Es war, als hΓ€tt' der Himmel Die Erde still gekΓΌsst Dass sie im BlΓΌtenschimmer Von ihm nun trΓ€umen mΓΌsst'. Die Luft ging durch die Felder Die Γhren wogten sacht Es rauschten leis' die WΓ€lder So sternklar war die Nacht. Und meine Seele spannte Weit ihre FlΓΌgel aus Flog durch die stillen Lande Als flΓΆge sie nach Haus.
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Liederkreis, Op. 39, is a song cycle composed by Robert Schumann. Its poetry is taken from Joseph Eichendorff's collection entitled Intermezzo.
Written in 1840 while he was in Berlin, the piece is considered one of the world's loveliest nocturnes and is believed to have been first sung by Mendelssohn.
The ambience of this slow, sustained, strophic song, is based on a few of the poet's delicate words that describe the tender rapture of twilight. It is built almost entirely on one simple melodic eight-bar phrase that is repeated twice to form each verse, except the last, in which the phrase is preceded by eight measures of new material. The prelude reappears between the verses to provide separation and cohesion, making the work's structure comparable to medieval barform.
Schumann brought the poem to life in a number of ways. First, he attempted to give the work's phrases endless depth by adding short breaks for breath and by employing suspended fifths. Secondly, he emphasized the union of the earth and sky by repeatedly spelling out the word "ehe" (marriage) in the piano part with the notes E, B, E, creating an intense fusion between music and meaning. Thirdly, between phrases, he used the piano to imitate the rustling of the wings of his soul as it "flew over the countryside."
Upon returning home from Berlin, Schumann presented a copy of the work to his mother-in-law, in celebration of her birthday.
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"The Eichendorff cycle is my most Romantic music ever, and it contains much of you."
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Franz Schubert - Der Leiermann / The Organ Grinder / The Hurdy-Gurdy Man
Thomas Quasthoff, baritone
Daniel Barenboim, piano
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Way behind the hamlet stands an organ man and with freezing fingers grinds the best he can. Barefoot on the snowbank swaying to and fro –- and his little plate has ne’er a coin to show. No-one comes to listen, no-one comes to greet, and the dogs are growling at the old man’s feet. And he lets it happen, lets it as it will –- cranking – and his organ never staying still. Strangest of the Ancients, must I walk with you? Will you grind my Lieders on your organ, too?
DrΓΌben hinterm Dorfe Steht ein Leiermann, Und mit starren FingernDreht er was er kann. BarfuΓ auf dem Eise Schwankt er hin und her; Und sein kleiner Teller Bleibt ihm immer leer. Keiner mag ihn hΓΆren, Keiner sieht ihn an; Und die Hunde brummen Um den alten Mann. Und er lΓ€Γt es gehen Alles, wie es will, Dreht, und seine Leier Steht ihm nimmer still. Wunderlicher Alter, Soll ich mit dir gehn? Willst zu meinen Liedern Deine Leier drehn?
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Franz Schubert’s Winterreise (Winter Journey), completed in 1827, is a set of 24 songs for voice and piano composed almost entirely using minor keys, with poems by Wilhelm MΓΌller. Its mournful character reflects some of the personal trauma that Schubert himself was experiencing at the time. After years of a rather debauched life Schubert had contracted syphilis. The disease (or perhaps the treatment of it), was ultimately responsible for his death in 1828 at the age of 31.
Schubert's Winterreise is not merely a collection of songs upon a single theme (lost or unrequited love) but is in effect one single dramatic monologue, lasting over an hour in performance. Although some individual songs are sometimes included separately in recitals (e.g. "Gute Nacht", "Der Lindenbaum" and "Der Leiermann"), it is a work which is usually presented in its entirety. The intensity and the emotional inflections of the poetry are carefully built up to express the sorrows of the lover, and are developed to an almost pathological degree from the first to the last note.
The cycle comprises a monodrama from the point of view of the wandering protagonist, in which concrete plot is somewhat ambiguous. After his beloved falls for another, the grief-stricken young man steals away from town at night and follows the river and steep ways to a coal burner's hut, where he rests before moving on. He comes across a village, passes a crossroads, and arrives at a cemetery. Here being denied even the death on which he has become fixated, he defiantly renounces faith before reaching a point of resignation. Finally he encounters a derelict street musician, the first and only instance in the cycle in which another character is present. The mysterious and ominous nature of the musician, along with the question posed in the last lines, leave the fate of the wanderer open to interpretation. Many scholars and musicians have interpreted the musician as Death himself, ready to take the protagonist. The final song describes not only his final despair but the absolute and unequivocal deterioration of his mental state. The piano plays the most forlorn repetitive melody and under the sung text is only a bare fifth chord. The desolation and despair are complete.
The composer in 1825, by Wilhelm August Rieder, 1875 oil painting after a watercolor
The Nocturne is a musical genre often related and inspired by the night. One of the most important features of the nocturne is the lyrical melody in the right hand accompanied by the broken chords played in the left hand.
Chopin regularly taught his own music to students, and one of his students, Wilhelm von Lenz, recalls how Chopin was extremely picky about this piece. No one could play it as good as him. Wilhelm said, “You play it so beautifully…can no one else?” Chopin replied, “Liszt can”.
This well-known nocturne is in rounded binary form (A, A, B, A, B, A) with coda, C. The A and B sections become increasingly ornamented with each recurrence.
