Tragic Overture in D minor Op. 81 [full score] EB 8665 The underlying 13-vers hymn by

The underlying 13-vers hymn by Michael Franck provided Bach and his unidentified librettist with an abundance of metaphors and comparisons which

and of ‘Antiphon’ from Five Mystical Songs

the variety and refinement of the choral language combines with an enormous flexibility in form and expression

in 1912 in Berchtesgaden

then applied the expositions as “programs”

Tragic Overture in D minor Op. 81 [full score] EB 8665 The underlying 13-vers hymn byJohannes Brahms wrote hisTragic Overture op. 81 in summer 1880 in Ischl. The world premiere took place on 26 December of that year in the Musikverein in Vienna under the direction of Hans Richter. The first edition (score and parts) was published by N. Simrock (Berlin) in 1881.