The Use of Chorale in the Motets of Johannes Brahms: Plurality of Musical Languages

Abstract

This document examines the chorale settings found in the motets of Johannes Brahms in order to illustrate how Brahms draws upon the chorale settings of Bach's motets and cantatas. By incorporating progressive nineteenth-century idioms into the chorales of his motets, Brahms not only referenced Bach's works, but also further developed the motet genre. I will demonstrate, through the approach of plurality of musical languages, that Brahms's use of chorales in his motets, while referencing Bach's motet and cantata models, creates a new motet style that is distinctively Brahms's. The four motets included in this study due to their use of chorale are "Es ist das Heil uns kommen her," op. 29, no. 1; "Warum ist das Licht gegeben dem Mühseligen," op. 74, no. 1; "O Heiland, reiss die Himmel auf," op. 74, no. 2; and "Ach, arme Welt," op. 110, no. 2.