Brahms’s Lullaby: A Loving Ode From a Lonely Heart

Johannes Brahms, composer of probably the most well-known lullaby in the world. L: Shutterstock | Oleg Golovnev, R: Illustration | pixabay

Most of us have no memory of when we first heard it. A simple melodic phrase moves stepwise between adjacent notes on the scale, without dissonance or unexpected tension. The gentle rhythm of the 6/8 time emulates a rocking cradle, creating a feeling of warmth and security. A subtle shift in the slow, balanced harmony prevents tedium. Nevertheless, by the second time it is repeated, you begin to nod off. By the end, sleep overtakes you.

The song is the “Wiegenlied,” or “Cradle Song.” Also known as “Brahms’s Lullaby” (Op. 49, No. 4), it is one of the world’s most universally recognized tunes. The story of how Johannes Brahms came to write it is as interesting as the piece itself.

Johannes Brahms's "Wiegenlied." Public Domain

A Lonely Genius

Brahms’s genius shows itself through the variety of his compositions. Most often, complex structures and deep emotions are the norm. His orchestral works, concertos, his German Requiem, and other large-scale pieces like this are still performed frequently today. But Brahms also had an ability to scale back to a level that ordinary people could relate to.

The composer’s work on his large oeuvre left little time to establish a family life. The creator of one of the world’s most popular children’s songs never married and had no children of his own. He was in love many times, however, often with women who were already spoken for. Most famous among these cases was his unrequited affection for the composer Clara Schumann, wife of his close friend Robert Schumann. In lieu of love, Brahms lived for music.

Wooing Bertha Faber

A photograph of Johannes Brahms in 1866 by Lucien Mazenod. Public Domain

One of Brahms’s most important failed romances inspired the “Cradle Song.” The long genesis of this piece began when he was still a handsome young man in his late 20s, living in Hamburg, Germany. While conducting the Hamburg Women’s Chorus (Hamburger Frauenchor), he met Bertha Porubsky.

The two began writing one another, and we can trace the arc of their relationship through their correspondence. In his first letter to her, dated Oct. 9, 1859, Brahms addressed Bertha as a “revered, dear friend.” He wrote, “I wish you had seen my delighted face when I found your letters and read them. The first lovely handwriting was already familiar, I had indeed looked upon it that last evening in Hamburg, and how often, since then.”

The common love of music and shared experiences between Brahms and Bertha, not surprisingly, led to a blossoming romance. His addresses quickly progressed from “dear friend” to “revered lady,” and then “most revered one.” In a letter dated Nov. 20 1859, he confronts the rising “gossip” surrounding their “clandestine correspondence,” saying, “Good girls appear to have their eyes fixed so unwaveringly on their careers that they all too quickly sniff out the scent of someone wishing to give a helping hand to one of them.”

Sometime during their relationship, Bertha sang a popular Austrian love song to him called “S'is Anderscht“ Brahms never forgot the tune.

After a few years, the relationship cooled. The fault lay entirely with Brahms, who suddenly stopped writing to her—a pattern characteristic of him. Bertha responded by returning to Vienna and marrying wealthy industrialist Arthur Faber in 1863. Despite their past, Brahms remained friends with Bertha and Arthur for the rest of his life, spending many a Christmas Eve together with them.

Inspiring the ‘Lullaby’

When Bertha’s second child was born, Brahms wrote his now-famous lullaby to commemorate the event. While writing it, he turned to the old love song Bertha had once sung to him, using it as the countermelody in the piano accompaniment. In a letter dated August 1868, Brahms wrote to the couple:

“Frau Bertha will immediately see that I composed the cradle song yesterday specifically for your little one; she will also find it quite appropriate, as do I, that while she sings Hans to sleep, her husband sings to her and murmurs a love song.”

Brahms also asked Bertha to send him the music and words to the song, admitting that in the years since he’d heard her sing it, “It buzzes in my ear only somewhat approximately.”

The “Cradle Song” was an immediate success with the public. In the years since it was written, it has been arranged in different formats for almost every conceivable instrument—from piano to concert band.

Not only is its popularity undeniable, so are the benefits for your listening child. Exposing children to lullabies has been scientifically proven to improve the cognitive development, creativity, and emotional expression of the developing young brain.

Studies have found that mothers singing to their babies enhances their development. Prostock-studio/Shutterstock

Moreover, singing or playing lullabies to your children need not begin in the nursery. Babies in the womb are capable of hearing sounds as early as 16 weeks into pregnancy. By 24 weeks, they are able to recognize their mother’s voice and language patterns. The cognitive benefits apply just as much to children in utero as to toddlers. Numerous recordings of Brahms’s Lullaby are available to listen to for free on the internet.

Anyone who has ever sacrificed romance to pursue a career knows that, even in the most successful cases, the decision is never entirely agreeable. At the end of his life, Brahms regretted never marrying and having children. In his “Lullaby,” we hear not only the sweetness of the music, but a wistful longing for what he never had. Even as he remained quietly unfulfilled in his personal life, though, his emotional insight reverberates in every note.

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