Chapter 16:
The Early
Romantics
The Lied
Key Terms
Lied
Lieder
Accompaniment
Poetry
Mood
Through-composed
song
Strophic song
Song cycle
The Early Romantics (1)
Perhaps the most brilliant generation in
the history of music
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Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Hector Berlioz (1803-1869)
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)
The Early Romantics (2)
Profoundly influenced by Beethoven
• Influence felt most strongly by Germans
Deeply influenced by literary Romanticism
• Schubert’s settings of Goethe & Schlegel
• Schumann’s enthusiasm for Jean Paul Richter
• Universal admiration for Shakespeare
The Lied (1)
German Lied = song
• Special genre of Romantic song with piano
Important Romantic “miniature” genre
• Evolved in the late 18th century
• Flourished in the 19th century
Some are simple tunes, others complex
They all share certain features—
• Accompaniment, poetry, & mood
The Lied (2)
Piano accompaniment
• Contributes significantly to the artistic effect
• Piano & voice often equal partners
Romantic poetry
• Often high-quality poetry
• Music echoes poem’s words & meanings
Intimate mood
• Intended more for living room than concert hall
• Performers seem to share emotional insights
with you alone
Franz Schubert
(1797-1828)
Earliest (and greatest?) master of the Lied
Prolific – wrote nearly 700 songs
• And many symphonies, sonatas, quartets,
quintets, & sacred works as well
Born & trained in Vienna
• Vienna Boys Choir
Supported by teaching, publications, &
contributions from friends
• Wrote many works for friends
Died in a typhoid epidemic
Strophic vs.
Through-Composed (1)
A song that uses the same music for all
stanzas is called strophic
• Composer can write only one stanza & use a
repeat sign for the rest – AAAA…
A song that uses new music for each
stanza is through-composed
• Composed all the way through – ABCD…
Purely strophic & through-composed
songs are opposite ends of a spectrum
• Mixed settings include – AAAB or ABCA
Strophic vs.
Through-Composed (2)
How do composers decide whether to use
strophic or through-composed form?
• The poetry often provides clues
• If all stanzas are similar in construction &
mood, strophic form is often used
• Poems with frequent changes of mood or voice
are often given through-composed settings
Difficult for performers to create
• Variety in strophic settings
• Unity in through-composed songs
Schubert, “Erlkönig”
Story song on a ballad poem by Goethe
Eight-stanza poem uses many voices
• Narrator, father, son, & Erlking
Through-composed setting
• Many recurring motives, but no two stanzas are
the same
Deals with death & the supernatural
• Erlking is a “murderous demon” or a dark
“angel of death” seen only by the dying
The Story
A furious horseback ride through the night
• Father tries to save his deathly ill son
The Erlking comes for the child
• First he beckons, then cajoles, then threatens
and assaults the child
The father does not see the demon
• He attempts to quiet the boy
But by the time they reach home—
• The boy is dead in his arms
The Music (1)
Fast triplets suggest horse’s hooves
• The only respite is provided by the Erlking’s
supernatural realm
Father’s music is low, gruff, stable
Son’s music is higher, frantic, unstable
• Higher pitch each time he calls “My father!”
The Music (2)
Erlking’s music is ominously sweet
• The furious triplets fade away
• His music is light, tuneful, appealing
Tension lets up as they reach home
Stark recitative announces the boy’s death
• Over a simple but very final cadence
The Song Cycle
A group of songs with a common theme
• Sometimes a poetic theme
• Sometimes an actual story
Sometimes based on a ready-made group
• Schubert’s settings of Wilhelm Müller’s Die
schöne Müllerin & Winterreise
Or the composer can assemble a set
• Schubert’s Schwanengesang
A unified cycle is more impressive than
single “miniatures”
Robert Schumann
(1810-1856)
Studied for career as piano virtuoso
• Finger injury pushed him into composition
Married Clara, his teacher’s daughter
Wrote piano music, songs, and works for
orchestra & chamber ensembles
Founder of The New Music Journal
• Editor & regular music critic
• At times signed reviews as “Florestan” or
“Eusebius” – two of his alter-egos
Attempted suicide – died in an asylum
R. Schumann, Dichterliebe
Wrote mostly piano works until 1840
Married Clara Wieck in that year
• Sudden outpouring of songs & song cycles
Dichterliebe (“A Poet’s Love”) Schumann’s
most famous song cycle
• Based on poems by Heinrich Heine
• No story – poems linked by common theme
• Traces psychological progression from
optimism to disillusionment & despair
Heine, “Im wunderschönen
Monat Mai”
In the wonderfully
lovely month of May,
When all the buds were
bursting,
Then it was that in my
heart
Love broke through.
In the wonderfully
lovely month of May,
When all the birds
were singing,
Then it was that I
confessed to her
My longing and desire.
R. Schumann, “Im
wunderschönen Monat Mai”
The first song in Dichterliebe
Strophic or through-composed?
• How similar or different are the two stanzas?
Schumann uses the same piano music
before & after each stanza
• The piano interlude’s searching, unresolved
feeling doesn’t seem to fit the words
• An odd way to begin & end a song
• Why did Schumann write it this way? Did he
misread the poem?
R. Schumann, “Die alten,
bösen Lieder”
The last song in Dichterliebe
Strophic or through-composed?
• How similar or different are the six stanzas?
Does the song evoke the poem’s black
humor?
How does the mood change in stanza 6?
What is Schumann trying to express in the
long piano coda at the end?
• What kind of ending does this provides for the
entire song cycle?
Clara Wieck Schumann
(1819-1896)
Eldest child of Friedrich Wieck
• He was a famous piano teacher
• He set out to make her a great pianist
Clara fell in love with Robert Schumann
• Her father opposed their marriage
• Clara & Robert took him to court
• They won the case & married in 1840
Composed songs, piano & chamber works
• But questioned whether a woman should
She toured widely after Robert’s death
C. Schumann, “Der Mond
kommt still gegangen” (1)
Strophic or through-composed?
• How similar or different are the three stanzas?
What is the relationship between piano
and voice?
• What kind of mood does the piano create?
How does Schumann create a sense of
climax in the final stanza?
What does the piano coda add to the
song?
C. Schumann, “Der Mond
kommt still gegangen” (2)
How does Schumann create a sense of
climax in the final stanza?
• She varies the last half of the melody – it rises
higher & then sinks lower than before
Conclusions
The Lied is an intimate “miniature” work
• A significant Romantic form of expression
• Two levels of meaning – verbal & musical
Its simple forms follow poetic structure
• Strophic, through-composed, or a mixture
Repetition of stanzas, themes, or motives
creates unity
Song cycles can explore subjects in depth
• Can tell a story or reflect on poetic theme