Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel

The "Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel", Op. 24, is a work for solo piano written by Johannes Brahms in 1861, a set of twenty-five variations and a concluding fugue based on a theme from George Frideric Handel's Harpsichord Suite No. 1 in B-flat Major, HWV 434.

The great music writer Donald Francis Tovey has ranked it among "the half-dozen greatest sets of variations ever written." [Matthews, Denis, "Brahms Piano Music", Ariel Music BBC Publications, 1986, p. 31.] Biographer Jan Swafford describes the "Handel Variations" as "perhaps the finest set of piano variations since Beethoven," adding, "Besides a masterful unfolding of ideas concluding with an exuberant fugue with a finish designed to bring down the house, the work is quintessentially Brahms in other ways: the filler of traditional forms with fresh energy and imagination; the historical eclectic able to start off with a gallant little tune of Handel's, Baroque ornaments and all, and integrate it seamlessly into his own voice, in a work of massive scope and dazzling variety." [Swafford, Jan, "Johannes Brahms: A Biography", Vintage Books, 1999, p. 228.]

Background

The Handel Variations were written in September 1861 after Brahms, aged 28, abandoned the work he had been doing as director of the Hamburg women's choir ("Frauenchor") and moved out of his family's cramped and shabby apartments in Hamburg to his own apartment in the quiet suburb of Hamm, initiating a highly productive period that produced "a series of early masterworks." [Hofmann, Kurt, "Brahms the Hamburg musician 1833-1862," in "The Cambridge Companion to Brahms", ed. Michael Musgrave, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1999, p. 24, 28.] Written in a single stretch in September 1861, Brahms, Johannes, "Variations for Piano", Urtext Edition, Ed.: Sonja Gerlach, Fing.: Hans-Martin Theopold, G. Henle Verlag HN440, 1988, Foreword] the work is dedicated to a "beloved friend," Clara Schumann, widow of Robert Schumann, Brahms's musical and personal mentor, and presented to her on her 42nd birthday, September 13. At about the same time his interest in, and mastery of, the piano also shows in his writing two important piano quartets, in G minor and A major. Barely two months later in November 1861 he produced his second set of "Schumann Variations", Op. 23, for piano four hands.

From his earliest years as a composer the variation was a musical form of great interest to Brahms. Before the Handel Variations he had written a number of other sets of variations, as well as using variations in the slow movement of his Op. 1, the Piano Sonata in C major, and in other chamber works. As he appeared on the scene, variations were in decline, "little more than a basis for writing paraphrases of favorite tunes". In Brahms's work the form became once again restored to greatness.

Brahms had been emulating Baroque models for six years or more. [Musgrave, Michael, "The Music of Brahms", Oxford University Press, 1994, ISBN 0198164017, 9780198164012, p. 52. "Extensive material which emerged after Brahms's death, some of it only very recently, has shown just how deep was the interest. It covered not merely the conventional forms of the prelude and fugue and the canon, but what were at that time obscure dance movements of the Baroque."] In particular, between the time he wrote his previous "Two Sets of Variations for piano, (No. 1 Eleven Variations on an Original Theme, in D major (1857)" and "No. 2 Fourteen Variations on a Hungarian Melody, in D major (1854)"), Op. 21, and the Handel Variations, Op. 24, Brahms did a careful study of "more rigorous, complex and historical models, among others preludes, fugues, canons and then the obscure dance movements of the Baroque period. [Rink, John, "Opposition and integration in the piano music," in "The Cambridge Companion to Brahms", ed. Michael Musgrave, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1999, p.85.] Two gigues and two sarabandes that Brahms wrote in order to develop his technique are extant today. [Geiringer, Karl, "Brahms - His Life and Work", Read Books, 2007, ISBN 1406755826, 9781406755824, p. 217.] The results of these historical studies are seen in, obviously, his choice of Handel for the theme, as well as his use of Baroque forms, including the Siciliano dance form (Var. 19) from the French school of Couperin and, in general, the frequent use of contrapuntal techniques in many variations.

Still not fully established in his career, Brahms had to struggle to get the work published. He wrote to Breikopf and Hartel," I am unwilling, at the first hurdle, to give up my desire to see this, my favourite work, published by you. If therefore, it is primarily the high fee that stops you taking it, I will be happy to let you have it for 12 Friedrichsdors or, if this still seems too high, 10 Friedrichsdors. I very much hope you will not think I plucked the initial fee arbitrarily out of the air. I consider this work to be much better than my earlier ones; I think it is also much better adapted to the demands of performance and will therefore be easier to market ..." [Neunzig, Hands, Peter Sheppard Skaerved, and Mike Mitchell, translated by Mike Mitchell "Brahms", Haus Publishing, 2003, ISBN 1904341179, 9781904341178, p. 70.]

The theme of the Handel Variations is taken from an aria in the third movement of George Frideric Handel's Harpsichord Suite No. 1 in B-flat Major, HWV 434 ("Suites de pièces pour le clavecin," published by J. Walsh, London 1733 with five variations). Brahms himself owned a copy of the 1733 First Edition. [Littlewood, Julian, "The Variations of Johannes Brahms", Plumbago Books, 2004, ISBN 0954012348, 9780954012342] The appeal of the aria for Brahms might have been its simplicity: its range is restricted to one octave; the harmony is plain, with every note taken from the B-flat major scale; it "made an admirably neutral starting-place". [Matthews, Denis, "Brahms Piano Music", Ariel Music BBC Publications, 1986, p. 30.] While Handel had written only five variations on his theme, Brahms, with the piano as his instrument rather than the more limited harpsichord, enlarged the scope of his opus to 25 variations ending with an extended fugue. Brahms's use of Handel exemplifies his love of the music of the past and his tendency to incorporate it and transform it in his own compositions.

Of the overall concept of the work Malcolm MacDonald writes "Some of Brahms's models in this monumental work are easy enough to identify. In the scale and ambition of his conception both Bach's 'Goldberg' and Beethoven's 'Diabelli' Variations must have exercised a powerful if generalized influence; in specific features of form Beethoven's 'Eroica' Variations is a closer parallel. But the overall structure is original to Brahms." And MacDonald suggests what might have been a more contemporary source of inspiration, the Variations on a Theme of Handel, Op. 26, by Robert Volkmann. "Brahms might well have known that large and often admirable work, published as recently as 1856, which Volkmann based on the so-called 'Harmonious Blacksmith' theme from the Air with Variations in Handel's E major Harpsichord Suite." [MacDonald, Malcolm, "Brahms (The Master Musician Series)", J.M Dent & Sons Ltd., London, 1990, p.180., ]

Reception and aftermath

An entry in Clara Schumann's diary about the Handel Variations gives an idea of close the relationship between her and Brahms, as well as Brahms's sometimes extraordinary insensitivity: "On Dec 7th I gave another soirée, at which I played Johannes' "Handel Variations". I was in agonies of nervousness, but I played them well all the same, and they were much applauded. Johannes, however, hurt me very much by his indifference. He declared that he could no longer bear to hear the variations, it was altogether too dreadful for him to listen to anything of his own and to have to sit by and do nothing. Although I can well understand this feeling I cannot help finding it hard when one has devoted all one's powers to a work, and the composer himself has not a kind word for it. [Litzmann, Berthold, "Clara Schumann: An Artist's Life Based on Material Found in Diaries and Letters - Vol II", Read Books, 2007, ISBN 1406759058, 9781406759051, p. 201.] Yet in the following spring (April 1862) Brahms wrote, in a note to a critic to whom he was sending a copy of the work, "I am fond of it and value it particularly in relation to my other works. [Swafford, Jan, "Johannes Brahms: A Biography", Vintage Books, 1999, p. 234.]

Clara Schumann premiered the work in Hamburg on December 7, when she visited Brahms's home town to give a series of performances which also included the Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor—which had not been well received when Brahms introduced it to Leipzig in the Gewandhaus in January 1858—and the premiere of the G Minor Quartet. Clara's performance of the "Handel Variations" in Hamburg was a triumph, which she repeated soon afterwards in Leipzig. During that winter Brahms, too, gave performances of the "Handel Variations", as a result of which he made minor alterations to the score. [Brahms, Johannes, "Handel Variations op. 24", Urtext Edition, G. Henle Verlag HN272, 1978, Preface] Publication came in July 1862 by Breitkopf & Härtel.

The work was an important landmark in his developing career, written before his reputation was more firmly established seven years later by "Ein deutsches Requiem" in Bremen in 1868 and before he made his mark as a symphonist with his first symphony fifteen years later in 1876.

During what was probably the first meeting of Brahms and Wagner in January 1863, Brahms performed his "Handel Variations". Despite the great differences between the two men in musical style and an underlying tension based on musical politics—Brahms championing a more conservative approach to music while Wagner, along with Liszt, called for "the music of the future" with new forms and new tonalities—Wagner complimented the work graciously, if not wholeheartedly, saying, "One sees what still may be done in the old forms when someone comes along who knows how to use them." [Swafford, Jan, "Johannes Brahms: A Biography", Vintage Books, 1999, p. 267.]

Arrangements

The piece is often heard in a version that was arranged for orchestra by British composer and Brahms enthusiast Edmund Rubbra in 1938. The orchestration was first performed at a Royal Philharmonic Society concert conducted by Adrian Boult. [ Citation | last = | first = | author-link = | publication-date = 1938-12 | date = | year = | title = London Concerts | periodical = The Musical Times (subscription)| series = | publication-place = | place = | publisher = Musical Times Publications Ltd. | volume = 79 | issue = 1150 | page = 938 | url = http://www.jstor.org/stable/923682 | issn = | doi = | oclc = | accessdate = 2008-07-30 ]

Structure

In "Music, Imagination, and Culture" Nicholas Cook gives the following concise description:

"The Handel Variations consist of a theme and twenty-five variations, each of equal length, plus a much longer fugue at the end which provides the climax of the movement in terms of duration, dynamics, and contrapuntal complexity. The individual variations are grouped in such a way as to create a series of waves, both in terms of tempo and dynamics, leading to the final fugue, and superimposed on this overall organization are a number of subordinate patterns. Variations in tonic major and minor more or less alternate with each other; only once is there a variation in another key (the twenty-first, which is in the relative minor). Legato variations are usually succeeded by staccato ones; variations whose texture is fragmentary are in general followed by more homophonic ones. ... the organization of the variation set is not so much concentric—with each variation deriving coherence from its relationship to the theme—as edge-related, with each variation being lent significance by its relationship with what comes before and after it, or by the group of variations within which it is located. In other words, what gives unity to the variation set ... is not the theme as such, but rather a network of 'family resemblances', to use Wittgenstein's term, between the different variations." [Cook, Nicholas, "Music, Imagination, and Culture", Oxford University Press, 1990, ISBN 0198163037, 9780198163039, pp. 60-64.]

There are various opinions about the organization of the Handel Variations. Hans Meyer, for example, sees the divisions as nos. 1-8 ('strict'), 9-12 ('free'), 13 ('synthesis'), 14-17 ('strict') and 18-25 ('free'), culminating, of course, in the fugue. [Rink, John, "Opposition and integration in the piano music," in "The Cambridge Companion to Brahms", ed. Michael Musgrave, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1999, p.86.] William Horne emphasizes paired variations: nos. 3 and 4, 5 and 6, 7 and 8, 11 and 12, 13 and 14, 23 and 24. This helps him to group the set as 1-8, 9-18, 19-25, with each group ending with a fermata and preceded by one or more variation pairs. [Horne, William, in "Brahms Studies, Volume 3", translated by David Brodbeck, University of Nebraska Press, 2001, p. 108f.] John Rink, focusing on Brahms's dynamic markings, writes,

"Brahms takes pains to control the intensity level throughout the twenty-five variations, maintaining a state of flux in the first half, and then keeping the temperature perceptibly low after the peak in Variations 13-15 until the massive 'crescendo' towards the fugue begins in Variation 23. We thus find a sensitivity to motion and momentum that complements—and possibly transcends in importance to the listener—the elegance of structure about which so many authors have (legitimately) enthused. [Rink, John, "Opposition and integration in the piano music," in "The Cambridge Companion to Brahms", ed. Michael Musgrave, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1999, p.87-88.]

Unity is maintained, at least in part, by using Handel's key signature of B flat throughout most of the set, varied by only a few exceptions in the tonic minor, and by repeating Handel's four-bar/two-part structure, including the repeats, in most of the work.

; Theme. AriaHandel's theme is divided into two parts, each four bars in length and each repeated. The elegant aria moves in stately quarter-notes in 4/4 time with "a ceremonial character typical of its period." [Matthews, Denis, "Brahms Piano Music", Ariel Music BBC Publications, 1986, p. 30.] Decorations are prominent. The melody consists of a one-bar figure in the right hand consisting mostly of a trill and a turn; it is repeated in a rising sequence three times followed by a fourth descending repetition; a decorative flourish finishes the first half of the variation, which is then repeated. The left hand plays solid chords in support throughout, three quarter-note chords to each bar setting the pace followed by a rhythmic eighth-note chord leading to the next bar and emphasizing its first beat. The second half follows a similar pattern, varied mainly by alterations to the turns.; Variation I. Più vivoBrahms's first variation stays close to the melody and harmonies of Handel's theme while changing its character completely. It uses stacatto throughout and its syncopated accents are distinctly non-Baroque. The dynamic marking "poco ", too, clearly separates it from Handel's elegant aria. In tempo the variation seems much more hurried, crisp, even dance-like; each time the right hand "pauses" on an eighth-note, the left hands fills in with sixteenth-notes. At the end of the two sections Brahms replaces Handel's decorations with startling, brilliant runs up and down a scale.; Variation II. AnimatoVariation 2 is a subtle piece with a flowing, lilting rhythm. Complexity is added as Brahms uses a favourite technique, found throughout his works, with triple time in one voice against duple time in the other. While explicitly recalling the melody of Handel's theme, its chromaticism adds to the sense of a world beyond the Baroque. In the first half the pattern is of phrases rising on the scale with a crescendo, then falling away in a shorter decrescendo. The second half climbs both in pitch and dynamics to a high climax, again falling away quickly. There is a smooth transition to the next Variation 3.; Variation III. Dolce, scherzandoThe elegant third variation, marked "dolce", moves at a more leisurely pace, providing a sense of calm after two rather busy variations. It also provides a much-needed contrast with the following thunderous variation. Right and left hands alternate and overlap in a pattern of three eighth-notes, the first note played staccato (while the opposite hand is legato), adding to the sense of lightness. The occasional rolled chord adds interest. ; Variation IV. RisolutoThe fourth variation, marked "risoluto", is a showpiece, with sixteenth-notes played in octaves in both hands, strong accents (the "sforzandos" are frequently emphasized by six-note chords) and climaxes that rise a full octave higher than Handel's theme. The charging, syncopated rhythm places the stress on the last sixteenth of almost every beat. Although no tempo indications are given, this variation is often performed at great speed.; Variation V. EspressivoAfter the mighty sounds of the previous variation, the lyrical fifth variation begins quietly. The "espressivo" marking is emphasized by numerous small crescendos and decrescendos. The melody moves upward at a measured pace in eighth-notes while the left hand accompanies with broken chords in sixteenth-notes in contrary motion. Nos. 5 and 6 are paired in their use of contrary motion and the tonic minor key signature (B-flat minor). This is the first variation in which Brahms chooses a key signature different from Handel's.; Variation VI. Sempre misteriosoLike the preceding Variation 5, this piece is in B-flat minor and features contrary motion; and there are similarities in the motives of the two pieces. Marked "p sempre" with legato phrasing, Variation 6 has a hushed, mysterious tone. The pace is measured, as both hands are written mainly in quarter-notes with short sequences of sixteenth-notes providing variety. Here Brahms uses counterpoint in the form of a two-part canon in octaves, including inverted canon for a several measures in the second half.; Variation VII. Deciso, con vivacitaLike Variations 5 and 6, nos. 7 and 8 are paired. Variation 7 returns to Handel's original B-flat major. Fast and exciting, it produces a sustained drumbeat effect as a result of the emphatic repetition of its upper notes and a stacatto rhythm that is uniform in all three voices. Because of the repeated upper notes, the focus moves to the inner voices. Numerous accents add further emphasis to the highly rhythmic character of this variation: in some bars in the first half accents are placed on the last beat of the bar; while in the second half the accents are still more numerous, assigned to every beat except the last of each bar. Each half ends in a peak of excitement, marked "forte" with arpeggios in contrary motion.; Variation VIII. Deciso, con vivacitaVariation 8 continues the rhythmic excitement of Variation 7, the left hand beating out, on the same note over and over, the same anapestic rhythm as the preceding variation. After a few bars the two voices of the right hand are flipped. A fermata at the close provides a moment of silence before no. 9 and signals the end of the first section.; Variation IX. Poco sostenutoVariation 9 slows the pace of the series, with a sense of grandeur as both treble and bass move in stately, and ominous, octaves. The piece is highly chromatic; and, like several earlier variations, treble and bass are in contrary motion throughout. Each two-bar phrase begins with two exclamatory "sf" chords, as if sounding an alarm. The variation starts an octave higher than Handel's theme, and its repeated two-bar pattern continually ascends, increasing in tension, until the hair-raising climax, when it reaches a full two octaves higher than Handel.; Variation X. Allegro energicoVariation 10 sounds devoid of melody, as the main notes of the theme are scattered among various registers. The first half consists of a series of startling gestures that begin with large, loud chords ("p energetico") in the higher registers followed by echoes progressively lower, ending deep in the bass in a series of single notes played "pp". The second half rushes to a great climax.; Variation XI. Moderato, dolce espressivoAfter the tension of Variations 7-10, the next two variations are sweet and melodic. Variation 11 uses counterpoint and has a simple, pleasant air with its rock-steady rhythm in one hand while the second simply plays two notes to one. Variations 11 and 12 are another pairing.; Variation XII. L'istesso tempoThe quietness and delicacy of Variation 12 prepares for the return of the dark tonic minor in Variation 13.; Variation XIII. Largamente ma non troppoVariation 13 features sixths in the right hand against rolled chords in the left, like the strumming of a guitar. For Tovey is suggests a "kind of Hungarian funeral march," [Matthews, Denis, "Brahms Piano Music", Ariel Music BBC Publications, 1986, p. 33.] while Malcolm MacDonald sees it as "a Hungarian fantasia," calling it "florid." [MacDonald, Malcolm, "Brahms (The Master Musician Series)", J.M Dent & Sons Ltd., London, 1990, p.180.] Here Brahms abandons the usual repeat signs and writes variations within the variation.Variations 13 and 14 share the use of parallel sixths in the right hand, although they are very different in character.; Variation XIV. ScioltoBoth Variation 14 and 15 are fast-moving, full of sixteenth-notes. Variation 15, with its extended trills and scalar runs in sixths, is a virtuoso showpiece. Donald Francis Tovey sees a grouping in variations 14-18, which he describes as "aris [ing] one out of the other in a wonderful decrescendo of tone and crescendo of Romantic beauty." [Quoted by Palmer, John, AllMusic.com, http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=42:40005~T1, accessed on August 14, 2008.]

; Variation XV.Variation 15, marked "forte", is a bravura variation building from start to end toward an exciting climax. It consists of a one-bar pattern, varied only slightly, of two declamatory quarter-note chords in the higher registers, followed by lower, rapid sixteenth-notes that echo Handel's original turns. It has a prominent upbeat and a flowing motive. It has been called an tude for Brahms's Second Piano Concerto. [Littlewood, Julian, The Variations of Johannes Brahms, Plumbago Books, 2004, ISBN 0954012348, 9780954012342 ] . It has one "extra" bar. In Brahms's first autograph Variations 15 and 16 were positioned in the reverse order. [Brahms, Johannes, "Handel Variations op. 24", Urtext Edition, G. Henle Verlag HN272, 1978, Preface] ; Variation XVI.In Variation 16 Brahms returns to the contrapuntal techniques of the Baroque with this canon. Malcolm MacDonald describes it as "wittier" than the canon of no.6. [MacDonald, Malcolm, "Brahms (The Master Musician Series)", J.M Dent & Sons Ltd., London, 1990, p.180.] It is paired with the previous Variations 15 as a "variation of variation." [Musgrqave, Michael, " The Music of Brahms", p. 55.] ; Variation XVII. Più mossoVariation 17 has the effect of gently falling raindrops, consisting of graceful descending broken chords in the right hand, marked "p" and stacatto, repeated throughout the work at various pitches. Each note is played twice to suggest a leisurely pace. ; Variation XVIII.Another "variation of variation," paired withe the preceding Variation 17. [Musgrqave, Michael, " The Music of Brahms", p. 55.] ; Variation XIX. Leggiero e vivace ma non troppoThis slow, relaxing variation with its lilting rhythm and 12/8 time is written in the dance style of a Baroque French siciliana from the school of Couperin (Brahms had edited Couperin's music [Musgrave, MIchael, "The Music of Brahms," p. 53.] ). It uses chords almost exclusively in the root position, perhaps as another reminiscence of "antique" music. This variation opens a lengthy quiet section which includes nos. 19-22.; Variation XX. AndanteFrom the outset Variation 20 builds toward its climax. In contrast to the preceding variation, there is little of the Baroque in it with its chromaticism in both treble and bass and its thick textures (triads in the right hand against octaves in the left hand). Malcolm MacDonald describes its "organ-loft progressions." [MacDonald, Malcolm, "Brahms (The Master Musician Series)", J.M Dent & Sons Ltd., London, 1990, p.179f.] ; Variation XXI. VivaceVariation 21 is another example of Brahms's use of triple-against-duple time. ; Variation XXII. Alla musetteOften referred to as the "musical-box" variation because of the regularity of its rhythm, underlined particularly by the bass, [MacDonald, Malcolm, "Brahms (The Master Musician Series)", J.M Dent & Sons Ltd., London, 1990, p.180.] Variation 22 stays consistently in the high registers, above Handel's theme. The lowest note is a B-flat, repeated throughout.; Variation XXIII. VivaceAt Variation 23 the rise toward a final climax begins. It is clearly paired with the following Variation 24, which continues its pattern but in a more hurried, more urgent manner.; Variation XXIV.In preparation for the climactic final variation, no. 24 intensifies the excitement, replacing the triplets of Variation 23 with masses of sixteenth-notes. It is another "variation of variation." [Musgrqave, Michael, " The Music of Brahms", p. 55.] ; Variation XXV.An exultant showpiece, Variation 25 ends the variations and leads into the concluding fugue. It has a strong resemblance to Variation 1.; FugueJulian Littlewood observes of the concluding fugue that it has "a dense contrapuntal argument which recalls Bach more than Handel." He suggests that, despite its magnitude, it avoids separation from the rest of the set by its comparable texture. "In this way it systematically creates a web of links between past and present, achieving synthesis rather than quotation or parody." [Littlewood, Julian, The Variations of Johannes Brahms, Plumbago Books, 2004, ISBN 0954012348, 9780954012342, p. 92.] Michael Musgrave, writing about Brahms's use of variations, says, "Brahms brings his subject, derived, like that of the Diabelli fugue, from the theme, into contrapuntal relationships involving diminution, augmentation, stretto, building to the final peroration through a long dominant pedal with two distinct ideas above. But the pianism is an equal part of the conception, and in this, the most complex example of Brahms's virtuoso style, the characteristic spacings in thirds, sixths and wide spans between the hands are employed as never before. Indeed, the pianistic factor serves to create the great contrasts within the fugue, which transcends a traditional fugal movement to create a further set of variations, in which many of the previous textures are recalled in the context of the equally transformed fugal theme." [Musgrqave, Michael, " The Music of Brahms", p. 57-58.]

Notes

External links

* [http://music.ibiblio.org/pub/multimedia/pandora/vorbis/piano/Goldstein/Variations_Brahms_Handel/ Free recording from Pandora Music]
* [http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/notes/55201-N.asp Sleeve notes from a recording by Seta Tanyel (free registration required)]
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* [http://www.bh2000.net/score/pianbrah/bp07.pdf Free score]