The three intermezzi Op 117 of Brahms

The three intermezzi Op 117 of Brahms. September. 13, 2016 07:29. by 유윤종 기자gustav@donga.com. Do you know what happened to Brahms (photo) in 1892? He composed the three intermezzi Op. 117, short piano pieces, that year. He called the calm and gloomy three intermezzi, “three lullabies to my sorrows.” How could lullabies put down the sorrow?

According to his biography timeline, his sister and intimate female student named Elisabeth died in 1892. But, there was nothing peculiar in that year. Being left by someone you love forever is taking place all the time and it is not certain that their deaths have special connections to his sorrow.

The first, in E flat, is the most look like a lullaby. The eights, predominantly slurred in twos, can rock gently as we would rock a cradle. He wrote two lines from an old Scots lullaby (Sleep soft my child, sleep soft and lovely! / I feel sadness when you weep).

The central section descends to a dark E flat minor tonality, which increases the poignancy of the lulling reprise, with its cunningly interwoven imitation. As the play goes by, the left hand emphasizes a lot of broken chord passages as the time flies. Then again, the poignancy of the lulling reprise increases as the mother’s sigh.

Brahms is called as the composer of autumn. His German Requiem brought him recognition as a composer, Symphony No. 4 is called as the Symphony of Autumn, and Clarinet Quintet makes you feel solitude and autumnal, becoming the most loved in fall. It might be because of the fact that he was born and raised in dark and windy northern Hamburg, Germany. The three intermezzi Op. 117 is also one of the recommendations as the music for autumn.

I hope I didn’t make you gloomy by introducing only solitary pieces right before happy Chuseok holidays. Everybody has a small slice of sorrow in daily life. Let’s sing lullabies for your sorrows and take a time to look around for the holidays. Jiyeon Shin piano solo recital will be held in IBK Chamber Hall of the Seoul Arts Center on Sept. 19. She will play the three intermezzi Op 117 of Brahms.