Let Nothing Ever Grieve Thee “Lass dich nur nichts nicht dauren”

• 2 Trumpets in B♭
• Horn in F
• Trombone
• Organ

“Lass dich nur nichts nicht dauren”, written in 1856, is not only an extremely beautiful, profound, and serene setting of the comforting text of Paul Flemming (1609-1640), but it is also a masterfully crafted composition. Brahms has written a double canon. The first trumpet and horn are in canon at a major second and the second trumpet and trombone are also in canon at a major second, all of this against a totally independent organ accompaniment. The “Amen” is one of the most moving settings of that word ever written. The performance of this piece should give a feeling of complete serenity. One should strive for very long consistent phrases with crescendos and decrescendos initially over only a limited dynamic range, progressing to a very wide range in the “Amen” section. There should be almost no sense of meter achieved through rhythmic accent, but rather, the sense of meter should be achieved through harmonic movement and placement of dissonance. Organ registration should be kept light and transparent throughout.

This work is part of our Denver Brass Signature Series.