Castalia

Looking deeply at a Brahms Ballade

Dear Friends,

Brahms’ Ballade in G minor, Op. 118 #3, is not all in G minor; in the middle, we find ourselves in B major! That Brahms returns to G minor, returns to the original idea, does not on its own give the work unity; why this middle section? why this key in the middle?

I am so happy to be discussing the piece with you again; here it is, in my performance:

Ballade in G minor, Op. 118 #3

by Johannes Brahms (1833 — 1897)

performed by Ishmael Wallace, pianist

As we trace the way it happens, we gain some clarity; the B belongs to a bass arpeggiation, the bass moving through a G major chord. Before becoming a tonic, B has been a tone in the bass; after its time as a tonic, it moves on through a passing C to D, and back to G.

This is beautiful, but the Why remains; why, in a G minor work, should the bass move through a G major chord?

Music as a Path:

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