Serenades (Brahms)
Encyclopedia
The two Serenades, Op. 11 and 16, represented two of the earliest efforts by Johannes Brahms
to write orchestra
l music. They both date from the 1850s when Brahms was residing in Detmold
.
was completed in 1857. At that time, Brahms was also working on his First Piano Concerto
. Originally scored for wind and string octet
and then expanded into a longer work for chamber
nonet
, the serenade was later adapted for orchestra.
It consists of six movements
and lasts slightly less than forty minutes.
. It was revised in 1875. It is scored for a standard orchestra, but without violins. The five movements take approximately thirty minutes to perform.
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
to write orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
l music. They both date from the 1850s when Brahms was residing in Detmold
Detmold
Detmold is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with a population of about 74,000. It was the capital of the small Principality of Lippe from 1468 until 1918 and then of the Free State of Lippe until 1947...
.
Serenade No. 1 in D, Op. 11
The first serenadeSerenade
In music, a serenade is a musical composition, and/or performance, in someone's honor. Serenades are typically calm, light music.The word Serenade is derived from the Italian word sereno, which means calm....
was completed in 1857. At that time, Brahms was also working on his First Piano Concerto
Piano Concerto No. 1 (Brahms)
The Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15, is a work for piano and orchestra composed by Johannes Brahms in 1858. The composer gave the work's public debut in Hanover, Germany, the following year.-Form:...
. Originally scored for wind and string octet
Octet (music)
In music, an octet is a musical ensemble consisting of eight instruments or voices, or a musical composition written for such an ensemble.-Octets in classical music:Octets in classical music are one of the largest groupings of chamber music...
and then expanded into a longer work for chamber
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
nonet
Nonet (music)
In music, a nonet is a composition which requires nine musicians for a performance, or a musical group that consists of nine people. The standard nonet scoring is for wind quintet, violin, viola, cello, and contrabass, though other combinations are also found...
, the serenade was later adapted for orchestra.
It consists of six movements
Movement (music)
A movement is a self-contained part of a musical composition or musical form. While individual or selected movements from a composition are sometimes performed separately, a performance of the complete work requires all the movements to be performed in succession...
and lasts slightly less than forty minutes.
- Allegro molto (D majorD majorD major is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature consists of two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor....
) - Scherzo. Allegro non troppo (D minorD minorD minor is a minor scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. In the harmonic minor, the C is raised to C. Its key signature has one flat ....
) – Trio. Poco più moto (B flat majorB flat majorB major or B-flat major is a major scale based on B-flat, consisting of the pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its key signature has two flats, B/E .Its relative minor is G minor, and its parallel minor is B minor....
) - Adagio non troppo (B flat major)
- Menuetto IMinuetA minuet, also spelled menuet, is a social dance of French origin for two people, usually in 3/4 time. The word was adapted from Italian minuetto and French menuet, and may have been from French menu meaning slender, small, referring to the very small steps, or from the early 17th-century popular...
(G majorG majorG major is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp, F; in treble-clef key signatures, the sharp-symbol for F is usually placed on the first line from the top, though in some Baroque music it is placed on the first space from the bottom...
) – Menuetto II (G minorG minorG minor is a minor scale based on G, consisting of the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. For the harmonic minor scale, the F is raised to F. Its relative major is B-flat major, and its parallel major is G major....
) - Scherzo. Allegro (D major) – TrioTernary formTernary form, sometimes called song form, is a three-part musical form, usually schematicized as A-B-A. The first and third parts are musically identical, or very nearly so, while the second part in some way provides a contrast with them...
- Rondo. Allegro (D major)
Serenade No. 2 in A, Op. 16
The second serenade was written in 1859 and dedicated to Clara SchumannClara Schumann
Clara Schumann was a German musician and composer, considered one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic era...
. It was revised in 1875. It is scored for a standard orchestra, but without violins. The five movements take approximately thirty minutes to perform.
- Allegro moderato (A major)
- Scherzo. Vivace (C major) – Trio (F major)
- Adagio non troppo (A minor)
- Quasi menuetto (D major) – Trio (F sharp minor)
- Rondo. Allegro (A major)