Johannes Brahms

Triumphlied op. 55

The main part of the volume contains the well-known three-movement printed version of the large-scale 'Triumphlied' (for double choir, baritone solo, orchestra and organ ad libitum) and presents in the appendix an early version of the first movement, which was rediscovered only a few years ago in the archive of the Philharmonische Gesellschaft Bremen. The introduction reconstructs, among other things, how Brahms succeeded in dedicating his work, composed in 1870/71, to the German Emperor Wilhelm I, and describes the surprisingly varied performance and reception history, especially up to the end of the Empire in 1918. The edition report brings a comprehensive description and evaluation of the sources consulted, an in-depth account of the history of composition and publication, and detailed documentation of readings and editorial changes in the musical text.

Johannes Behr is a research associate at the Kiel Research Center of the Johannes Brahms Complete Edition, Ulrich Tadday is Professor of Historical Musicology at the University of Bremen.