Schumann’s Eichendorff cycle
Robert Schumann: Liederkreis von Joseph Freiherrn von
Eichendorff op. 39. Bärenreiter Urtext. Edited by Hansjörg
Ewert. Bärenreiter-Verlag 2015. BA 7853. € 18.95.
„Mein aller Romantischstes“ (“The most romantic of all my
works” called Robert Schumann his “Liederkreis” after poems by Joseph von Eichendorff, which comprises settings
of twelve poems with the common motif of being far from
home.
The new Bärenreiter edition presents the cycle in its definitive form published in the second edition of 1850, while
taking into account Schumann’s autograph manuscript
and other relevant sources. The detailed Foreword brings
out the special nature of this cycle. Alternative readings
from the autograph offer valuable suggestions for a nuanced performance.
[22.4.2015]