The first piece I will be presenting is Mondnacht by Robert Schumann. Written in 1840, Mondnacht is a classic German lieder set to one of 12 poems by poet Joseph von Eichendorff.
As with every project, I will spend a week learning a piece while posting updates for your critique here on this site. I will conclude each project with a final recording of each piece complete with the feedback i get from fellow musicians and music lovers all over the web.
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Song Summary
When Robert Schumann wrote to his wife explaining that, "The Eichendorff cycle is my most Romantic music ever, and it contains much of you," one of the works of Liederkreis, Op. 39, that he was probably referring was "Mondnacht," Op. 39/5 (Moonlight Night).
Written in 1840 while he was in Berlin, the piece is considered one of the world's loveliest nocturnes and is believed to have been first sung by Mendelssohn. The ambience of this slow, sustained, strophic song, is based on a few of the poet's delicate words that describe the tender rapture of twilight. It is built almost entirely on one simple melodic eight-bar phrase that is repeated twice to form each verse, except the last, in which the phrase is preceded by eight measures of new material. The prelude reappears between the verses to provide separation and cohesion, making the work's structure comparable to medieval barform. Schumann brought the poem to life in a number of ways.
First, he attempted to give the work's phrases endless depth by adding short breaks for breath and by employing suspended fifths. Secondly, he emphasized the union of the earth and sky by repeatedly spelling out the word "ehe" (marriage) in the piano part with the notes E, B, E, creating an intense fusion between music and meaning. Thirdly, between phrases, he used the piano to imitate the rustling of the wings of his soul as it "flew over the countryside." Upon returning home from Berlin, Schumann presented a copy of the work to his mother-in-law, in celebration of her birthday.
~ Meredith Gailey, Rovi AMG AllMusic Guide to Classical Music . Copyright © 2011 All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.
Song Lyrics/Translation
Es war, als hätt' der Himmel,
Die Erde still geküßt,
Daß sie im Blütenschimmer
Von ihm nur träumen müßt.
Die Luft ging durch die Felder,
Die Ähren wogten sacht,
Es rauschten leis die Wälder,
So sternklar war die Nacht.
Und meine Seele spannte
Weit ihre Flügel aus,
Flog durch die stillen Räume,
Als flöge sie nach Haus.
It was as if the sky
Had quietly kissed the earth,
So that in a shower of blossoms
She must only dream of him.
The breeze wafted through the fields,
The ears of corn waved gently,
The forests rustled faintly,
So sparkling clear was the night.
And my soul stretched
its wings out far,
Flew through the still lands,
as if it were flying home.