In 1896 Brahms started work on what was to be his final compositions the eleven chorale preludes. He was preoccupied with his own death and burial, which was imminent, as he had recently lost several dear friends, who included the death of his beloved Clara Schumann, and understandably the texts of the other ten chorale preludes reflect this mood of resignation. But on the other hand in �Es Ist Ein Ros� Entsprungen� he set a joyful hymn, which celebrates the birth of Christ. In the piece�s twenty-one bars in which there are no less than eight perfect cadences in the home key he manages to capture with assured confidence a mood of tender contemplation and tranquillity.