Johannes Brahms (1833-1897):
Wie Melodien zieht es mir*, Op. 105, No. 1
(composed in 1886; first published in 1889)
Text:  Klaus Johann Groth

Recorded Key:  C Major
Original Key:  A Major
Teach-Track begins:  one m. before m. 1 
(2 preparatory half-note beats added, to set tempo)
Accompaniment Track begins:  same as teach-track
Pianist:  Daniel Michalak

*  The title of this piece is sometimes mistakenly given as ?Wie Melodien zieht es,? which encourages many singers to breathe between the words ?es? and ?mir,? rather than (correctly) after the word ?mir.?  In purely melodic terms, of course, the former seems perfectly natural, and is certainly easier to execute gracefully than the latter; unfortunately, in German it makes about as much textual sense as singing, ?When I bring/(breath)/to you colour?d toys.?

N. B.  Perhaps owing to the absence of a conventional tempo indication (?zart? is primarily a character marking: tender, delicate), this song is often performed too slowly. The lilt and charm of the piece, far from being undermined by a more naturally flowing tempo, may in fact be unexpectedly enhanced (in part because one is less likely to fall into the trap of singing too heavily).  Brahms?s metrical indication of cut-time (only 2 pulses per measure) certainly implies a faster tempo than we may be accustomed to hearing--which has the added advantage of making the piece easier to perform both vocally and musically.  (For instance, it enables one to phrase the arching legato quarter-notes of the beginning with a real sense of line, avoiding any feeling of squareness or ?beat?-iness.)  It also suggests that Brahms probably expected the first line of text (through ?Sinn?) to be taken in one breath, thus completely bypassing the textual problem described above. 


Notes © 1999 by Daniel O. Michalak