Brahms and the German Spirit

by Daniel Beller-McKenna

Overview

The music of Johannes Brahms is deeply colored, Daniel Beller-McKenna shows, by nineteenth-century German nationalism and by Lutheran religion. Focusing on the composer's choral works, the author offers new insight on the cultural grounding for Brahms's music.

Music historians have been reluctant to address Brahms's Germanness, wary perhaps of fascist implications. Beller-McKenna counters this tendency; by giving an account of the intertwining of nationalism, politics, and religion that underlies major works, he restores Brahms to his place in nineteenth-century German culture. The author explores Brahms's interest in the folk element in old church music; the intense national pride expressed in works such as the Triumphlied; the ways Luther's Bible and Lutheranism are reflected in Brahms's music; and the composer's ideas about nation building. The final chapter looks at Brahms's nationalistic image as employed by the National Socialists, 1933-1945, and as witnessed earlier in the century (including the complication of rumors that Brahms was Jewish).

In comparison to the overtly nationalist element in Wagner's music, the German elements in Brahms's style have been easy to overlook. This nuanced study uncovers those nationalistic elements, enriching our understanding both of Brahms's art and of German culture.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780674013186
Publisher:	Harvard University Press
Publication date:	07/15/2004
Pages:	258
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Daniel Beller-McKenna is Associate Professor of Music at the University of New Hampshire.

Table of Contents

Preface

1. Introduction: Brahms and the German Spirit

2. Religion, Language, and Luther's Bible

3. Ein deutsches Requiem, Op. 45, and the Apocalyptic Paradigm

4. The Triumphlied, Op. 55, and the Apocalyptic Moment

5. Gebet einer König: National Prayers in the Fest- und Gedenksprüche, Op. 109

6. Beyond the End

Appendix: Longer Musical Examples

Notes

Index

Editorial Reviews

Brahms and the German Spirit is...an earnest study of the subject of religion and nationalism in Brahms's life. Daniel Beller-McKenna has woven a coherent tapestry from many strands.

Music and Letters - Styra Avins

Beller-McKenna's writing style is engaging, and his background material is comprehensive, with many sources in both historical and modern writings...A worthy contribution to Brahms scholarship, and to a better-rounded view of the composer's life and work.

Notes - Virginia Hancock

Beller-McKenna's writing style is engaging, and his background material is comprehensive, with many sources in both historical and modern writings...A worthy contribution to Brahms scholarship, and to a better-rounded view of the composer's life and work.
— Virginia Hancock

Notes

Brahms and the German Spirit is...an earnest study of the subject of religion and nationalism in Brahms's life. Daniel Beller-McKenna has woven a coherent tapestry from many strands.
— Styra Avins

Music and Letters