指揮：松下耕 Ko Matsushita
Collegium Cantorum YOKOHAMA 第13回演奏会
2018年5月20日(日) 上野学園石橋メモリアルホール
5つの歌 Funf Gesange op.104 より 第5曲「秋に」（無伴奏・混声合唱のための作品）
Funf Gesange (Five songs), Op. 104, is a song cycle of five part songs for mixed choir a cappella by Johannes Brahms. Composed in 1888 when Brahms was a 55-year-old bachelor, the five songs reflect an intensely nostalgic and even tragic mood. Brahms has chosen texts which centre on lost youth, summer turning into fall and, ultimately, man's mortality. While the score and the parts themselves are not that difficult for the singers, the sombre nature of the texts coupled with intense soaring melodies and complex harmonies make it quite a demanding work for any choir.
1. Nachtwache I (Night Watch I), text by Friedrich Ruckert, B minor, SAATBB
2. Nachtwache II (Night watch II), text by Ruckert, E♭ major, SAATBB
3. Letztes Gluck (Last happiness), text by Max Kalbeck, F minor, SAATBB
4. Verlorene Jugend (Lost youth, Bohemian poem), D minor, SATBB
5. Im Herbst (In Autumn), text by Klaus Groth, C minor, SATB
Definitely a highlight in Brahms's choral output (and a very chilling one at that), Im Herbst can be considered one of the most sombre choral songs ever composed. Written for four parts and easily divided into three verses, its simple structure is deceptive, for this is where the mixed emotions of the previous songs come together to form an impressive climax to this work. Considering pitch, intensity in sound and overall interpretation, Im Herbst is the most difficult song of the five. The parts are repeatedly intertwined and small seconds apart from each other, creating an almost disturbing image of the inevitability of man's own autumn which heralds death. Suddenly, in the third verse, the voices rise and the dynamic level of the piece (which is very quiet throughout) grows to an ultimate high as a tear glitters in the eyes of a man who knows his life will soon be over?but the tear is one of bliss, and the work ends in a quiet and meditative major chord.