No. 1: Andante, D minor, 4/4 time

This piece possesses the strongest character as a ballade and is the most frequently performed among all of them. It is a work imbued with dramatic power and tension.

This piece is based on "The Scottish Ballad 'Edward'" from "Voices of the Peoples" by the German Romantic poet Herder, and is also known as the "Edward Ballade."

This poem consists of a dialogue between a mother who quietly questions her son about killing his father, and her son Edward, who is agitated and tormented by guilt.

In response to this poem, the Lieder composer Loewe wrote a song (Op. 1, No. 1), and Brahms also composed a duet for alto and tenor (Op. 75, No. 1) in 1877.