Ex. 1-8: Nachtwandler

No. 3 from Brahms's "6 Lieder" (Op. 86, published 1882). The poem is by Max Kalbeck, one of Brahms's closest friends, a music critic who later wrote the first biography of Brahms.

A sleepwalker wanders along the edge of a cliff, guided by moonlight, lost in a dream of sweet sorrow. The poem warns: do not wake him — "woe to the lips that rouse him" (do not wake him, or you will be cursed). The piano accompaniment captures both the stillness of the night and the unnaturally steady footsteps of the dreamer.

The same collection also includes "Feldeinsamkeit," one of Brahms's most famous songs.

Track 4 from the album The Exquisite Hour by Dame Sarah Connolly (2006)
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