Transcribed by Carlo Marchione.
A lullaby of grief — intimate, restrained, and devastating in its tenderness.
The three Intermezzi, Op. 117, belong to Brahms’ late piano works. Speaking to a friend, he referred to them as his “three lullabies of my grief.” The first of these unfolds as a meditation on maternal sorrow, inspired by a Scottish folk lullaby whose text reads:
“Sleep gently, my child, sleep gently and beautifully.
It pains me deeply to see you cry.”
Here, grief is not theatrical. It is inward, dignified, and almost unbearably sweet. The outer sections hover in fragile serenity, while the central episode darkens the landscape with dissonant harmonies and quiet unrest. The contrast is subtle, yet profound.
This is Brahms at his most intimate — music that lingers long after the final resonance fades.
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