chorus. . . .Fair is the summer!
Solo. .. .There slept the maid so fair to see,

Chorus. ... Fair is the summer!
Solo. .. .As pure as the day she was born is she.

Chorus .... Fa ir is the summer!

Brahms wrote in only six of the original twenty-six
verses and omitted the part where the knight gave to Sleeping
Beauty the magic kiss which brought about the rebirth. In
many of the old legends, the text was often too crude for
19th century taste. The complete poem is printed in Ophiils*
Brahms Texte.

Since Brahms' arrangements for women's voices are not
musically outstanding, I have not attempted to give the
source of every folksong. The principal value of his other

- 102 -

settings lies in the beautiful piano accompaniments which is
lacking in the arrangements for the Hamburger Frauenchor .
Brahms may have improvised on the piano when he spent the
evening with the girls but he definitely intended the songs
for home use, for the most informal kind of amateur music
making, to be sung over sewing perhaps or in the garden.
Readers interested in the history of folksongs will find de-
tailed information in Friedlander ' s Brahms' Lieder .

IX. The final category of music contained in the Stimmenhefte

consists of thirty-two pieces by other composers, some

arrangements, but most of them original. These show the

repertoire of the Hamburger Frauenchor .

Voice
Composer Title Parts

Bach, J. S. Duo from Cantata 80, Einfeste Burg 2

Duo from Cantata, Gottder Herr ist
Sonn und Schild 2

These duos are for S.B. , arranged for S.A.

Bortniansky, D. Vespergesang 3

Brambach, J. Fruh lings glaube 3

Byrd, Wm. Non nobis, Domine 3

Caldara, A. Mottette: Peccavi 3

Eccard, J. Mar ienlied: Ubers' Gebirg Maria geht 5

Brahms arranged this for women's voices from
Eccard' s setting for mixed voices.

Callus, J. Passions Gesang: Ecce quo modo 4

Handel, G. F. Angel chorus from the Messiah

Hasler, H. L. Ave Maria (or Liebesklage)

Me in G'mut ist mir verwirret 4

Haydn, J. M. Heilige Nacht 3

Kuhlau, F. Nachtlied (Goethe) 4

Lorenz, C. Ad. Die Sprode (Goethe)

Lotti, A. Vere Languores 3

Mendelssohn, F. ^e6e deine Augen (Lift thine Eyes)

from Elijah 3

- 103 -

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Title page of one of Marie Volckers' books.

Mendelssohn, F. Recitative and chorus from St. Paul

Mozart. W. A. Ave Verum arr. by L. E. (unknown) 4
Bei der still en Mondes He lien 3

Mozart, W. A. Der Einsamkeit (Terzett)

Duet from opera Titus Ade 2

Palestrina Princeps Gloriosisime 4

Gaude Barbara Beat a 4

Schumann, R. VIenn ich ein Voglein ware (from

Genoveva) 3

Tambour in Op. 69 4

Chorus of the Hour is from

Paradise and The Peri 4

Final chorus and solo from

Paradise and The Peri 4

Section from Faust 4

Sicilian Folksong 0 sanctissima 3

Schalling, M. Chorale: Herzlich lieh hab ich 4

Taubert, K. G. W. Ihr Kinder , erwacht!

Theriot, F. Am Traunsee bass & chorus

Witting, C. Fruhlingsruhe 3

Zelter, K. F. Konig von Thule 3 & bass

The compositions by Lorenz, Taubert, and Theriot were probably
not used by Brahms but belong to the repertoire of the Cuxhaven
chorus. They appear only in the Stimmenhefte written by the
Meier sisters in 1865.

On the title page of one of Marie Volcker's books are
listed so many of the songs in the repertoire of the Hamburger
Frauenchor that it seems justifiable to reproduce it. Here
is the Benedictus and the Brautgesang; eight of the Romances
of Op. 44; two motets of Op. 37; three numbers of the songs
with harp and horns. Op. 17; four canons; Es geht ein Wehen;
Dein Herzlein mild; Ich schwing mein Horn; Eccard's Marien-
lied; thirty- five folksongs, including the famous Ich fahr
dahin, Innspruch , and Verstohlen geht der Mond auf. Her
fine, neat handwriting is still legible and is a sample of
the work involved in the making of the Stimmenhefte .

' 104 -

Appendix B
The Other Compositions for Women's Voices

Op. 27 Psalm 13 for S.S.A, with organ (see pp. 28, 45)

Op. 37 No. 3 Regina coeli for S.S.A. A.

An antiphon of the Virgin Mary, sung in the Easter
Festival at the end of the ecclesiastical horary
prayer.

Rejoice, Queen of the Heavens, divinely blessed of
women. From the dead thy Son is risen, as was
promised. 0 pray for our Salvation.
Hallelujah!

Op. 113 Canons

Nos. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 13 (see p. 84)

Ellen's Zweiter Gesang for S. solo, S.S.A. with four horns
and two bassoons. (see p. 85)

105 -

Appendix C

List of Poets
(see Ophiils' Brahms' Texte)

Adalbert von Chainisso 1781-1838

Die Muhle Op. 44 No. 5 (vol. I of Gesammelte Werke)

Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff 1788-1857

Der Gartner Op. 17 No. 3 (from the novel Aus dem Lehen
eines Taugenichts and from Gedichte)

Der Bratttigam Op. 44 No. 2 (from the tragedy Der letztte
Held von Marienburg IV, 2 and from Gedichte)

Ein Gems auf dem Stein Op. 113 No. 8 (from the novel Das
Schloss Durande and from Gedichte)

Wenn die Klange Op. 113 No. 7 (from Gedichte , verse 3 of
Anklange)

Hoffman von Fallersleben 1798-1874

So lange Schonheit Op. 113 No. 6 (translated from the
Greek in Gedichte Bd. I 249)

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1749-1832

Gottlicher Morpheus Op. 113 No. 1 {Epigramme, No. 85)

Grausam erweiset Op. 113 No. 2 {Vier Jahreszeiten;
Sommer No. 19)

Anastasius Griin 1806-1876

Sagen Op. 44 No. 4 (translated from Slavic in Volkslieder
aus Krain)

Paul Heyse 1830-1914

Nun Stehen die Rosen Op. 44 No. 7

Die Bergs sind Sp>itz Op. 44 No. 8

Am Wildbach Op. 44 No. 9

Und gehst du uber den Kirchhof Op. 44 No. 10

- 106 -

Dein Herzlein mild

Es geht ein Wehen Op. 62 No. 6

(all from Der Jungbrunnen)

Wilhelm Mailer 1794-1827

Vineta Op. 42 No. 2 {Gedichte)

Die Braut Op. 44 No. 11 (see p. 146) {Gedichte)

Friedrich Riickert 1788-1866
Ich weiss nicht Op. 113 No. 11

(No. 43 Abth I der Ital. Gedichte Bd. V)

Einformig ist der Liebe Gram Op. 113 No. 13

{Hafisens Lieder , Ostliche Rosen. Bd. V Abth I)

Wenn Kummer Op. 113 No. 12 and

An's Auge des Liebsten Op. 113 No. 9 (both translated from
the Arabian in Gesammelten Werken EM. II)

Friedrich Ruperti 1805-1867

Es font ein voller Har fenklang Op. 17 No. 1
{Dunkles Laub , Jugend-Gedichte)

Johann Ludwig Uhland 1787-1862

Die Nonne Op. 44 No. 6 (Gedichte)
Marznacht Op. 44 No. 12 (Gedichte)
Fruhlingsruhe (Gedichte)

Braut gesang (Gedichte)

Johann Heinrich Voss 1751-1826

Minne lied, Der Holdseligen Sonder Wank Op. 44 No. 1
(Oden imd Lieder No. X)

107 -

Appendix D

Edition with English words by Henry S. Drinker,

Drinker Choral Library, Westminster Choir College,

Princeton, New Jersey

1. Seven Folksongs for S.S.A. and S.S.A.A. from the Hamburg
Stimmenhefte. U. of P. Choral Series No. 74.

a. Altes Lied. So will ich frisch und frohlich seyn.

In happy hope my heart to-day with cheer and joy is
ringing.

b. Der Todte Gast . Es pochet ein Knabe sachte.

A lover is gently tapping on his sweetheart's
windowpane.

c. Ich hah' die Nacht getraumet .
At night when I was dreaming.

d. Altes Liebeslied . Me in Herzlein thut mir gar zu weh!
My soul is filled with fear and woe!

e. Es waren zwei Konigskinder .

The Princess was watching the water.

f. Spannung . Guten Abend, guten Abend, mein tausiger
Schatz .

God bless you this evening, beloved one mine.

g. Drei Voglein. Mit Lust that ich ausreiten.
While I was gaily riding.

2. Six Marienlieder for S.S.A.A. U. of P. Choral Series
No. 75.

a. Der englische Gruss . The Angel's Greeting.
All hail to thee, Mary, thou blest among women.

b. Maria's Kirchgang. When Mary went to Church.
When Mary once to church would go.

c. Der Jager . The Hunter.
A hunter went a' hunting.

- 108 -

d. Ruf zu Maria. Prayer to Mary.

0 Mother of God, we cry to Thee.

e. Magdelena .

Early on that Easter morn.

f. Maria's Lob. Praise to Mary.
0, Mary, joy of Heaven bright.

3. Eccard's Marienlieder . U. of P. Choral Series No. 75a.

Uber's Gebirge Maria Geht .
Over the mountain Mary went.

4. Four Romances from Op. 44 for S.S.A.A. U. of P. Choral
Series 72.

a. No. 1 Minnelied . Love Song.

To my darling one, strong and gay.

b. No. 3 Barcarolle.

0, fisher come thee hither, Fidelin.

c. No. 4 Fragen. Questions.

0, why have I long curly hair?

d. No. 5 Die Mullerin. Maid of the Mill.
The sails of the wind mill are sweeping.

5. Three Romances from Op. 44 for S.S.A.A. U. of P. Choral
Series 73.

a. No. 2 Der Bravtigam. The Bridegroom.
From every mountain sounding.

b. No. 4 Nun stehen die Rosen.

The red, red roses are blooming.

c. No. 9 Am Wildbach.

The willows by the water are waving night and day.

6. Canon from Op. 44 for S.S.A.A. U. of P. Choral Series
No. 66.

No. 12 Marznacht . Night in March.
Hark! The March wind is roaring!

- 109 -

7. Vineta for S.S.A.A. U. of P. Choral Series No. 21

Aiis des Meeres tie fern, tie fern grande .
Up from out the lowest depths of ocean.

8. Es geht ein Wehen. U. of P. Choral Series No. 22.

A sigh goes floating through the wood.

9. Todtenklage or In Stiller Nacht . U. of P. Choral
Series No. 23.

Lament or In Dead of Night.

10. Two Canons. U. of P. Choral Series No. 25.

Tone, lindernder Klang.
Music, however soft.

Grausam erweiset (not Op. 113)
Cruel, ah cruel.

11. Dein Herzlein mild {not Op. 62) U. of P. Choral
Series No 24.

Thou gentle Heart.

- 110

Appendix E
List of Brahms' manuscripts from the Volckers Stimmenhefte

1. Der Herr erbarm sich wiser.

"May the Lord have mercy on us!"

This is the refrain sung by the chorus to the Lied
der Geissel bruder , the first line of which is Es
Ging sich unsre Fraue , "Our Lady was walking along."

2. Die Verzauberte Nachtigall (see p. 70)

3. Es stunden drei Rosen (see p. 101)

4. Es waren zwei Konigskinder (see Drinker, U. of P. Choral
Series 74)

5. Ich hab' die Nacht getraumet (see Drinker, U. of P.
Choral Series 74)

6. Ich hort ein Sichlein rauschen.

7. Mein lieb blau Blumelein; es muss geschieden sein.

"My lovely little blue flower, we must be parted." is
the refrain sung by the chorus to a song which begins
Demm Hinmel will ich klagen.

8. Mein Schatz ist nicht da (see p. 71)

9. Schwesterlein.

10. Tone, lindernder Klang (see p. 73)

11. Und was sein Versprechen (Der Graf stand oben)

"And his word will be broken" is the refrain to a
song which begins "The Count stands up in his castle,"
called Pfaffenschlich.

12. Wenn ich ein V ogle in ware (see p. 71)

Brahms probably wrote the songs down in the Volckers'
St immenhefte at the rehearsal or when he was spending the
evening at their house, expecting the other girls to copy
the lines off another time.

- Ill -

Appendix F
Names of some of the women in Grimm's chorus in Gottingen

Phippine Grimm, nee Ritmiiller

Agathe von Siebold, m. Carl Schiitte

Josephine von Siebold, m. Gabriel Wesley Dingle, Charleston, S.C.

Helene, Emilie, and Pauline Wohler

Fanny Wohler, m. Karl Bargheer, Detmold

Bertha Wagner, also m. Karl Bargheer

Sophie Wagner

Hedwig Sauppe

Marianna Hasse

Mathilda Grupen, m. Philip Spitta, the Bach biographer

Emma Henrici

Elisabet Besser

Helene Zachariae

Therese Wedemeyer

from Michelmann, Agathe von Siebold

Letters or diaries of these women might reveal some in-
teresting details about the choral singing of women.

Karl Bargheer conducted the Schlosschor in Detmold.

He was a composer of merit and wrote several pieces for
women's chorus. The fact that he married two of the young
women who had sung in Grimm's chorus at Gottingen explains
his interest in music for women's voices. Most of the choral
literature for women has had its origin in this way --by the
immediate incentive of some particular group needing music.

- 112 -

Appendix G

Dates of Composition, First Publication, and Some of

the Performances in Brahms' Lifetime of his

Music for Women's Chorus.

Op. 12 Ave Maria

a. Composed Gottingen, September 1858.

b. First Publication: J. Rieter-Biedermann, 1861
Gesamt-Ausgabe Bd. XIX.

c. Performances:

1. Hamburger Frauenchor . St. Peter's Church,
June 8, 1859.

2. Hamburger Frauenchor . St. Peter's Church,
September 26, 1859.

It is a question whether the singing in St. Peter's Church on
September 19 should be called a performance or a rehearsal
for the performance on September 26. There v/ere listeners
present upon the 19th, but another rehearsal was held by the
Hamburger Frauenchor on September 22 and still another on
Sunday, the 25th. Both of these were clearly in preparation
for the final concert on the 26th when the inkstand was
presented to Brahms and the season closed. In any case, the
first performance of the Ave Maria preceded the September
dates and took place on June 8.

3. Hamburger Frauenchor . Wormer's Hall
December 2, 1859.

4. Grimm's Frauenchor at Gottingen, January 15, 1860.

5. Grimm's Frauenchor at Hanover, January 16, 1860.

6. Bernard Scholz in Hanover.

7. Brahms' Singakademie , Vienna, April 17, 1864 in the
hall of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde .

8. Women's Chorus at Krefeld, 1868.

- 113 -

Op. 17 Four Songs with Harp and Horns

a. Composed Hamburg, 1860.

b. First Published by N. Simrock, 1862. Gesamt-
Ausgabe Bd . XIX.

c. Performances:

1. Hamburger Frauenchor at Gradener's Academy,
May 2, 1860. (without No. 4, Fingal)

2. Hamburger Frauenchor in Wormer's Hall,
January 15, 1861.

3. Hamburger Frauenchor at Altona, January 16, 1861.

4. Wiener Singakademie , April 10, 1863.

5. Ladies Choir in Basel, November 17, 1865 conducted
by Direktor Reiter, Frau Reiter playing the harp.

Op. 22 Marienlieder

a. Composed Hamburg, June and July 1859
(but not No. 3)

b. First Published by J. Rieter-Biedermann, 1862,
for mixed voices. Gesamt-Ausgabe Bd. XXI.

c. Performances by women's voices:

1. Hamburger Frauenchor . St. Peter's Church,
September 26, 1859. Nos. 1, 2, 4, 5.

Op. 27 Psalm 13

a. Composed Hamburg, August 21, 1859.

b. First Published by C. A. Spina, 1864. Gesamt-
Ausgabe Bd . XX.

c. Performances by:

1. Hamburger Frauenchor , St. Peter's Church,
September 26, 1859.

2. Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde , Vienna, April 2, 1876.

3. Women's Chorus in Miinster, November 9, 1878.

4. At the Singakademie Concert, Vienna, March 11, 1885.

Op. 37 Three Sacred Choruses

a. Composed Nos. 1 and 2. Hamburg, May 1859.
No. 3, Vienna, December, 1863.

- 114 -

b. First Published by J. Rieter-Biedermann, 1866.
Gesamt'Ausgabe Bd. XXI.

c. Performances by:

1. Hamburger Frauenchor , Nos. 1 and 2, St. Peter's
Church, June 8, 1859.

2. Hamburger Frauenchor , Nos. 1 and 2,
September 26, 1859.

3. At Julie von Asten's house. No. 3, 1863.

Op. 42 Vineta

a. Composed Hamburg, April, 1860.

b. First Published by Fr. Cranz , 1868, for mixed
chorus. Gesamt'Ausgabe Bd. XXI..

c. Performances by:

1. Singakademie (probably by the women only),
April 17, 1864.

Op. 44 Twelve Songs and Romances

a. Composed Hamburg between 1859-1863.

b. First Published by J. Rieter-Biedermann, 1866.
Gesamt'Ausgabe Bd . XXI.

c. Performances by:

1. Hamburger Frauenchor , Nos. 1 and 2, Wormer's Hall,
January 15, 1861.

2. Ladies Choir in Basel, Nos. 1, 2, 4, 10,
March 4, 1869.

3. Singakademie, Vienna, Nos. 7, 8, 9, 10.
March 11, 1885.

4. Mandyczewski Chorus, Nos. 3, 11, Vienna,
February 2, 1895.

When offering Simrock the Romances for publication,
Brahms wrote:

"You know about the frequent performances of
these songs and you have been asking for them". . ,

Did the von Asten group sing six numbers of Op. 44 at
their private concert in April, 1863?

- 115 -

Op. 113 Thirteen Canons

a. Composed Nos. 1, 2, 8, 10, 11, 12
Hamburg 1859-1863.

Date on No. 12: May 7, 1863.

Nos. 6, 7, probably Dusseldorf, 1857-1858.

Nos. 3, 4, 5, 9, 13, Vienna after 1863.

b. First Published C. F. Peters, 1891. Gesamt-
Ausgabe Bd. XXI.

c. Performances by:

1. Hamburger Frauenchor in private.

2. Mandyczewski's von Hornbostel Women's Chorus at
Purkersdorf, 1863.

Ellen's Zweiter Gesang

a. Composed probably Vienna 1873.

b. First Publication: Deutsche Brahms
Gesellschaft, Berlin 1906. Gesamt-Ausgabe
Bd. XIX.

c. First Performance: Gesellschaft Konzert,
Vienna, March 23, 1873.

While von Ehrmann's catalogue of the dates of the com-
position, first publication, and first performance is as
complete as it is possible to make it, the list of perform-
ances of women's choral music during Brahms' s lifetime is far
from satisfactory.

How prevalent women's choruses were and how popular
Brahms was with other conductors are both obscure subjects.
Grimm's letter to Brahms in which he wrote: "With the three
harp and horn songs, I cannot come to any understanding, nor

some of the Jungbrunnen Lieder ^^ " may have reflected a

widespread scepticism as to the value of Brahms' music even
many years after 1860. If so good a musician and so warm a
friend of Brahms* did not understand Op. 17 and Op. 44, Others
may not have wanted to perform them either. Let us hope that
more material on this phase of amateur music will come to
light.

- 116 -

In our own times, when women's choruses have developed*
so rapidly through the institutional support of public
schools, colleges, and clubs, there is no doubt that Brahms'
music ha& a large circulation. For women's choruses in the
United States, the catalogue "Selected List of Choruses for
Women's Voices" by Arthur W. Locke, Smith College, North-
ampton, Massachusetts, is invaluable. In it, every available
composition by Brahms, with the name of the publisher who
handles it, is entered.

- 117 -

Appendix H
References

1. Litzmann Letters July 3, 1859

2. Memoirs of Friedchen Wagner

3. Briefwechsel IV, p. 62

4. Litzmann Letters, December 20, 1858

5. Briefwechsel IV, pp. 76, 78, 83

6. Hubbe, p. 20

7. Kalbeck, I, 2 p. 361

8. Briefwechsel, Simrock 1860 September IX p. 23

9. Litzmann Letters, July 16, 1859

10. Briefwechsel - Joachim I p. 248

11. F. May, I p. 240 (aus von Meysenbug, /. Brahms'
Jugendtagen)

12. Hubbe, p. 22; also F. May, I p. 240

13. Kalbeck, I, 2 p. 368

14. Litzmann Letters: also Niemann, p. 70

15. Niemann, p. 71

16. Litzmann, Letters

17. Litzmann, Letters

18. Kalbeck, I, 2 p. 396

19. Letter from Kurt Sauermann

20. Hiibbe, p. 23; also F. May, I p. 241

21. Briefwechsel, TV, p. 90

22. Briefwechsel, Joachim I, p. 258

23. Litzmann, Letters

24. Briefwechsel, IV, p. 92 and 103

25. Litzmann Letters, March 3rd, 1860

26. Litzmann Letters, April 2, 1860

27. Briefwechsel, Joachim I, p. 270

28. Litzmann Letters

29. German edition of the Avertimento: F. May, App. to
Vol I; also Kalbeck, I, 2 p. 407

- 118 -

30. Hiibbe, p. 67

31. Briefwechsel, IV, p. 101

32. Litzmann, Clara Schumann II, p. 181

33. Hiibbe, p. 32

34. Elise Brahms' Letters, December 20, 1862. See Geiringer.

35. Briefwechsel , Joachim I, p. 286

36. Briefwechsel, IV, p. 101

37. Briefwechsel, Joachim I, pp. 288, 309

38. Litzmann, Clara Schumann, II p. 189

39. Litzmann, Clara Schumann, Paris, April 27, 1862. II p. 207

40. Kalbeck, I, 2 p. 442

41. Kalbeck, I, 2 p. 442

42. F. May, II, p. 31; also Friedlander, p. 210

43. Geiringer, Correspondence of Brahms and Mandyczewski ,
p. 345

44. Kalbeck, IV, 1, p. 221

45. Kalbeck, IV, 1, p. 220

46. Kalbeck, IV, 1, p. 220

47. For songs attributed to women, see Drinker, Music and
Women Chap. I, II, III

48. Friedlander, p. 249 (refers to an article in the
Kolnische Zeitung, December 5, 1847, entitled Volksfeste
und alter tiimliche Volksbrauche Zwischen Wupper un Sieg

and another article in Das fest 1 iche Jahr by Otto
Freiherr von Reinsberg-Diiringsfeld p. 351, Leipsig,
2nd edition)

49. Friedlander, p. 203, note 1

- 119

INDEX

Page

Ahsen, Jenny von 19

Albers, Lucy 29,31,36

Albrecht, Hans 1, 4, 5

Altona 68

Alster, River 60

Armbrust, G 37, 41

Asten, Anna, Julie and Marie von

80,81,115

Asten, Frau S. von 6, 80

Ave-Lallement, Charlotte 56

Ave-Lallement, Theodor

10, 23, 26, 29, 31, 32, 35, 38, 39, 41, 59

Avertimento 49, 53-55, 57

Bach, J. S 10, 32, 35, 41, 67, 74, 103

Bachmann, Auguste 57

Badge, See Medal

Bargheer, K 112

Beethoven 31, 32

Begeman, Ida 57

Berlin Hochschule 80

Bettelheim, Karoline 80

Blankanese 58, 72

Bohme's Music Store 41

Bortniansky, D 103

"Brahm-a-ho" 26, 35

Brahmfeld's Store 36

"Brahms' Academy" 38

Brahms, Elise 38

Brahms' father and mother 38

Brahms, Johannes
Letters to

Grimm 15,51,57,58,61

Joachim 23, 49, 52, 60, 61, 62

Meier 76

Meysenbug 23

Porubsky 42, 46

Schumann 9, 30, 43, 44, 45, 51-53

Simrock 21, 83

Volckers 69

Wagner 42, 47

Brahms' Manuscripts

2, 3, 71, 73, 74, HI
Brahms' Works with opus numbers

op. 1 Piano Sonata 99

op. 7 No. 4 Die Schimlble 39,41

op. 1 1 Serenade 18, 40

op. 12 Ave Maria 16, 17, 19, 20, 30,

34, 35, 37, 38, 41, 44, 45, 47, 48, 76,
87, 90, 113

op. 13 Burial Song 15, 47, 48

op. 14 No. 8 Mein Schatz . .13, 70, 71, 95

op. 16 Serenade 49,58

op. 17 Four Songs with Horns and
Harp ...2, 50, 51, 57, 58, 67, 68, 76,
86, 87, 91, 114

Pag«

op. 19 No. 2 Schciden und Mtidtn

No. 3 In der Feme 13, IS

op. 20 Three Duets 13,53

op. 22 Six MaricnUeder . .6, 21, 22, 26,

28, 32, 38, 40, 41, 45, 58, 60, 61. 62.

94, 108, 114

op. 27 Psalm 13 ... .6, 30-38, 41, 45, 47,

105, 114
op. 31 No. 3 Der Gang zum

Liebchen 94

op. 37 Three Sacred Choruses

19, 20, 38, 41, 44, 76, 80, 91, 114
op. 41, No. 1 Ich Schwing Mein

Horn 95

op. 42 No. 2 Vineta ....52, 85, 93, 107,

110, 115
op. 43 No. 1 Von ewiger Liebe . . 15
op. 44 Twelve Songs and Romances

57, 58, 63, 64, 65. 67, ?0, 83, 84,
92, 106, 109, 115, 116

op. 47, No. 3 Sonntag 70, 94

op. 48 No. 1 Der Gang zum

Liebchen 94

No. 5 Trost in Tranen ... 46

No. 6 Vergangen 94

op. 49 No. 4 Guten Abend 81

op. 62 No. 6 Es geht ein Wehen

65, 66, 94, 110

op. 62 No. 7 Vergangen 94

op. 74 No. 1 Warum ist das Licht 14
op. 113 Thirteen Canons ..26,72,73,82,
83, 93, 105, 116
Brahms' Works without opus numbers

Benedictus 3, 14, 96, 104

Brautgesang (or Lied) ......3,14,15,

70, 96, 104

Canons 85, 86, 95, 110

Dein Herzlein Mild 95, 107. 110

Ellen's Zweiter Gesang ..85, 86, 105, 116

Folksongs . .11, 12, 49, 58, 70, 72, 73, 7B.

79, 81, 96-102, 104, 108

In Stille Nacht (Todtenklage) 93, 110

28 German Folksongs 11, 12

49 German Folksongs 11

Brambach, J 103

Brandt, Augusta ...36, 38, 39, 40, 46, 56, 69

Brunner's Music Store 40

Biilow, Hans von 32

Burchard, Emilie 57

Byrd, Wm 103

Cacilia Verein 13

Caldara, A 103

Chamisso, A. von 63,106

Cornet, Fanziska 68

Cuxhaven 76,79

Page

Degenhardt 29

Dessoff, Margarete 68, 82

Detmold 15, 16, 23, 42

Drinker, Henry S 3, 4, 108, 109

Dusseldorf 59, 60

Eccard, J 22, 103, 109

Ehrmann, A. von 52, 116

Eichendorff, J. von ..50, 63, 65, 67, 72, 84,

106

Eppendorf 59

Faber, Artur and Bertha 81

"Faber-Chor" 81

Fallersleben, H. von 84, 106

FIX ODER NIX 21

Franz, Anna 80

Frederica, Princess 16

Friedlander, M 81

Gabain, Henny 51, 57

Gallus, J 103

Garbe, Laura 30, 34, 35, 44, 54, 56,

59, 70, 71

Geer, Harold 62

Geiringer, Karl and Irene 1, 6, 7, 8

Geisler, Marie 80

"Gewisse Graue" 39, 46

Girls' Choir, see Hamburger Frauenchor

Gliihr, Fraulein 25, 26, 28

Gobbin, Fraulein 18

Goethe, W. von 46, 72, 106

Gottingen 13-17, 112

Gradener's Academy 18, 47, 57

Gradener, Emma 57

Gradener, Karl ...*. 18-20, 23, 26-31, 33, 35,

37-41, 80

Gradener, Mme 25, 26

Grimm, J. O. ..U, 14, 15, 16, 47, 48, 57, 60,

61, 112, 116

Grimm, Philippine 13,15,112

Grund, F. W 24,31,72

Griin, A 106

Hailier, Emil 53,69

Hallier, Julie and Marie 56, 59

Hamburg Akadeuiie 18

Hamburg ..4, 9, 17, 18, 31, 43, 57, 60, 66, 72
Hamburger Frauetichor

Origin 1, 9-12, 74

Large Chorus ....20-41, 43, 46-52, 56-59,

69,75

Small group ....11, 12, 19, 43, 49, 51, 58,

63, 72, 75

Quartette 44, 59, 70, 71

Concerts by ...20, 40, 41, 47, 59, 66-69.

113-116

Hamm 69

Handel, G. Fr 10, 103

Hasler, H. L 103

Hasse, J. A 32

Page

Hauer, Ottilie 80

Haydn, M 103

Heins' Piano Store 10

Heyse, P 64, 65, 106

Hoffmann, E. T. A 55

Honnef on the Rhine 44

Hornbostel, Helene Magnus von 83,116

Hiibbe, Landvogt J 56

Hiibbe, W 5,6,59

Jahrbuch der Gesellschaft Hamburger

Kunstfreunde 4, 49, 69

Joachim, J 18, 24, 27, 40, 49, 51, 52, 60.

61, 62, 67, 68. 70

Jowien's Music Store 40, 41

Junghaus, Prof 56

Kalbeck, M 5.20

Kater Murr 55

Konigslow, Clara von 5

Konigslow, O. von 41, 56

"Kreisler, J., Jr." 55

Kuhlau, F i03

Lentz, Anna 1, 3, 4.. 5, 77, 78, 79

Lentz, Emilie 56

"Little Singing Republic" 42,47

Lorenz, C. Ad 103

Lotti, A 103

Mandyczewski, Eusebius 81, 82

May, Florence 5

Medal 56, 75, 79

Meier, Camilla ... .1, 3, 27, 37-41, 57, 76, 77

Meier, Franziska 1, 3, 4, 18, 22,

Diary 24-41, 49, 57, 76, 77, 79

Meier, Frau Senatorin 24, 36

Mendelssohn, F 103

Mertens, Antoine 57

Meysenbug, Fraulein von 23

Michelmann, E 6

Morgenstern Chorale : . . 19

"Mourning Society" 39

Mozart. "W. A 10, 104

Muller, Wm 64,92

Niemeyer's Music Store 40

Nordheim, Mme 23, 29, 41

Ossian 50, 52, 57, 67

Otten, G. D 5

Palestrina 104

Peterson, Mme 23, 30, 3S, 41

Porubsky, Bertha ....36, 40, 42, 46, 56, 81

Philharmonic Concerts 31, 72, 88

Purkersdorf 82

Reuter, Marie 44, 56, 60, 7\^

Rieter-Biedermann 6.2

Rhine Festival 59

Rosing, Elizabeth 69

Ruckert, Fr 73,84

Ruperti, Fr 67

St. Michael's Church I9,22i

Page

St. Peter's Church 20, 28, 36, 40, 75

Sauermann, Kurt 1, 5, 88

Schaller, N 67

Schalling, M 104

Schmaltz, Susanne ....24-26, 31-39, 41, 49,

56-58, 63

Schnabel, Teresa Behr 62

Schubert, Fr 9, 25, 26, 27, 41, 83

Schuberth's Music Store 40

Schumann, Clara ....9, 10, 12-14, 22, 43-45,
51-53, 56-60, 62, 66-70, 80

Schumann, Robert 27, 29, 31, 39, 47,

67, 70, 78

Seebohm, Marie 26, 56

Shakespeare, Wm 50, 52, 67

Siebold, Agathe von 6, 13, 16, 112

Simrock, Fr 21

Spengel, Dr 24

Sthamer, Tilla 25, 26, 27, 29, 38, 39

Stimmenhefte ... .1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 21, 22, 52, 58,
63, 71, 77-79, 84, 90-104, 111

Stockhausen, J 32, 41, 82

Taubert, K, G. W 104

Theriot, F 104

"Three Crows" 24, 27, 40

Trier, Fraulein 29, 37

Page

Uhland, L 14, 15, 64

Vest, Albine von 82

Viardot-Garcia, Pauline 81

Vienna Singakademie 85

Vienna 71, 74, 80, 81, 85

Vienna Sungvercin 80

Volckers, Betty and Marie ..1, 3, 5, 20, 36,
39, 44, 56, 59, 69, 70, 71. 74, 84. 104

Volckers, Jenny and Tony , . . 36

Voss, J. H 63

Wagner, Bertha 13,112

Wagner, Friedchen 1, 2, 5, 9-12, 18,

19, 25, 26, 29. 34, 35, 42, 47, 52, 56, 63.
69, 74. 75, 88

Wagner, Mme 34

Wagner, Olga 10, 12, 25, 26. 57

Wagner, Thusnelda 10,12,26,34,39,

56, 75

Weinkauf, Tony 37

Wiechern, Fraulein 25

Wildbad 9

Witting, C 104

Wijllner, Franz 62

Zacharias, Marie 69

Zelter, K. F 104

Zuccalmaglio, A. W. vori 100

Date Due

MAR :• '

MAY 19

1998

l-ibrary Bureau Cat. No. 1137

927.81 B73()rs

3 5002 00337 8770

DnnkiT, Sophie Hulchinion
Br.ihms and his women's choruses.

ML 410 . Ba D7

Drinker^ Sophie Hut.chlnson,

iaaa-i96a.

Brahms and his vomen ' s
choruses

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