BRAHMS — “Herzlich tut mich verlangen,” from Eleven Chorale Preludes, Op. Post. 122

Johannes Brahms: “Herzlich tut mich verlangen,” from Eleven Chorale Preludes, Op. Post. 122 Christina and Michelle Naughton, piano Performed on Sunday, September 20, 2015 Field Concert Hall, Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia Brahms followed in the footsteps of Bach, the undisputed master of the chorale prelude, with his own chorale prelude on “Herzlich tut mich verlangen.“ Brahms pays homage to Bach not only in the choice of form, but by using one of Bach’s own melodies as the basis for his prelude. Writing for organ, Brahms set the melody in the pedals, creating a hauntingly beautiful effect in which the melody is surrounded on both sides by the flowing accompaniment figures. This sound is particularly difficult to recreate when performed on the piano, and all the more striking in this performance as the melody shines through the mysterious undulations of the accompaniment. Brahms’s setting of this melody is surely inspired by the same words from which Bach drew inspiration many years before him, “I yearn from my heart for a peaceful end.“