Another classic German piece...so I might be a little biased. This arrangement of the Brahms is a TTBB version with the same beautiful melody and poetry. I would reserve this piece for a high school men's ensemble. The german text is beautiful, but lengthy and contains some of the more difficult Germanic vowel and consonant sounds. However, with my background in German, I am confident in my ability to teach this text.
There are long passages of unison that then slowly peel off into harmonic lines. None of the voice parts reach the extremes of the ranges. The bass parts lie between B2 and C#4. The tenor lines lie between C#3 and G4. Most all dissonances are prepared by step. A good deal of the chromatic pitches are prepared by neighbor tones or a preexisting senority in the piano.
This piece is good for teaching legato and unison singing. It is also a good piece to learn to hear close harmonies. The singers can learn to feel comfortable singing German as well as crisp consonants. Many phrases end with a consonant sound, and the singers will be challenged to end together.
This poetry, although in German, is very relatable in its content. The idea of being unhappy, although the outside world is very happy, is quite relatable for high school students.
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