Biblische Lieder

In the organizer's words:

Concert in St. Peter's Church

1st Bach Choir Concert / Johannes Brahms: "Nänie" op. 82 / Antonín Dvořák: "Biblical Songs" op. 99 / Johannes Brahms: "Schicksalslied" op. 54

The Nänie is a lament and originates from classical antiquity. Brahms' mourning song "Nänie" op. 82 is based on Friedrich Schiller's poem of the same name. The work can be heard as a reaction to the death of the painter Anselm Feuerbach, whom Brahms greatly admired.

Antonín Dvořák's "Biblical Songs" were composed in the spring of 1894 during his stay in America. Shortly beforehand, he learned of the deaths of his fellow composers Tchaikovsky, Gounod and von Bülow - his father also died at this time. It is hardly surprising that Dvořák turned to religious texts. In the psalm settings, pleading expressions alternate with urgent and confident ones.

Brahms' "Schicksalslied" goes back to a poem from Friedrich Hölderlin's "Hyperion" - but the music, like the Requiem, ends with hope.