Brahms (1833-1897) was born in the turbulent 19th century. In this rich era, he inherited the spirit of classicism and the influence of romanticism, which enabled him to create his own style in the latter part of the 19th century.
Brahms’ works covered instrumental and vocal music. Thirteen orchestral/ choral works plays an important role in Brahms' composition and runs through the four periods of Brahms' career. Among them, German Requiem, Song of Triumph, Alto Rhapsody, Song of Destiny, are Brahms's most famous and important orchestra accompanied choral works.
Song of Destiny was composed from 1868 to 1871. The lyrics are derived from the poem Hyperions Schicksalslied by the German poet Hölderlin. Hyperion was a young Greek who faced the cruelty of war. Coupled with the lost of his lover, he expressed his deep grief with poetry. The Lyrics, in the beginning, describes the heavenly life, a tranquil and free world. On the contrary, the human world is full of pain and doubt. Brahms uses music to express these two different emotions. The original ending of the story is sad; however, Brahms closes his music with a positive and peaceful feeling--although life has a lot of trouble, music can soothe people's hearts.
Song of Destiny uses two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two French horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani and strings in the orchestra, and a four-part mixed choir. The music is divided into three sections. The first section is in E-flat major and in a slow motion, including the orchestral introduction and the choir sings the first and second stanzas of the text. The second section is in C minor and fast tempo. The choir sings the third stanza. The third section is in C major. The tempo goes back to Adagio and the weave returns to only the orchestra's ending. Brahms describes the emotional transition of the lyrics by changing the tonality and tempo, making the music closer to the meaning of the text.
This thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter 1 is the introduction, which presents the motivation, the research method, and the references. Chapter 2 explores the life of the composer, his orchestral/choral works, and the background of the text for "Song of Destiny.” Chapter 3 is the musical analysis of Song of Destiny; Chapter 4 provides suggestions for rehearsal and interpretation of Song of Destiny. The last chapter is the conclusion. There is also a table of contents for German pronunciation and phonetic of the text of Song of Destiny.