Ich wandelte unter den Bäumen / Schumann

Composer: Schumann, Robert
Dates: 1810-1856
Song title: Ich wandelte unter den Bäumen
Opus, no., etc.: op.24, Nr.3
Music collection title: Liederkreis nach Gedichten von Heinrich Heine für eine Singstimme mit Klavier
Imprint(s): Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel, 1840
Source(s) for score: Schumann, Sämtliche Lieder für eine Singstimme mit Klavierbegleitung, Bd. II, ed. Friedländer -- Originalausgabe (hohe Stimme) -- NY : C.F. Peters (Pl. no.9559)
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: 1840
Nationality of composer: German
Language(s) of text: German
Tempo marking: Ziemlich langsam
Key: original B major (several others available in various editions)
Time signature: common time
No. of measures: 44
Approximate duration: 3 min., 15 sec.
Form: Modified strophic (AABA')
Vocal range: voice part d-sharp to g-sharp' [d-sharp' to g-sharp]
Vocal tessitura: medium tessitura, hovering around b (Go to chart)
Vocal rhythms: usually by quarter and eighth notes, occasionally dotted; triplet quarter-note motion in the slower third stanza
Vocal intervals: most pitch movement by step, with occasional skips of up to a sixth
Vocal comments: In the third stanza the singer must adjust timbre to a lighter, paler tone. Most vocally challenging are the final phrases of the first two stanzas, which ascend through an octave to high g-sharp' and then descend to an e'. Male singer (tenor) more appropriate to text
Textual variants, etc.: -
Instrumental part(s): piano part is rich in texture and (in the prelude and postlude) chromaticism, but other than voicing concerns not technically difficult; full of grace notes, inner voices and other Schumannian subtleties.
Summary: This trance-like adagio emphasizes the hypnotic, self-absorbed aspect of the poet's experience, rather than wallowing in sadness. While it boasts a fine melody, this setting is also packed full of subtle, masterful interpretive touches for both voice and piano, and is without question the finest setting of this poem. Rich and expressive chromatic harmonies appear more in prelude and postlude than in the body of the song, but there are some harmonically adventurous moments there as well. (Go to analysis) For a fascinating analysis of the entire Heine Liederkreis see Berthold Hoeckner's "Poet's Love and Composer's Love" in Music Theory Online, Volume 7, Number 5, October 2001.