The Gesang der Parzen op. 89 (Song of the Fates) was composed by Johannes Brahms in the summer of 1882. In his last work for choir and orchestra, he sets an excerpt from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s drama Iphigenia in Tauris to music. According to Max Kalbeck, he was inspired to do so by Charlotte Wolter’s (1834–1897) portrayal of Iphigenia at the Burgtheater in Vienna. The composition was written during a stay in Ischl, together with two chamber music works, and is thematically closely rela...