Liederkreis Op.24

Morgens steh’ ich auf und frage

Es treibt mich hin

Ich wandelte unter den Bäumen

Lieb Liebchen, leg’s Händchen

Schöne Wiege meiner Leiden

Warte, warte, wilder Schiffmann

Berg’ und Bergen schaun herunter

Anfangs wollt’ ich fast verzagen

Mit Myrthen und Rosen

While there is no way of telling exactly what moved Schumann to undertake his first song cycle, it is tempting to think of him coming across Anfangs wollt’ ich fast verzagen in Heine’s Buch der Lieder with a shock of recognition. Here, sharply focused in four lines, is a reflection of the pain he suffered in the hard-fought and protracted struggle for the right to marry Clara Wieck and of the wonder that he has somehow survived it. The eighth of nine poems grouped together in a section Heine called Junge Leiden (Young Sorrows), Anfangs wollt’ ich fast verzagen is followed by Mit Myrthen und Rosen, which the composer must have found similarly close to his heart. Certainly, life imitating art, his next song cycle, Myrthen, would be presented to Clara under a specially designed cover decorated with green myrtles.

In his confidence in Clara’s love for him, Schumann would have found other poems in Heine’s cycle of deception less relevant to his personal situation. His treatment of Morgens steh’ ich auf und frage, for example, is not so much tearful, like Liszt’s setting of the same words, as charmingly wistful. The impatience so vividly suggested in Es treibt mich hin would, of course, have been a familiar emotion for Schumann, and in lonely moments he would have been reminded of Clara by some chance sight or sound as in Ich wandelte unter den Bäumen. His response to the death wish in Lieb Liebchen, leg’s Händchen, on the other hand, is not so much heartfelt as artful, effective though it is. It might be argued too that the major harmonies and melodic appeal of parts of Schöne Wiege meiner Leiden fail to reflect Heine’s bitterness, although where minor harmonies intrude Schumann’ setting lacks nothing in vehemence. The misogyny of Warte, warte, wilder Schiffmann he seems to take less seriously the more extreme it becomes, and he is similarly reluctant to dwell on feminine treachery in Berg’ und Bergen schaun herunter.

Set as a chorale (it actually quotes Bach’s Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten), the four lines of Anfangs wollt’ ich fast verzagen end on the dominant to lead straight into Mit Myrthen und Rosen, where Heine’s poet-lover finds some reconciliation at last and Schumann’s tuneful chivalry is softened by his recognition of a kindred spirit.

Morgens steh’ ich auf und frage

Es treibt mich hin

Ich wandelte unter den Bäumen

Lieb Liebchen, leg’s Händchen

Schöne Wiege meiner Leiden

Warte, warte, wilder Schiffmann

Berg’ und Bergen schaun herunter

Anfangs wollt’ ich fast verzagen

Mit Myrthen und Rosen

While there is no way of telling exactly what moved Schumann to undertake his first song cycle, it is tempting to think of him coming across Anfangs wollt’ ich fast verzagen in Heine’s Buch der Lieder with a shock of recognition. Here, sharply focused in four lines, is a reflection of the pain he suffered in the hard-fought and protracted struggle for the right to marry Clara Wieck and of the wonder that, in spite of his instability, he somehow survived it. The eighth of nine poems grouped together in a section Heine called Junge Leiden (Young Sorrows), Anfangs wollt’ ich fast verzagen is followed by Mit Myrthen und Rosen, which the composer must have found similarly close to his heart. Certainly, life imitating art, his next song cycle, Myrthen, would be presented to Clara under a specially designed cover decorated with green myrtles.

The first seven of the poems in the cycle are for the most part less relevant to Schumann’s situation in February 1840. He still had a court case with Clara’s father to get through but, unhappy prospect though that was, he had no reason to believe that he would be rejected like Heine’s heart-broken protagonist. Schumann’s setting of Morgens steh’ ich auf und frage is charmingly wistful, in contrast to Liszt’s weepy song to the same words. The impatience so vividly suggested in Es treibt mich hin would, of course, have been a familiar emotion for Schumann, and in lonely moments he would have been reminded of Clara by some chance sight or sound – like the beloved’s song, rising in triplet arpeggios, so touchingly recalled by the birds in Ich wandelte unter den Bäumen. His treatment of the death wish in Lieb Liebchen, leg’s Händchen, on the other hand, is not so much heartfelt as artful – most effectively at the end of each stanza, where the last two words are too dreadful to pronounce without a pause and the piano supplies the missing notes.

It might be argued that the major harmonies and melodic appeal of the first, second, fourth and last stanzas of Schöne Wiege meiner Leiden fail to reflect Heine’s bitterness, but where minor harmonies intrude, particularly in the rhythmically distraught fifth and sixth stanzas, Schumann’ setting lacks nothing in vehemence. The misogyny of Warte, warte, wilder Schiffmann, however, he seems to take less seriously the more extreme it is, the angry staccato figuration in the piano part becoming almost playful by the end. He is similarly reluctant to dwell on the beloved’s treachery in Berg’ und Bergen schaun herunter, where the last stanza retains the melodic beauty and harmonic serenity of the first three.

Set as a chorale (it actually quotes Bach’s Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten), the four lines of Anfangs wollt’ ich fast verzagen end on the dominant to lead into Mit Myrthen und Rosen, where Heine’s poet-lover finds some reconciliation at last and Schumann’s tuneful chivalry is softened by his recognition of a kindred spirit.