布拉姆斯《受患難的人為何有光賜給他呢？》作品分析與詮釋

Abstract

布拉姆斯（Johannes Brahms, 1833-1897）為十九世紀浪漫時期德奧作曲家，自小修習鋼琴並對作曲展現極大興趣與才能；作品種類繁多，包含藝術歌曲、鋼琴曲、室內樂、交響曲…等，更因著在漢堡女聲合唱團與維也納歌唱協會任職的經歷，成為合唱音樂重要作曲家。《受患難的人為何有光賜給他呢？》（Warum ist das Licht gegeben?, op. 74, no. 1）創作於一八七七年，為四個樂章的聖詠經文歌，並以四聲部與六聲部混聲無伴奏合唱之編制演唱；全曲以舊約人物約伯的故事為主題，引用聖經相關之經節與路德聖詠為歌詞，闡述約伯在忍耐中戰勝苦難的信息，音樂與歌詞深刻連結，是布拉姆斯重要無伴奏合唱作品。第一樂章為全曲篇幅最長、戲劇性最強烈的樂章；歌詞述及約伯在苦難中對生命的質疑，以四四拍啟始，並以四次「為什麼」動機貫穿全曲，將樂曲分為三段：第一段為模仿進入，並以不和諧聲響刻劃約伯的痛楚，第二段以和聲的轉換描繪約伯對死亡的想望，第三段以拍號與織度的變化再次質疑苦難的圍困。第二樂章為全曲最明亮的樂章；歌詞述及在苦難中仍須仰望神，全樂章為六四拍，分為兩段：第一段為模仿進入，詠唱音型上揚的動機，第二段再次以此動機進入，並以成對的動機交織，累積能量至樂章終了。第三樂章為全曲樂段間速度與音樂表情差異最大的樂章；歌詞引用新約時代雅各對約伯的評論為詞，分為兩段：第一段為四四拍，以莊重的定旋律手法與點狀模仿敘述忍耐必定蒙福，第二段為六四拍，以較具節奏性的動機描繪約伯美好的結局，並以第二樂章再現頌讚主的慈愛。第四樂章是篇幅最短卻在歌詞與音樂上集大成的樂章；採用路德聖詠之歌詞與旋律，以和聲式織度為約伯因忍耐而蒙福畫上安穩的句點，其中布拉姆斯在聖詠樂句的和聲設計呼應前三樂章之調性，在音樂上亦作了完美的總結。本論文共四章：第一章「緒論」分為三節，分別敘述研究者之研究動機、研究範圍及內容與研究方法與文獻；第二章分為四節，第一節介紹布拉姆斯生平，第二節探討聖詠經文歌之歷史沿革，第三節為此作品歌詞出處探究，第四節為此作品重要詞彙之發音探討；第三章分為四節，依序介紹四個樂章的創作手法分析與指揮注意事項；第四章為結論。Johannes Brahms(1833-1897) was a German and Austrian composer in the 19th century Romantic period. His compositional genres are diverse, including piano pieces, chamber music, and symphonies. Because of his experience in Hamburg Frauenchor and Wiener Singakademie, he became an important composer in the choral music field.“Warum ist das Licht gegeben?” op. 74, no.1 was composed in 1877. It is a motet with four movements in a four-part and six-part mixed choir, and it sings in a cappella. The theme of the entire piece revolves around the story of Job, a character from the Old testament. Brahms quoted the relevant verses of the Bible about Job and Luther chorale as the lyrics to expound Job's victory over suffering through endurance. This motet is an important a cappella piece of Brahms’ compositions. The first movement is the longest and most dramatic movement in the whole piece. It starts in four-four meter, and the lyrics describe Job’s questioning of life in suffering. Four "Warum" motives run through the whole piece, and the piece is divided into three periods: the first period comes with an imitation, and describes Job's pain with dissonant sounds, and the second period describes Job's longing for death with modulation, the third period questions the siege of sufferings with the change of time signature and texture. The second movement is the brightest movement of the whole piece. It is in sixty-four meter, and the lyrics refer that we should look up to God in sufferings. The movement is divided into two periods: the first period comes with an imitation and the motive of the rising figure. The second period enters again with this motive, and interweave with pairedmotives to increase energy until the end of the movement. The third movement is the movement with the greatest difference in tempo and expression among the periods of the whole piece. The lyrics quote Jacob’s comments on Job, and the music is divided into two periods: the first period is in four-four meter, and uses a cantus firmus and points of imitation to interpret that patience will be blessed. The second period is in sixty-four meter, and depicts Job's wonderful ending with rhythmic motives. Finally, Brahms uses the recapitulation of the second movement to praise the love of the Lord. The fourth movement is the shortest but the most epitomizing movement in lyrics and music; it adopts the lyrics and melody of Luther chorale, and draws a stable ending with a harmonic texture. Brahms arranged the harmony of the phrases to respond the tonality of the first three movements, and made a perfect summary in music. This thesis consists of four chapters. The introduction chapter covers motivation, research content, methodology, and introduces related literature. The second chapter explores the biography of Brahms, the history of chorale motet, and the text analysis about the source and the pronunciation of this piece. Composing analysis and rehearsal precautions are discussed in the third chapter, followed by the conclusion.