Composed by Johannes Brahms
Edited and Arranged by James McCullough
SATB Chorus and Piano
The second in a series of four songs from Brahms' opus 43, which he composed in 1866, at the age of thirty-three. Its form is ternary (ABA) in structure.
This composion clearly lifts the folksong-like qualities of this title well into the realm of the Art Song. Even though some musicologists have found that Die Mainacht has a strong similarity to the Ukrainian folk song used in Rimsky-Korsakov's opera May Night.