THE GERMAN LIED AND ITS GREAT COMPOSERS
The lied is a song type that has been unique to Germany since the 12th century. In the 19th
century Romantic period, the lied experienced a revival and the genre became extremely popular. Sung
in German and usually accompanied by piano, lieder focus on conveying the meaning of the poetry
through the piano and voice. These Romantic lieder were short pieces, typically through-composed or
strophic, and were usually sung in homes by amateur performers or at small private concerts in music
salons.1 The text for lieder often came from a famous poet of the time, like Johann Wolfgang von
Goethe and the music and text were considered equal. 2
This art form flourished in the 19th century beginning with the composer Franz Schubert who
composed over 600 lieder. Schubert is credited with writing the first true Romantic lied, “Gretchen am
Spinnrade”. The poetry for this lied comes from Goethe’s Faust and tells the story of a young woman,
Gretchen, at her spinning wheel, thinking about the man she loves. “Gretchen am Spinnrade” represents
the ideals of Romantic lieder in a few ways. First, the piano accompaniment illustrates the spinning of
Gretchen’s wheel. Throughout the piece the piano plays continuous notes in the left hand, until
Gretchen is overcome thinking about the kiss of her love. Then, hesitantly, the spinning sound resumes
as the lied continues. Schubert put made the piano and the voice equals in expressing the poetry.
Schubert also uses the key of the piece to illustrate Gretchen’s feelings. When the piece is analyzed, it
becomes clear that there is not one key, but many. The key changes every few bars and the changes
become more frequent as Gretchen’s thoughts become more agitated. This interaction between the
piano, voice, and poetry becomes the main characteristic of Romantic lieder.
1
Edward F. Kravitt, “The Lied in 19th-Century Concert Life,” Journal of the American Musicological Society, Vol. 18,
No. 2 (Summer, 1965), 208, accessed April 9, 2008.
2
“lied,” in Encyclopedia Britannica Online, 2008, accessed April 7, 2008.
Other famous composers of Romantic lied are Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, and Hugo
Wolf.3 Schumann continued the Romantic ideal of lied that Schubert began, giving the voice and piano
equal importance. The majority of Schubert’s lieder are strophic and use the poems of poets like
Goethe, Eichendorff, and Byron. Schubert had a particular interest in song cycles, and would unite the
songs in his cycles using motives, tonal continuity, and an overlying narrative.4
Brahms, like Schubert was an extremely active composer; he composed over 190 lieder. He set
his lieder to poems by famous poets like Goethe but also set poems by lesser known writers such as
Daumer.5 Brahms wrote his first solo song, Heimkehr op. 7 no. 6, in 1851, twenty-three years after the
death of Schubert. Some of Brahms’ most commonly performed lieder are Vergebliches Ständchen and
Der Schmied.6
Born in 1860, Hugo Wolf updated the lied for the musical ideals of his era. His lieder pushed the
boundaries of tonality and the influence of Wagner can be seen in his declamatory style.7 Wolf’s early
songs, where the technique is often poor, show the influence of Schubert, Schumann, and Liszt.8 As he
matured as a composer, Wolf began using folk poetry for his lieder and of course, Goethe. In his lieder,
he would often experiment with tonality by having two tonal centers or replacing expected chords with
surprising chords. The Italienisches Liederbuch is a collection of Wolf’s later songs that illustrate these
techniques as well as Wolf’s ability convey the drama of the lied’s poetry.9
3
Ibid.
John Daverio and Eric Sams, “Schumann, Robert,” in Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online, accessed April 8,
2008.
5
George S. Bozarth and Walter Frisch, “Brahms, Johannes,” in Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online, accessed
April 8, 2008.
6
Ibid.
7
Eric Sams and Susan Youens, “Wolf, Hugo,” in Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online, accessed April 8, 2008.
8
Ibid.
9
Ibid.
4