The year 1840 proved a momentous one for Robert Schumann: after an interval of twelve years, he resumed writing songs, producing some 150 vocal compositions within the year; and in September, after a long and stormy courtship, he married his beloved Clara Wieck. During this period, Schumann’s biographers represent him as being “caught in a tempest of song,” transfiguring the emotions aroused by his love for Clara into a splendid outpouring of sublime music for voice and piano.
Much of that music is reproduced in this collection — comprising over 100 of Schumann’s greatest lieder. Selections include:
Liederkreis (Heine), Op. 24
Liederkreis (Eichendorff), Op. 39
Myrthen, Op. 25
Zwölf Gedichte von Justinus Kerner, Op. 35
Sechs Gedichte von Reinick, Op. 36
Frauenliebe und Leben, Op. 42
Dichterliebe, Op. 48
Individual Songs (17)
In his work, Schumann embodied a tradition of German musical romanticism, emphasizing self-expression, lyricism, and extra-musical (e.g., literary) association. Thus we find here songs