Heine-Lieder : Ich wandelte unter den Bäumen / Liwschitz

Composer: Liwschitz, Hirsch
Dates: -
Song title: Ich wandelte unter den Bäumen (von Heinrich Heine). Lied für eine Singstimme
Opus, no., etc.: -
Music collection title: -
Imprint(s): Berlin: Phoenix, [19--?]
Source(s) for score: original publication; copy supplied by Klau Library, Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati, OH (OCLC #2300379); not listed in Metzner
1st line of poem: Ich wandelte unter den Bäumen (Go to text and translation)
Source of poem: Buch der Lieder: Junge Leiden: Lieder, Nr.3
Date of composition: -
Nationality of composer: German?/Jewish
Language(s) of text: German
Tempo marking: Andante
Key: E minor
Time signature: common time
No. of measures: 41
Approximate duration: 2 min., 35 sec.
Form: Modified strophic (AA'BA")
Vocal range: B to g' [b to g"]
Vocal tessitura: mostly lower middle range (e to b), only third stanza goes above c'; most vocal phrases (other than in the third stanza) hover around e or b (Go to chart)
Vocal rhythms: mostly quarter- and eighth-note rhythms
Vocal intervals: usually by step or third, with occasional larger skips up to an octave
Vocal comments: male voice [tenor or high baritone] more appropriate to text
Textual variants, etc.: -
Instrumental part(s): Piano part of moderate difficulty, mostly in third stanza, with its constant sixteenth-note figurations; first and second stanzas mostly have eighth-note figures in the right hand and occasional doubling of the voice; fourth stanza replaces those with eighth-note syncopations; usually a three- or four-voice texture throughout, needing much attention to voicing to avoid muddiness.
Summary: A simple, well-shaped vocal line and a complex and interesting but unobtrusive accompaniment combine to make a satisfying setting of this text, but a somewhat gloomier interpretation than most. Late nineteenth-century chromaticism is tastefully subordinated to the simplicity of the poem. (Go to analysis)