Thematic and tonal imagery in Brahms's Ballade in D Minor, Op. 10, No. 1

American Music Teacher, Dec, 2004 by llen Rennie Flint

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There may yet be another, perhaps subtler, connection between the two themes. We need not "read" or understand these musical relationships in a simple chronological fashion. One of the most powerful factors in the musical rendering of an intricate drama is that relationships, motivations and events may be condensed structurally. That the guiding motivation of Edward's theme lies in the melodic and rhythmic structure of the Mother's theme, may indeed point a musical finger at the underlying motivation for Edward's damnable act.

The harmonization of the contrapuntal lines of Edward's theme in a somewhat anachronistic homorhythmic texture with octave doubling of the bassline, calls to mind the well-known stately four-voice settings of Lutheran chorale tunes by J.S. Bach. With such a forthright setting, Edward immediately asserts his noble status and, no doubt, hopes to dupe his Mother. It is, of course, all bluster.

In the Scottish ballad, the Mother obviously does not believe her son's first answer, and she queries him again and again. Edward's second answer, "O, I have killed my red-roan steed," yet another lie, is a variant of his first lie, "O, I have killed my hawk so good." This web of lies is aptly communicated in Brahms's setting by the invertible counterpoint that forms the basis of Edward's second musical statement (see measures 22-26 and Example 5).

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Yet another variant of Edward's first theme is presented in measures 44 and following. Edward's final, truthful, answer, "O, I have killed my father dear," explodes at the end of the third stanza of the poem and in the music at the anacrusis to measure 44. Here, the musical answer is registrally at its most widely spaced, with octave doublings of both of the contrapuntal lines, as shown in Example 6. This outburst is accompanied by a fortissimo dynamic marking, in clear contrast to Edward's earlier more controlled, but deceitful, statements, each of which is marked with a piano dynamic level.

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The unrelenting rise to this musical and poetic height of passion proceeds throughout the second section of the work. From measure 27 to the anacrusis to measure 44, the listener can trace, musically, Edward's increasing confusion and mounting hysteria. It also may be noted by those interested in such music-architectural details that the final and truthful answer, the point of greatest tension, occurs in the score at the point of greatest structural significance, measure 44, the Golden Mean.

The musical placement of Edward's truthful answer does not correspond, structurally, to the poetic placement of Edward's confession, which occurs quite early in the poem at the end of the third stanza. Brahms, however, delays the climactic point of the musical setting to create nearly unbearable tension at the approach to Edward's damning admission. In the second section of the piece, we find Edward becoming caught up, as it were, in his second lie and weaving, perhaps, an increasingly convoluted story about his red-roan steed. All the while, the Mother continues her insistent and incessant questioning.