Brahms Twelve Songs, Opus 44 were originally composed between 1859 and 1866 for his Women\'s Chorus in Hamburg, which he founded in 1959. These songs are some of the only a cappella works of his. Several of the songs have folk origins, however No. 10 is more serious (If You Walk Through the Churchyard). This collection is Brahms\' nod to the choral traditions of the Renaissance and early Baroque.

Mr. Sauer has produced a lovely score that is perfect for intermediate level performers, the music being in bass clef and of moderate technical difficulty and range. Each song is between 1 and 2 minutes in length.

Brahms wrote three sets of Motets. This Motet, Opus 74, No. 2 composed in the early 1860?s is taken from text written by Friedrich Spee (1591-1635), inspired from the Hebrew bible. This Motet is often performed at Advent by Catholic and Protestant church choirs. As with much of Brahms? choral music, there is exceptional harmonic beauty and counterpoint which was influenced greatly by Bach.

Mr. Sauer has done an exceptional job of scoring this work for four part choir of advanced performers.

Bach?s great Chaconne from the Partita in d minor BWV 1004 for Violin was arranged for piano left-hand by Brahms and now has been arranged yet again for Trombone Quartet by Phil Brink. This 8-minute work is appropriate for advanced performers and will make a great addition to any recital.