Johannes Brahms - Sextet No. 1 in B-Flat Major, Op. 18 - Essay Example

Sextet No in B-Flat Major, Op. 18 Johannes Brahms could be considered one of the most prominent German composers of the 19th century and of Romantic era in particular. Being extremely talented and recognized by many of his contemporaries including Joseph Joachim, Franz Liszt and Robert Schumann, Brahms was a follower of traditional structural patterns and also an innovator. Brahms composed music for various combinations of instruments as well as for chorus and voice. Moreover, the composer granted much attention to chamber music and wrote a couple of innovative and spectacular string sextets in his relatively young and lively years.

The unconventional feature of the sextets written by Brahms was the number of instruments in the ensemble; Brahms chose to complement and expand the traditional quartet with additional cello and viola, for it enabled intensification of the sound and made all instruments equal in strength. Two additional instruments are used to embellish composition instead of directly contributing to full harmonies, moreover, they make music louder and thicker and also give additional volume while sounding either simultaneously or parallellously.

Brahms’ sextets are a kind of challenge and the attempt to stand out and supersede Beethoven in his mastery. Involvement of two cellos brings fresh air to the composing pattern, as the second cello is predominantly a means of embellishment and melodics, while the first cello is responsible for nourishing the compositing with substantial bass support. The sextet No. 1 in B-Flat Major, Op. 18 is a string sextet composed in 1860 by the young Brahms and published about two years later. The sextet is a very beautiful romantic piece – and a rather long one, which is typical for young Brahms - consisting of four movements, three of them being more than ten minutes in length.

The first movement is called Allegro, ma non troppo and is a brilliant calm “intro” to the composition, which reminds of sonata form and serves as a lyrical or even “pastoral” (Dean Hansen) ingredient of the sextet. The second movement is considered the most famous and powerful: it is called Andante, ma moderato and is presented by variations on lurid themes with a rather interesting ending. However, as Brahms followed the rules of structure, variations are rather strict in this respect, yet they demonstrated influence of Baroque traditions.

The figures of the movement are rather diverse, and the tempo of their change leaves a listener with the thrilling sensation, until the light-hearted and good-humored scherzo comes to replace Andante.The third movement of the sextet is very typical for Beethovenian works – a scherzo of rather modest length (about three minutes) serves as a reloading positive fragment between sensual romantic parts. The fourth part of the piece is a brilliant Rondo movement, Rondo: Poco allegretto e grazioso, and this part is very gentle and positive, too, with one of the violas playing pizzicato as the movement experiences the rise in its final part.

Due to its outer form and instrumentation, this sextet could be possibly referred to both chamber and symphonic pieces, and Andante is as specimen of formal design. The overall positive air present in the sextet is connected with the biographical background it: musicologists attribute it to Detmold period, which is considered “one of the happiest periods in his life” (Pepple 23). Moreover, it was related to Brahms’ way to success in the new city, Vienna, and introduction as that of a chamber music composer.

Works Cited:Pepple, Johanna. The language of Johannes Brahms’ theme and variation: A study of his chamber works for strings. Thesis, 2012. From: http://thescholarship.ecu.edu/handle/10342/4010 Dean Hansen, Kelly. STRING SEXTET NO. 1 in B-FLAT MAJOR, OP. 18: Listening Guide, 2004-2015. From: http://www.kellydeanhansen.com/opus18.html