Herzlich tut mich verlangen

Johannes Brahms (1833–1897) — Herzlich tut mich verlangen, Op. 122, No. 10 from Eleven Chorale Preludes

Prologue: Frescobaldi — Toccata cromatica per l’Elevatione (from Fiori musicali)

Struggle: Bruhns — Praeludium in E Minor (Great)

Resignation: Brahms — second setting of the Lenten chorale by Hans Leo Hassler

In this unfolding journey, the cry of suffering becomes the quiet dignity of resignation.

After the Prologue of quiet introspection in Frescobaldi and the Struggle expressed in Bruhns’s turbulent E-minor praeludium, this chorale prelude represents the third stage in the journey: Resignation.

This chorale prelude also contains the Seufzer motif and its universal representation of grief, lament, anguish, and suffering, but Brahms disguises and softens it. The sighing gestures that once seemed to cry out in anguish now settle into something quieter, it’s an acceptance that suffering cannot be undone. I intend this piece to represent quite literally the heart (Herz) of this series.

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