Brahms replied in detail, expressing the "great and genuine" pleasure he received from the letter, calling Lachner's analyses unusually perceptive and insightful, then saying "I would have to confess that I am, by the by, a severely melancholic person, that black wings are constantly flapping above us".
Brahms responded in great detail, expressing his deep pleasure from the letter, praising Lachner's analyses as remarkably perceptive and insightful, before revealing a more somber aspect of himself: "I must confess that I am, by the way, a deeply sorrowful person, with dark wings constantly looming above us".