Played by LAFHTTE
Two Ballads:
Op. 10, No. 1 (' Edward ') ; Op. 118, No.
THE first of the four Ballads that make up
Brahms' Op. 10 is described as 'After the. Scottish ballad Edward '—the words of which the Composer later set as one of his Ballads and Romances (Op. 75). This ancient tale, the spirit of which is caught in the piece we are to hear, is found in Percy's Reliques. It is a dialogue between a mother and her son. He comes in with reddened sword, and she anxiously asks what is the meaning of it. He says first that he has killed his steed. Pressed, he declares that he has killed his father. In the mother's heart fear and horror grow. Ho says he will ' fare over the sea,' leaving his wife and children for ever. And what will ye leave to your ain mither dear ? ' she tremblingly asks. In anger and despair the son cries out, 'The curse of hell frae me shall ye bear! '-for
' sic counsels ye gave to me.'
The later Ballad is one of the set of six pieces that make up Op. 118, written in 1893, the Composer's sixtieth year. It is short, crisp and vigorous, with a sweet lyrical interlude in the middle. A momentary reminiscence of this gentler strain forms its happy end.