Heine-Lieder : Schöne Wiege meiner Leiden / Schumann

Composer: Schumann, Robert
Dates: 1810-1856
Song title: Schöne Wiege meiner Leiden
Opus, no., etc.: op.24, Nr.5
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: Schöne Wiege meiner Leiden (Go to text and translation)
Source of poem: Buch der Lieder: Junge Leiden: Lieder, Nr.5
Date of composition: 1840
Nationality of composer: German
Language(s) of text: German
Tempo marking: Bewegt
Key: original key E major (several others available in various eds.)
Time signature: 3/4
No. of measures: 121
Approximate duration: 4 min.
Form: A A' B A" C A' D(postlude)
Vocal range: d-sharp to f' [d-sharp' to f"]
Vocal tessitura: fairly even spread over octave e to e', favoring g-sharp to b (Go to chart)
Vocal rhythms: A sections (stanzas 1, 2, 4 and reprise of 1) tend toward half and quarter note movement, with a few eighth notes thrown in to keep things moving; B and C sections are generally faster moving, with more eighth notes and a few sixteenths
Vocal intervals: A sections generally by third and step, plus a couple of wider intervals; B and C sections more angular, with passages of wider intervals (up to a diminished seventh) alternating with areas of narrower intervals, including a very effective ascending chromatic scale in the "last" stanza
Vocal comments: male singer (tenor or baritone) more appropriate to text
Textual variants, etc.: Schumann takes what would become his customary liberties with the text: "Lebe wohl" is restated twice at the end of the first two stanzas; "gesehen" at the end of stanza 3, line 1 is contracted to "gesehn"; at the start of the last stanza, since Schumann ends the ascending chromatic phrase on "schlepp' ich", he needs to repeat those words at the start of the next phrase for grammatical clarity and metrical symmetry; the first stanza is repeated at the end in slightly abridged form, skipping the penultimate phrase "lebe wohl, ruf' ich dir zu" to end with the two "extra" "lebe wohl"s
Instrumental part(s): A varied and satisfying part pianistically, with some challenging sections and Schumann's typically detailed expression and pedal markings. Some doubling of the vocal line.
Summary: One of Schumann's most beautiful melodies, yearning ever towards the "beautiful city" of the beloved, contrasted with highly agitated, even bitter outbursts of great emotional power, foreshadowing parts of "Dichterliebe." Despite the melody's beauty, it should not be taken too slowly; a "lively" tempo is crucial to conveying the poem's angst and despair at a sudden leave-taking. The poem is probably Heine's response to having to flee Hamburg. (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.