Johannes Brahms – Rinaldo: Cantata for tenor, chorus and orchestra, Op. 50 (1/4)

Rinaldo, Op. 50 – Cantata for solo tenor, four-part male chorus and orchestra

I. Allegro

Cantata by German Romantic composer Johannes Brahms (1833-1897), a setting of the dramatic poem «Rinaldo» by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832). Goethe’s poem is based on an episode from the 1581 Italian epic poem «Gerusalemme liberata» (Jerusalem Delivered) by Torquato Tasso, which provided inspiration to countless artists and composers over many centuries. Goethe’s poem is a series of dialogues between the Christian knight Rinaldo, who was bewitched and seduced by the Saracen princess Armida, and his companion knights who are calling him back to his duty. The episode is somewhat reminiscent of Aeneas’s departure from Carthage and abandonment of Dido in Vergil’s «Aeneid.»

Text of Rinaldo:
http://www.recmusic.org/lieder/get_text.html?TextId=41398

An English translation is available at the following website:

Tenor: Stig Anderson
Conductor: Gerd Albrecht
Danish National Symphony Orchestra and Chorus