ABOUT LIEBESLIEDER-WALZER

Johannes Brahms’ Liebeslieder Waltzes are a collection of love songs in Ländler style. Originally scored for piano 4 hands and voices ad libitum (sic!), the piece can easily accommodate many different sized ensembles.

Rede, Mädchen, allzu liebes
Am Gesteine rauscht die Flut
O die Frauen
Wie des Abends schöne Röte
Die grüne Hopfenranke
Ein kleiner, hübscher Vogel
Wohl schön bewandt war es
Wenn so lindt dein Auge mir
Am Donaustrande
O wie sanft die Quelle
Nein, es ist nicht auszukommen
Schlosser auf, und mache Schlösser
Vögelein durchrauscht die Luft
Sieh, wie ist die Quelle klar
Nachtigall, sie singt so schön
Ein dunkler Schacht ist Liebe
Nicht wandle, mein Licht
Es bebet das Gesträuche

Although written in a popular style, the Liebeslieder Walzer do not lose Brahms’ compositional complexity. The words are taken from Georg Friedrich Daumer’s “Polydora”, a collection of folk songs and love poems (as is also the material for his op. 39 Waltzes and the op. 65 Neue Liebeslieder Waltzes). Although today they are part of the standard choral repertoire, Brahms more likely intended them to be played in parlors or informal home gatherings rather than in concert halls. Immediately successful, these waltzes were responsible for much of his personal wealth, and solidified his reputation with the general music-buying public in Vienna and Europe.