Chapter XI (1)

1861-1862

Concert season in Hamburg--Frau Denninghoff-Giesemann--Brahms at
Hamm--Herr Völckers and his daughters--Dietrich's visit to
Brahms--Music at the Halliers' and Wagners'--First public
performance of the G minor Quartet--Brahms at Oldenburg--Second
Serenade performed in New York--The first and second Pianoforte
Quartets--'Magelone Romances'--First public performances of the
Handel Variations and Fugue in Hamburg and Leipzig by Frau
Schumann--Brahms' departure for Vienna.

Frau Schumann, Joachim, and Stockhausen visited Hamburg repeatedly during the year 1861, and all made much of Johannes. Both Joachim and Brahms assisted at Frau Schumann's concert of January 15. Brahms took part in the performance of Schumann's beautiful Andante and Variations for two pianofortes, and conducted the Ladies' Choir, to the great delight of the members, in their singing of several of his part-songs. The first part of the programme included 'Es tönt ein voller Harfenklang,' 'Komm herbei Tod,' and 'Der Gärtner,' from the set with horns and harp accompaniment, Op. 17; the second part the 'Minnelied' and 'Der Bräutigam' (from Op. 44) and 'Song from Fingal' (from Op. 17)--all performed from manuscript. On the 22nd of the month Frau Schumann and Brahms appeared together at a concert in the Logensaal Valentinskamp, with Bach's C major Concerto and Mozart's Sonata, both for two pianofortes.

Frau Schumann and her daughter Marie were, during this somewhat prolonged visit, the guests of the Halliers, who understood the necessities involved by the strain of the great artist's arduous life, and allowed her perfect freedom of action. Johannes visited his old friend every day, dining privately with her and her daughter at an hour that suited their convenience; and on a few free evenings there was glorious music in the Halliers' drawing-room before a few intimate acquaintances.

On March 8 Brahms played Beethoven's triple Concerto with David and Davidoff at the Philharmonic concert, and a few weeks later the Begräbnissgesang was performed under his direction at a Hafner memorial concert arranged by Grädener, and made a profound impression.

'The composer has realized the solemn spirit of mourning with
extraordinary insight. As part of a funeral ceremony, the effect of
the work would be quite overpowering,' wrote one of the critics.

Joachim and Stockhausen came in April for the Philharmonic concert of the 16th, and the brilliant season closed with Stockhausen's and Brahms' soirées on the 19th, 27th, and 30th of the month. At the first two concerts, at Hamburg and Altona respectively, the entire series of Schubert's 'Schöne Müllerin' was given; and at the last--who can imagine a more enthralling feast of sound than the performance of Beethoven's melting love-songs, 'To the Distant Beloved,' the very thought of which brings tears to the eyes, sung by Stockhausen to the accompaniment of Brahms, followed by our composer's lovely second Serenade, and this by Schumann's 'Poet's Love-Songs'? Happy Hamburgers, happy Stockhausen, happy Brahms, to have shared such delights together! Will their like ever come again? Strangely enough, they lead in the course of our story, as by natural transition, to the record of a visit paid to Brahms in the second week of July by a very early friend of his and of the reader. Lischen Giesemann had not met her old playmate since she had bidden him God-speed at the commencement of his concert-journey with Rémenyi early in 1853. During the years immediately following what proved to be his final departure from Winsen, she had occasionally visited her dear 'aunt' Brahms, but, never finding Johannes at home, had been obliged to content herself by rejoicing with his mother over the letters he constantly sent to his parents from Düsseldorf, Hanover, etc. She was now a happy newly-married wife, but the memory of the old child-life remained like the warmth of sunshine in her heart, and having ascertained that her now celebrated hero was living at home again, she determined to go with her husband to see him. As ill-luck would have it, Johannes had gone out for the day when Herr and Frau Denninghoff made their call in the Fuhlentwiethe, but his mother, overjoyed to see her young friend again after a long separation, offered such consolation as was in her power by showing her his room. How many remembrances crowded upon Lischen's mind as she entered it! The practices with Reményi, the teacher's choral society, the dances at Hoopte, the story of the beautiful Magelone and her knight Peter. Lischen found herself standing near the piano--and what did she see there? Some manuscript songs, apparently newly composed, stood on the music-desk, which bore the name of the beautiful Magelone herself in Brahms' handwriting! It almost seemed like a waking dream to the young wife, and the manuscript appeared to her as a link by which the past would be carried into the future. Nor was she mistaken. Brahms' 'Magelone Romances' have become world-famous, and wherever they are heard the delight which stirred the heart of the youthful Johannes as he and Lischen sat together in the pleasant Winsen fields eagerly devouring the old story from Aaron Löwenherz's purloined volume lives also. Lischen was not again to meet her old friend, but she never forgot either him or his music, and he, too, kept a faithful memory for the old pleasant time. Writing to her twenty years later, when at the height of his fame, he said:

'The remembrance of your parents' house is one of the dearest that
I possess; all the kindness and love that were shown me, all the
youthful pleasure and happiness that I enjoyed there, live secure
in my heart with the image of your good father and the glad,
grateful memory of you all.'

Lischen's daughter inherited her mother's voice, and was endowed with fine musical gifts; and when Agnes came to the right age, Frau Denninghoff sent her to be trained as a singer at the Royal Music School of Berlin, of which, as everyone knows, Joachim has been director since its foundation. Joachim invited Agnes to his house one evening to meet Brahms, who, coming forward to greet her, said it was as though her mother were again standing before him. He sent her a selection of his songs, and in due time she became a distinguished singer, appearing in public under a pseudonym, and the wife of a famous musician.

Lischen saw only the first four numbers of the 'Magelone' song-cycle, which had, by a strange coincidence, just been completed at the time of her visit; the fifth and sixth were not composed until May, 1862.[92] These six songs were published by Rieter-Biedermann in 1865, with the title 'Romanzen aus L. Tieck's Magelone' and a dedication to Stockhausen; and there can be no doubt that the immediate incitement to their composition is to be traced to our composer's association with this great singer in the performance of the song-cycles of Beethoven, Schubert, and Schumann. The remaining nine songs of Brahms' series were not published until 1868, and the exact date of their composition has not been ascertained.

'I am living most delightfully in the country, half an hour from
town,' wrote Brahms, pressing Dietrich to pay him a visit; 'you
would be surprised to find how pleasantly one can live here.
Perhaps I can take you in, and at any rate my room at my parents'
in Hamburg is quite at your service. In short, I hope you will be
comfortable.'

He was established for the summer at Hamm in the pleasant country house of Frau Dr. Rösing, aunt of the two girls, the Fräulein Betty and Marie Völckers, already mentioned as members of the choir. Here a large airy room with a balcony, on the first floor, had been allotted him, that had been the billiard-room of the house when it was inhabited by Herr Völckers and his family. This gentleman now lived next door with his two daughters in a charming old-fashioned habitation built, cottage-wise, with a thatched roof and but two floors, and possessing a spacious apartment on the ground-floor that was particularly well adapted for the choir practices. Both houses had pleasant gardens separated only by a green hedge, and close by, the spreading branches of fine old trees provided shelter for the many nightingales that built their nests in the quiet spot. Brahms' room was cheerful for a considerable part of the day, with the sunlight that shone through the outside greenery and the tinted panes of the open windows, and in it he could enjoy his favourite early morning hours of work with the added relish of feeling that they were but the prelude to days of quiet refreshment. He was intimate with all the branches of his hostess's family, from Herr Völckers, who had been a good public singer of his day, down to his gifted little granddaughter Minna (now Mrs. Edward Stone), one of the young composer's very favourite and most devoted pianoforte pupils; and that he passed a considerable portion of his time this summer in the society of the two girls next door--Betty and Marie Völckers--will astonish none of our readers. He went in and out their house as he liked, and frequently joined them as they sat in their garden with work or books, or chatting with their friends Fräulein Reuter and Fräulein Laura Garbe, whom they often invited. Johannes would stroll in with his cigar or cigarette, and take a seat near the group, silent or talkative according to his inclination. By-and-by he would sing a note or two of a well-known melody, begin to beat time, and the garden would be glad with the sound of four fresh young voices swelling and dying together in the charming harmonies of a favourite part-song. He often spent the evening with the young ladies and their father, gladly accepting their informal hospitality, and would play to them after supper until late into the night, sometimes performing duets with Fräulein Marie, who was his pupil on the pianoforte.

'I may say with pride that he was happy in our little house,' said Frau Professor Böie (Fräulein Marie Völckers) to the author; 'his playing was a great delight to our old father. His behaviour to old people was touchingly thoughtful and kind.'

Dietrich, who had lately accepted the post of court capellmeister to the Grand-Duke of Oldenburg, and was now quite a near neighbour, paid his promised visit to Hamburg in September, and found Johannes engaged on the A major Pianoforte Quartet. 'He played me the sketches which convinced me that the work would be surpassingly fine.'

'I occupied his very interesting room [at Hamburg], and was
astonished at his comprehensive library, which he had gradually
collected since early youth; it contained some remarkable old
works.

'After breakfast in the morning I used to sit cosily with his dear
old mother, who united true heart-culture with her plainness and
simplicity; her Johannes was the inexhaustible subject of our
lively conversations. The father generally left home early to
follow his calling of bassist and music-teacher. I used to remain a
little while with the dear people, and spent the rest of the day
with Brahms in his charming country quarters, where we occupied
ourselves with the detailed examination of his newest works.'

Several indications suggest that Brahms' thoughts were still turned longingly in the direction of Vienna; not as a permanent place of residence--at no time in his life, probably, did he so seriously contemplate settling in Hamburg as at the present--but he wished to see the city that had been the home of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert; and the enthusiastic sympathy accorded to Frau Schumann on each of her visits to the Austrian capital confirmed him in a desire to try his luck with its music-loving public. He knew his way had been prepared for him, and a good opportunity seemed likely to occur for his appearance there. Joachim was meditating another Austrian tour, and would have rejoiced to have Johannes with him. Matters went no further, however, than they had done previously. As in a former year, paragraphs appeared in the _Signale_ announcing that Brahms and Joachim were about to visit Vienna, but in the end Brahms remained at home--partly, no doubt, from motives of policy.

It was generally understood that Wilhelm Grund, who had for many years conducted the Philharmonic concerts and the Singakademie connected with them, must soon retire. He had done good work in his day, but his day was over. Musical conditions had changed; he was too old to alter with them, and the Philharmonic performances had long ceased to satisfy modern requirements. It was hoped by Brahms' friends that the young genius of Hamburg would succeed to the post, and Johannes himself may have thought it wise to remain on the spot with such an important issue imminent. The disappointment he felt at giving up the desired journey was partially consoled by the knowledge that Frau Schumann would be much in Hamburg during the autumn months.

He began his concert-season on October 19 at Altona, and appeared at one of the Böie-Lee concerts later in the month, playing the Schumann Variations for two pianofortes with Frau Clara. On the 30th there was a music-party at the Halliers', which is charmingly described in a letter written a few days afterwards by Fräulein Julie Hallier:

'The guests were late in coming; it was half-past eight when they
had all arrived; and who comes with Frau Schumann?--Our dear friend
from Hanover, with his beaming face and delightful friendliness;
the glorious Joachim. Everyone was taken by surprise, Frau Schumann
and Brahms in the morning, we in the evening. Avé: "My boy! where
have you come from?" After the first excitement was over, Edward
showed his Italian photographs. Brahms literally devoured them; he
was very nice the whole evening, especially with Edward. He teased
me about my punch, which I altered three times, he following it
with anxious looks as the bowl disappeared through the door. Frau
Schumann and Brahms played beautifully beyond imagination; three
rondos by Schubert and two marches. The violin of course had not
come; Joachim only arrived yesterday and is already gone again. At
first Avé turned over, but he did it badly, so Brahms called
Joachim. Avé: "My dreadful cold; I cannot see properly." He now
stood behind and began to beat time. During the music the table
was laid in the small room. It was rather narrow, but comfortable.
All went well. We separated at half-past eleven.'

A few days afterwards there was a similar gathering at the Wagners', when Frau Schumann performed with Brahms his duet arrangement of the second serenade.

'The best of all was a set of variations by Brahms on a theme by
Handel,' continues the letter--'another magnificent work!
splendidly long--the stream of ideas flowing inexhaustibly! And the
work was splendidly played, too, by himself. It seemed like a
miracle; one could not take one's eyes from him. The composition is
so difficult that none but great artists could attempt it.'[93]

These words give some measure of the progress effected during the last half-century in the technique of pianoforte-playing, partly, indeed, through the demands made upon pianists by the compositions of Brahms himself. Lovers of his art who have learnt his particular technique, which demands of the player certain qualities of endurance and grip, do not find the performance of his works unduly fatiguing. The twenty-five variations, with the fugue that succeeds them, are now in the fingers of most good players, and would undoubtedly be often heard in the concert-room if it were not for the great length of the work. They show a melodious fertility and power of invention which is practically inexhaustible. Each variation or pair of variations presents some fresh idea, some striking change of fancy, figuration, rhythm, mood, to hold the listener's attention, whilst the entire long work is essentially based upon the simple harmonic progression of Handel's theme (to be found in the second collection of Harpsichord Pieces). The changes of key in Brahms' variations are restricted to the tonic minor (Nos. 5, 6, 13) and the relative minor (No. 21). The finale, the great free fugue which invariably 'brings down' a house, is, with its grand and brilliant climax, to which extraordinary effect is imparted by an original employment of the dominant pedal point, a unique example of its kind.

If there ever were a young composer who had reason to be made happy from the outset of his career by the appreciation of the most eminent of his colleagues--appreciation sweeter than any other to the soul of the true artist--Brahms was he. At each of Frau Schumann's three appearances in Hamburg during this autumn, she performed a great work of his composition, two being introduced for the first time to the public. At her first concert, on November 16, she played the G minor Pianoforte Quartet, only now finally revised and completed, with Böie, Breyther, and Lee, and on the same evening several of the composer's part-songs were sung under his direction by the Ladies' Choir; on December 3 she appeared as the champion of the unpopular Concerto, choosing it for her chief solo at the Philharmonic concert of that date; and on the 7th of the same month she brought forward the Handel Variations and Fugue at her second concert. These she repeated a week later at the Gewandhaus soirée of the 14th in Leipzig.

Not even the magnetic personality of Frau Schumann availed to awaken any show of enthusiasm for the concerto. The new works were more favourably received both in Hamburg and Leipzig, and the _Signale_ itself bestowed a mild word or two upon some of the variations. It is easy, however, to read between the lines of the press notices that such encouragement as was awarded to the composer was mainly due to the personality of the performer. The B flat Sextet was given with fair success at the Gewandhaus Quartet concert of January 4 by David Röntgen, Hermann, Hunger, Davidoff, and Krummholtz.

Brahms passed the first two months of the new year in Joachim's society, making his headquarters at Hanover, and undertaking frequent short journeys with his friend. The two artists appeared together on January 20 at one of the Münster subscription concerts, of which Grimm, who had been called to Münster in 1860, was now the conductor; and on February 14 they gave a concert in Celle, a locality which the reader will remember as the scene of Johannes' transposition feat during the Reményi _tournée_ of 1853. The A major Pianoforte Quartet was now finished, and was, with its companion in G minor, much appreciated in the private circles of Hanover, where both works were frequently played by Brahms with Joachim and his colleagues.

Brahms, answering an invitation from Dietrich received on the eve of his departure, says:

'HANOVER, 1862.

'DEAR FRIEND,

'I have been here for some time, and have your letter forwarded
from Hamburg. I go back to-morrow, and write a few words in haste.

'I should much like to visit you and to make the acquaintance of
those whom I know pleasantly by name, otherwise I would say no. I
will come and see how long I can afford to be idle.

'What shall I play? Beethoven or Mozart? C minor, A major, or G
major? Advise!

'And for the second?--Schumann, Bach, or may I venture upon some
new variations of my own?

'You, of course, will conduct my serenade. We have been playing my
quartets a great deal here; I shall bring them with me and shall be
glad if you and others approve of them.

'_À propos!_ I must have an honorarium of 15 Louis-d'ors [about
£14], with the stipulation that if I should play at Court I receive
extra remuneration. I much need the money; pro sec. my time is
valuable to me, and I do not willingly take concert engagements;
if, however, this must be, then the other must also.'[94]

Dietrich had already had the pleasure of welcoming Frau Schumann and Joachim to Oldenburg during this his first season of activity there, and had worked well to prepare the way for Brahms, so that the evening of March 14, the date fixed for the composer's personal introduction to the concert-going public, was awaited with keen interest. Arriving at Dietrich's house a few days previously, Brahms found himself surrounded by new friends, and had won the favour of the musical élite of the town before his public appearance, by playing several of his works in private circles. The members of the orchestra, who assembled _en masse_ on the evening of the 13th, were excited to enthusiasm by his performance of the new Handel Variations and Fugue, and every condition that could insure a sympathetic reception for the hero of the 14th was fulfilled.

The concert opened with the D major Serenade (Op. 11), conducted by Dietrich, who had the delight of finding that he had secured an adequate reception for his friend's orchestral work.

'The whole made the most satisfactory impression, and carried the
hearers away more and more, especially from the fourth movement
onwards, and at the close the applause reached a pitch of
enthusiasm not hitherto experienced here. The members of the
orchestra, who had been studying the serenade for some time, showed
their concurrence in the general approval by a lively flourish'
(_Oldenburger Zeitung_).

No less satisfactory was the verdict of the audience on the performances of Beethoven's G major Concerto and Bach's Chromatic Fantasia, with which our composer came forward as pianist. His success was repeated at the chamber music concert of the 19th, when the sextet was performed by Court Concertmeister Engel and his colleagues. Both in public and private Brahms left endearing memories behind him.

'He was the most agreeable guest,' says Dietrich, 'always pleased,
always good-humoured and satisfied, like a child with the children.

'He took the greatest pleasure in our happiness. He thought our
modest lot enviable, and had his position then allowed him to
establish a home of his own, perhaps this might have been the right
moment, for he was attracted by a young girl who was often with us.
One evening, when she and other guests had left, he said with quiet
decision: "She pleases me; I should like to marry her; such a girl
would make me, too, happy." He met many people at our house, and in
small and large circles outside it, and everyone liked his earnest
nature and his short and often humorous remarks.'

It is pleasant to have to record here that a few weeks before the events now described, New York, distinguished, as we have seen, by Mason's timely performance of the B major Trio in 1855, led the way a second time in connection with Brahms' career. In February, 1862, the first performance after publication of the second serenade took place there at a Philharmonic concert, and the occasion is doubly memorable as marking the earliest introduction of an orchestral work of Brahms to a public audience outside the cities of Hamburg, Hanover, and Leipzig. This early appreciation of the composer's genius in America has proved to have been neither accidental nor transitory. It grew steadily year by year with the general growth of interest in musical art, and his works, great and small, were welcomed as they appeared, and performed--often, it must be said, from pirated editions in the earlier days--with ever-increasing success. It has been impossible to ascertain the exact dates of first American performances. New York, the earliest centre in the United States for the cultivation of Brahms' music, was emulated later on, especially by Boston; and the famous Symphony Orchestra of this city has, since its foundation in 1881, performed each of the four symphonies, in Boston and in the course of numerous concert tours, at an average of forty concerts; whilst the two overtures, the concertos, and other large works, have been given with corresponding frequency.

The chamber music has been a special feature in the programmes of several concert-parties resident in various parts of the United States. Of these, special mention should be made of the Kneisel String Quartet of Boston, whose performances, familiar not only to American, but also to some of the circles of European music-lovers, were warmly appreciated by Brahms himself.

In the spring of 1862, an artistic tour undertaken in France by Frau Schumann laid the foundation of Brahms' reputation in Paris, which, little to be noted during many years, has of late been rapidly increasing. That the great pianist, when introducing her husband's works, which were almost unknown to French audiences, had to confront the inevitable prejudice against what is new, explains the fact that Brahms' name did not appear in the programmes of her concerts at the Salle Erard. The efforts she made in the cause of his art, however, amongst the inmost musical circle of her acquaintance created an impression that was not entirely fleeting.

The two first Pianoforte Quartets, now finally completed, and performed, as we have seen, during the winter of 1861-62--the earlier one in public, and both frequently in private--add two glorious works of chamber music to the series so brilliantly inaugurated by the Sextet in B flat. In their broadly-flowing themes, their magnificent wealth of original and contrasted melody, their consummate workmanship, their fresh, vigorous vitality, their enchanting romance, one seems to hear the bounding gladness of the artist-spirit which has attained freedom through submission to law, and revels in its emancipation. They are so rich in beauty, so transcendent in power, that the attempt to point out this or that particular detail for admiration results in bewilderment. The romantic intermezzo, the riotously brilliant Hungarian rondo, of the first; the graceful scherzo with its bold trio, of the second, and the adagio, with its atmosphere of mystery, lit up twice by the outbreak of passion that subsides again to the hushed expressiveness of the beginning and end; the opening allegro of either work--all are original, great, beautiful; but so is every portion of every movement of both quartets, and each movement proclaims--from Bach to Brahms. That Brahms' course of development proceeded ever further in the direction of concentration of thought and conciseness of structure cannot affect the value of the splendid achievements of his earlier period of maturity, and of these the two quartets stand amongst the greatest.

The sincerity of Brendel's efforts to conciliate the contending musical parties, and his desire to do justice to each, is strikingly proved by the appearance in his journal, in the course of several months of the year 1862, of a series of articles signed 'D. A. S.,' by Dr. Schübring, a distinguished musician and critic of the Schumann school. The first few numbers are devoted to sympathetic reviews of the works of Theodor Kirchner, Woldemar Bargiel, and others; and following these are five articles in which the whole of Brahms' published works are examined in detail. The composer's genius, his progress, his moods and his methods, are discussed with the skill of a scientific musician, the impartiality of a sound critic, and the affection of a personal and artistic friend. They are too technical for quotation here, but the last sentence of the concluding number may be given in well-deserved tribute to Brendel, who must have known what he was doing when he arranged for Dr. Schübring's contributions.

'The foregoing words may sound inflated, but stopped horns are of
no use when it is desired to arouse the great public, which does
not yet seem to comprehend in the least what a colossal genius, one
quite of equal birth with Bach, Beethoven, and Schumann, is
ripening in the young master of Hamburg.'

The mediator's task is seldom a grateful one, and it appears probable that Dr. Brendel was reproached for his large-mindedness by some of the New-German party, with whom he had been so long intimately connected, as a half-apologetic explanation of his reasons for desiring the publication of the 'Schumanniana,' as the articles were entitled, appeared in a later number of the _Zeitschrift_.

It would be unsatisfactory to omit all mention of the first performance of a 'Magelone Romance,' though there is but little to record save the fact that Stockhausen sang the opening one, the 'Keinem hat es noch gereut,' from the manuscript, at the Philharmonic concert of April 4, as one of a group of songs by Brahms. It produced no impression whatever on the Hamburgers, who were only mystified. How many persons in the audience had read Tieck's poems? How many had ever heard anything about the adventures of Magelone and Peter? Without such knowledge, the first and second numbers of the cycle cannot be really appreciated. To those who are aware that the first is the song of a minstrel who incites a valiant young hero to journey to distant lands in quest of adventure, and the second the exultant shout of the joyful aspirant as he rides forth from his parents' home, resolved on doughty deeds, the music becomes living, and seems to breathe forth the very spirit of chivalry. The third, fourth, and some other of the songs, notably the ninth--the ravishing 'Ruhe Süssliebchen'--are capable of telling a tale of their own, and give rich delight apart from their place in Tieck's version of the story; but the enjoyment even of these favourite and familiar songs is much heightened by an acquaintance with the incidents of the romance. Tieck's 'Beautiful Magelone' is contained in his 'Phantasus,' a collection of tales published between 1812 and 1816, some of which have been made familiar to English readers by the translations of Hare, Froude, and Carlyle. The 'Magelone' story of the book is a modernized version of an old romance of chivalry, and, by introducing into it a number of songs, Tieck furnished the opportunity seized upon more than forty years later by Brahms, to which the world is indebted for some of the composer's most perfect inspirations.

To provide in this place the much-needed clue to their connexion with the events of the tale would cause too serious an interruption to our narrative. The author has therefore added, in Appendix II., an account of the romance and the incidence of Tieck's songs, which it is hoped may interest the reader and increase his love for the compositions.

Brahms continued to make Frau Dr. Rösing's house his headquarters, and remained there during most of the spring and summer of 1862. Before going to Oldenburg in March, he had written to Dietrich: 'It is delightful here in Hamm, and unless I look out of window at the bare trees I fancy summer is come, the sunlight plays in the room so, gaily.' Later it was: 'It is blooming splendidly, and the trees are blossoming in Hamm, so that it is a joy.' He occupied his leisure in similar agreeable pursuits to those of the preceding year, and now in the springtime a double choir of maidens and nightingales might often be heard by the passer-by, carolling together as if in mutual emulation of the others' song. He begged, later on, for photographs of his girls' quartet and of the two houses, and said that he neither remembered nor saw before him a happier time than that he had passed in Hamm. The sisters met their fate in due time. Each married a distinguished violinist, and Concertmeister Otto von Königslow of Cologne and Professor John Böie of Altona were amongst the most active admirers of Brahms' art. The composer remained on terms of intimacy with the entire Völckers family, and never failed, when occasionally staying at Hamburg during the later years of his career, to visit both the Böies and the Stones.

Avé Lallement, who would gladly have seen Johannes settled in Hamburg as conductor of the Philharmonic, says, in a letter written in the early spring of the year to Dr. Löwe of Zürich:

'We had the "Matthew Passion" here under Grund; Brahms also was
delighted, in spite of the defective performance. He thinks of
going to Vienna in the autumn; then I shall be quite alone, but
thank God I have learnt to know the man so well. I have come a good
piece forward through him.'

The pianoforte quartets finished, the composer was now busy with the great work which we know as a quintet for pianoforte and strings. It was finished in its first form--a string quintet with two violoncelli--by the end of the summer. When tried a year later by Joachim and his colleagues, the effect of the work was found insufficiently sonorous for its great material, and Brahms arranged it as a sonata for two pianofortes, and subsequently as a quintet for pianoforte and strings. We shall have occasion later on to make particular mention of the first public, and of an early private, performance of the sonata version.

Brahms and Dietrich met at the Rhine Festival given this year at Cologne (June 8-10), where they made the artistic and personal acquaintance of Frau Louise Dustmann, court chamber singer, and of the court opera, Vienna, whom Brahms knew well in later years. From Cologne they proceeded to Münster-am-Stein, taking lodgings together near Frau Schumann, who was staying there with her family. From Münster Dietrich wrote to his wife:

'The longer I am with Brahms, the more my affection and esteem for
him increase. His nature is equally lovable, cheerful, and deep. He
often teases the ladies, certainly, by making jokes with a serious
air which are frequently taken in earnest, especially by Frau
Schumann. This leads to comical and frequently dangerous arguments,
in which I usually act as mediator, for Brahms is fond of
strengthening such misunderstandings, in order to have the laugh on
his side in the end. This to me attractive humorous trait is, I
think, the reason why he is so often misunderstood. He can,
however, be very quiet and serious if necessary.'

Brahms and Dietrich composed industriously in the mornings; the afternoons and evenings were occupied with excursions or music, and at this time Brahms showed his friend an early version of the first movement of his C minor Symphony, not completed until fourteen years later. The six 'Magelone Romances' were pronounced by Dietrich to be amongst the finest works yet produced by their composer.

The Sextet in B flat, the Handel Variations, and the horns and harp Songs for women's Chorus, were published this year by Simrock. Two works in the hands of Rieter-Biedermann--the Marienlieder for mixed Chorus and the Variations for Pianoforte Duet Op. 23--appeared at the end of 1862 or the beginning of 1863.[95]

The Marienlieder, seven in number, to be sung _a capella_, are not sacred compositions. They are settings of old texts founded upon some of the medieval legends that grew up around the history of the Virgin, and are delightfully fresh examples of the pure style of part-writing of which Brahms had made himself a master. In spite of the restricted means at the disposal of the composer who elects to forego, for the nonce, all but the few diatonic harmonies alone available in this style, there is a something about these attractive little pieces which allows Brahms' individuality to be distinctly felt. If, as is inevitable, they carry back the mind of the listener to the choral music of the sixteenth century, they recall the style of the early German, rather than of either of the Italian, schools. Perhaps the most fascinating of the set is No. 2, entitled 'Mary's Church-going.' Mary, on her way to church, comes to a deep lake, and, finding a young boatman standing ready, requests him to ferry her over, promising him whatever he may like best in return. The boatman answers that he will do what she asks provided she will become his housewife; but Mary, replying that she will swim across rather than consent to the suggestion, jumps into the water. When she is half-way to the other side, the church bells suddenly begin to ring, loudly, softly, all together. Mary, on her safe arrival, kneels on a stone in prayer, and the boatman's heart breaks. The first five verses are composed strophically (each like the other) for two sopranos, contralto, and tenor, in E flat minor, and are marked _piano_. The bass enters with the sixth verse, composed in E flat major, and, whilst the whole choir bursts into a jubilant _forte_, keeps up a movement in concert, first with the tenor and then with the soprano, suggestive of bell-ringing. The concluding words return to the setting of the first five verses, and by this means the little composition is rounded into definite shape.

The Variations are amongst the most beautiful of Brahms' many fine achievements in this particular domain, and present for admiration conspicuous qualities of their own arising from the opportunities offered by their composition in duet form. The theme on which they are founded is that supposed by Schumann to have been brought to him in the night three weeks before his malady reached its crisis. The work is dedicated to Fräulein Julie Schumann, the master's third daughter.

And now, in a few weeks, the period of Brahms' career which is to be especially associated with Hamburg was to close. He would gladly have strengthened his ties with the city to which he was so proud to belong, but, as we shall see, his compatriots would have none of him. Twice in the coming years they passed him by, and when the time at length arrived in which they would willingly have proclaimed the world-famous composer as their own special prophet, his interests and affections had become too deeply rooted within the city that he made his second home to be capable of a second transplantation.

Brahms quitted Hamburg for his first visit to Vienna on September 8. That he expected to return speedily is evident from the lines sent by him to Dietrich on the eve of his departure:

'DEAR FRIEND,

'I am leaving on Monday _for Vienna_! I look forward to it like a
child.

'Of course I do not know how long I shall stay; we will leave it
open, and I hope we may meet some time during the winter.

'The C minor Symphony is not ready; on the other hand, a string
quintet (2 v.celli) in F minor is finished. I should like to send
it you and hear what you have to say about it, and yet I prefer to
take it with me.

'Herewith my Handel Variations; the Marienlieder are not yet here.

'Greet all the Oldenburg friends.

'Pray do not leave me quite without letters. You might address for
the present to Haslinger, or to Wessely and Büsing.

'Heartiest farewell meanwhile, dear Albert, to you and your wife.

'Your JOHANNES.'

'Father,' said Brahms, looking slyly at his father as he said good-bye, 'if things should be going badly with you, music is always the best consolation; go and study my old "Saul"--you will find comfort there.'

He had thickly interlarded the volume with bank-notes.[96]

It is highly interesting to possess a clear conception of Brahms' achievements as a composer, and, therewith, of his exact title to consideration at this important moment of his career. This will be best obtained by a glance at the list of the chief completed works with which he was to present himself in the city associated with the most hallowed memories of his art. His departure for Vienna is by no means to be regarded as coincident with the close of any one period of his creative activity, though it emphatically marks the end, not only of a chapter, but of the first book of his life.

LIST OF BRAHMS' CHIEF COMPLETED WORKS ON HIS DEPARTURE FOR VIENNA.

Pianoforte Solos:

Three Sonatas.
Scherzo.
Variations on Schumann's theme in F sharp minor.
Variations on an original theme.
Variations on a Hungarian song.
Variations and Fugue on Handel's theme.

Pianoforte Duet: Variations on a theme by Schumann.

Pianoforte with Orchestra: Concerto in D minor.

Orchestral: Two Serenades.

Chamber music:

Sextet in B flat for Strings.
Trio in B major for Pianoforte and Strings.
Quartet in G minor " " " "
Quartet in A major " " " "

Songs:

Five books (thirty songs).
'Magelone Romances' (first six).

Vocal Duets: two books.

Three Vocal Quartets.

Women's Chorus:

'Ave Maria.'
Part-songs.

Mixed Chorus:

Begräbnissgesang.
Marienlieder.
The 13th Psalm.
Motets.
Sacred Song.

The newly-finished String Quintet is not included in the list, as the work was not published in this its first form. The Hungarian Dances, as being arrangements, are also omitted.

[92] Max Kalbeck, p. 458.

[93] First published in Hübbe's 'Brahms in Hamburg,' pp. 42-44.

[94] Dietrich.

[95] The Variations are dated 1866 in the published catalogue.

[96] Max Kalbeck, p. 497. The reader must be reminded that at this period German bank-notes frequently represented but small sums.

APPENDICES

I.

MUSICAL FORM--ABSOLUTE MUSIC--PROGRAMME-MUSIC--BERLIOZ AND WAGNER

The word Form, as applied to instrumental music, is synonymous with Design. A movement is built up on a certain ground-plan, the outlines of which are constructed according to some given arrangement of keys, or melodies, or both, which secures symmetry for the work and facilitates its presentment as a whole to the intelligence of the hearer. A chief element in musical form is recurrence, the simplest illustration of which--three sections of which the third repeats the first (A, B, A)--is to be found in a vast number of folk-melodies.

The main source to which the instrumental music of classical art owes its primitive origin is the Folk-melody, whether of dance or of song. This Folk-melody was entirely naïve, and as free from the imitative or pictorial, as from the reflective, element. The dance-melody was conditioned by the rhythm of the dance. The song-melody, also rhythmical as distinct from declamatory, more or less reflected the sentiment of the text; verses of a joyous character naturally suggested joyous tunes, those of a plaintive character, plaintive tunes; but the ideas constituting the melody were essentially musical thoughts, and contained no attempt at pictorial illustration of the subject of the words; the melody formed from them was Absolute music.

In process of time these melodies came to be treated apart from their text or their dance, and new ones were invented whose primary object was not the dance or the song, but the gratification of the ear and intelligence by the pleasing succession of musical phrases. Instrumental movements were constructed, and these bore unmistakable impress of their descent, since the ideas and series of ideas forming them were rhythmical and symmetrical.

It is obviously impossible in the short space at our disposal even to touch upon the history of the process by which early instrumental pieces of a few bars have gradually developed into the elaborate movements of classical art, but, by sketching as slightly as possible two of the forms, one or other of which underlies the vast majority of the instrumental works of modern classical music, we hope to enable all our readers to follow the allusions to Form in our text, which must be understood to include other forms than these, but such as have in common with them the essential element of design or symmetry.

The Rondo-form has been used by composers of almost all periods, and has, in modern times, developed into two large varieties. The idea from which it originated is best realized by reference to the old rondeau dance-song, the design of which is simplicity itself. A short melody sung several times in chorus was alternated with others contributed by solo voices, which were sometimes called 'couplets,' and which are now generally termed 'episodes.' The form required two, and permitted any number, of episodes, each of which was bound to furnish a new melody. The performance terminated as it began, with the chorus. The form, therefore, may be thus represented: A, B, A, C, A, _ad libitum_.

The reader will find many examples of the early eighteenth-century instrumental Rondo in Couperin's 'Pièces de Clavecin,' published in Paris in 1713, and edited for republication by Brahms (Chrysander's 'Denkmäler der Tonkunst'). With these he may compare the great rondo-movement of Beethoven's Sonata in C major, Op. 53.

The so-called Sonata-form underlies the immense majority of the first movements composed by the great masters of the last century and a half--the first movements, not only of those works for pianoforte solo or pianoforte and another instrument which are called by the name sonata, but of trios, quartets, and so forth, and of symphonies, which are, in fact, sonatas for orchestra.

A movement in Sonata-form consists of three essential parts--the Statement or Exposition of themes, the 'thematic material'; their Development; their Repetition. To these was formerly appended a short Coda, which has gradually developed, and now frequently extends to the dimensions of a fourth part.

The first part, the Statement, is itself divided into two sections, not necessarily or even generally of equal duration, marked by difference of tonality. The first is dominated by the tonic key of the movement. It contains the First Subject, which may be either short and concise, of sixteen or even eight bars only, or of several different paragraphs; a principal idea and subordinate themes. The second section is dominated by some other key; formerly, in a major movement by that of the dominant, in a minor movement by that of the relative major or dominant minor. It contains the Second Subject, a new melody followed or not by subordinate themes. These two sections are connected by a modulatory 'bridge passage,' which leads the ear from the first to the second principal key of the Statement, and which used generally to come to a pause on the dominant harmony of the new key in preparation for the entry of the Second Subject. The Statement closes, with or without a Codetta, in the key of the Second Subject. Formerly it was invariably played twice, its termination being followed by a double bar with repetition marks.

The second part of the movement, the Development, sometimes called the Free Fantasia or the Working-out, is what its name implies. It is constructed from the material of the Statement, which the composer works or develops according to his fancy, using either or both of his subjects, his bridge passage, his codetta, entire or in part, alone or combined, with much or little modulation to near or distant keys, just as he pleases. The Development part of the movement is not visibly and mechanically cut off from what follows it by a double bar like the Statement, nor does it end with a final cadence, but usually closes with some sort of half-cadence--formerly it was the typical one, a pause on the dominant--which leads to the third part of the movement, the Repetition.

In this the Statement is repeated, modified by the circumstance that both its sections are dominated by the tonic key of the movement, in which the Second Subject as well as the First is heard, such modulations as may have occurred in the Statement being represented in the Repetition with the changes required by this fact.

The Coda is more often than not retrospective, but its character and arrangement are at the discretion of the composer, provided that it gives sufficient emphasis to the original key to leave the mind of the hearer impressed with the tonality of the movement.

We have not troubled the reader in this short sketch with the varieties or exceptions to be found in the works of the great composers of the period indicated above. Their movements in this form, whether we examine those of the simple sonatina or of the complex symphony, will be found, broadly speaking, to conform to our description. A very clear illustration of the outlines of Sonata-form may be studied in the first movement of Beethoven's Sonata in G major, Op. 14, No. 2.

The developed instrumental movements of classical art, capable of stirring the highest aspirations of which the spirit of man is capable, are, like the short pieces from which they have sprung, constructed from 'musical ideas'--ideas, that is to say, which act upon the nerves, emotions, intellect of the listener, directly through the sense of sound, and are not dependent for their effect upon intermediate mental translation into images perceptible to the mind's eye, the vision of imagination. This does not mean that a composer of pure music never is and never may be pictorial, but the cases in which he is so are, as it were, accidental, and the pictorial element in a given work is not of the essence of his art, but is something added to it, something, moreover, which does not affect the value of the composition as a work of art. A composer of Absolute music may indeed, and often does, stimulate his imagination by recalling a poem, a legend, a scene of nature or life; and either of these may leave a more or less definite impress on his music; whilst a title or a motto placed above a short pianoforte piece, an orchestral overture, or, in very few cases, a symphony, may sometimes stimulate the hearer's appreciation; but the music is not in such a case to be taken as 'meaning' this or that in detail. The composer aims at making his movement a work of art complete in itself, and relies for his effects upon his musical thoughts and their treatment as such, though he may be willing to let his hearers know that his fancy was encouraged by extraneous aid.

The listener may, on the other hand, if it assist his enjoyment, attach his own 'meaning' to what he hears, but he must understand that this is relative to himself only. No one can assure him that his 'meaning' is right or wrong. The music as such should stand high above such interpretations, and, if it is to fulfil its supreme destiny, must speak directly to the soul in its own infinite language of sound, infinite just because it is capable of transcending the defined objects of sight.

Vocal forms have always necessarily been to a great extent dependent on the text chosen for musical treatment. Nevertheless, certain vocal forms have been developed--the aria, the ballad, the lied, the ensemble--which, though freer than those of instrumental music, have the common characteristics of symmetry more or less, and of rhythmic melody as distinct from the mere accentuation of the recitative.

The Art-song of the classical masters, whether for one or more voices, mirrors, like its parent the Folk-song, the sentiment of the text, but is not pictorial. Its instrumental accompaniment may, and at times does, reflect or emphasize the suggestion of the words, but it does not attempt to imitate or illustrate in detail the images which they represent; or only in an insignificant number of instances, which may be classed with the cases to which we have referred in our remarks upon instrumental music.

A good deal of confusion prevailed in the mind of the general musical public of the middle of the nineteenth century as to the views held by the musicians of the New-German party, and it has not been cleared away even at the present day. This has resulted chiefly from the fact that, like many another body of radical reformers, they were by no means at one as to the positive articles of their faith.

It is far from the desire of the present writer to enter into a lengthy discussion of vexed controversies which time alone can settle. The object of this appendix is simply to assist the general reader to follow certain allusions and incidents in the text of the narrative, and especially to make clear how it was that Brahms, an uncompromising champion of musical tradition, whose very existence as an artist was staked on the vitality of Absolute music, could deeply respect the art of Wagner. With these ends only in view, it is proposed to limit the few words to be said here to the attempt to show what the fundamental difference was which separated the methods of Berlioz and Wagner, the two giants of the Weimar party, in their efforts to establish a basis for the Music of the Future so far as they conceived this could be achieved by the closer union of the arts of instrumental music and poetry.

Berlioz (1803-1869) has been accepted as the typical champion of what is called Programme-music. The question as to what is to be understood by this term, however, has become very difficult to answer, because nowadays anything may become a programme or supply a label. A poem, a romance, or a commonplace situation of everyday life; an emotion, a series of emotions, or the individuality of a man or woman; or, again, the emotion or mental action which a certain personality may excite in another. If, however, we restrict the question and examine only what meaning attaches to the term Programme-music as applied to Berlioz's instrumental works, the answer is that the composer is so intent on conveying, as an essential part of his movements, definite and detailed ideas outside the art of sound _per se_, which he finds in certain poems or plays or narratives, that he not only places verbal headings above them, but in many cases prefaces his works with an explanation minutely describing the scenes which they are intended to represent point by point, or the emotions that he desires to excite at successive steps of their progress. Such detailed labels and expositions are what is commonly termed the Programme.