Sextet in B flat major Op.18

The twin pillars of the string sextet repertoire are the Brahms Sextets in B flat Op.18 and G major Op.35, the first of which has the particularly irresistible appeal of an at-first-sight love affair with a newly discovered medium. What he liked about the string sextet texture was not so much the opportunity for contrapuntal elaboration as the breadth and variety of its sonority. The presence of a second cello, liberating the first from bass-line duties, was a particularly significant factor. That much is clear not only from the exposition of the opening Allegro ma non troppo, where the first cello introduces two of the three main themes, but also from the development, much of which is a dialogue between the first cello and one or the other of the violins.

Another factor in the composer’s affection for the medium was the sheer size of it – as demonstrated by the multi-stopped chords adopted by all six instruments in the first variation in the Andante, the surging cellos and viola in the third variation, the solid unisons in the fourth, all throwing into relief the delicate bagpipe scoring of the fifth variation. If the short Scherzo is less interesting from this pont of view, it is no less entertaining. As for the closing Rondo, while sharing many of the textural characteristics of the first movement, it introduces a few more, not the least attractive of which are the stuttering repeated notes of the “papapapapapageno” coda.

The twin pillars of the string sextet repertoire are the Brahms Sextets in B flat Op.18 and G major Op.35. Of the two, the later work is generally considered the superior – which, in terms of material and structure, it surely is. The Sextet in B flat, however, has the irresistible appeal of an at-first-sight love affair with a newly discovered medium. What Brahms liked about the string sextet texture was not so much the opportunity for contrapuntal elaboration as the breadth and variety of its sonority. The presence of a second cello, liberating the first from bass-line duties, was a particularly significant factor. That much is clear not only from the exposition of the opening Allegro ma non troppo, where the first cello introduces two of the three main themes, but also from the development, much of which is a dialogue between the first cello and one or the other of the violins. The characteristic sound of the work derives also from the richness of the inner parts made available by the two violas and the potential for intricate pizzicato colouring, in which Brahms so effectively indulges himself in the lingering coda of the first movement.

Another factor in Brahms’s affection for the sextet medium was the sheer size of it – as demonstrated by the multi-stopped chords adopted by all six instruments in the first variation on the D minor theme of the Andante, the surging cellos and viola in the third variation, the solid unisons in the fourth, all throwing into relief the delicate bagpipe scoring of the fifth variation. If the short Scherzo is less interesting from this pont of view, it is no less entertaining. As for the closing Rondo, while sharing many of the textural characteristics of the first movement, it introduces a few more –    including an enterprising contrapuntal episode, the recall of the main theme split between the upper and lower halves of the ensemble, and the repeated notes of the “Papapapageno” coda.

brahms: sextet in B flat

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

Sextet in B flat major Op.18

Allegro ma non troppo

Andante ma moderato

Scherzo: allegro molto

Rondo: poco allegretto e grazioso

The twin pillars of the string sextet repertoire are the Brahms Sextets in B flat Op.18 and G major Op.35. Of the two, the later work is generally considered the superior - which, in terms of material and structure, it surely is. The Sextet in B flat, however, has the irresistible appeal of an at-first-sight love affair with a newly discovered medium. Started in 1859 at Detmold, where Brahms had already written his two Serenades in a similarly relaxed frame of mind, it was completed in the following year and, thanks not least to the advocacy of Joseph Joachim, quickly established itself as a popular favourite.

What Brahms liked about the string sextet texture was not so much the opportunity for contrapuntal elaboration as the breadth and variety of its sonority. The presence of a second cello, liberating the first from bass-line duties, was a particularly significant factor. That much is clear not only from the exposition of the opening Allegro ma non troppo, where the first cello introduces two of the three main themes, but also from the development, much of which is a dialogue between the first cello and one or the other of the violins. Much of the characteristic sound of the work derives also from the richness of the inner parts made available by the two violas and the potential for intricate pizzicato colouring, in which Brahms so effectively indulges himself in the lingering coda of the first movement.

Another factor in Brahms’s affection for the sextet medium was the sheer size of it - as demonstrated by the multi-stopped chords adopted by all six instruments in the first variation on the D minor theme of the Andante, the surging cellos and viola in the third variation, the solid unisons in the fourth, all throwing into relief the delicate bagpipe scoring of the fifth variation. If the short Scherzo is less interesting from this pont of view, it is no less entertaining. As for the closing Rondo, while sharing many of the textural characteristics of the first movement, it introduces a few more - including an enterprising contrapuntal episode, the recall of the main theme split between the upper and lower halves of the ensemble, and the repeated notes of the “Papapapageno” coda.