Musical Expression in Frauenliebe und -Leben

Robert Schumann's Song Cycle A Woman's Life and Love

Nov 1, 2009

In the song cycle Frauenliebe und -leben, Robert Schumann uses the piano not merely as accompaniment to the voice but as an agent of emotional expression.

Robert Schumann composed Frauenliebe und -leben (A Woman's Life and Love) in 1840, a year in which he and his love, pianist and composer Clara Wieck, were struggling to marry despite her father's protests. The set of poems tell the story of a woman falling in love, marrying, having a child, and eventually dealing with the loss of her husband.

Use of the Piano for Emotional Expression

The piano in Frauenliebe und -leben provides not just harmonic accompaniment but further elaboration of the speaker's emotions. In Er, der herrlichste von allen (He, the most glorious of all), for example, the pulsing eighth notes imitate an excited heartbeat. (Similar passages appear in Du Ring an meinem Finger [You ring on my finger] and Süsser Freund, du blickest [Sweet friend, you gaze].) This contrast to earlier song cycles, such as those of Schubert, demonstrates Schumann's innovation as a composer.

The differences in the settings of each song add a greater sense of character development to the text. In the beginning the speaker is restrained; her moments of great emotion in Seit ich ihn gesehen (Since I saw him) are limited to a few nonharmonic tones and a large, expressive leap at the ends of phrases.

Er, der herrlichste von allen uses turns (an idea which returns briefly in Helf mir, ihr Schwestern) and, towards the end, long, high notes. In Ich kann's nicht fassen, nicht glauben (I cannot understand nor believe it), much of the accompaniment is staccato and disconnected, expressing the speaker's surprise.

High and Low Ranges as Symbols

The idea of long, high notes returns in the outburst-like middle sections of Du Ring an meinem Finger and Helft mir, ihr Schwestern (Help me, sisters). Süsser Freund, du blickest seems to express a more matured sense of emotion, passionate but slow and controlled; but in An meinem Herzen, an meiner Brust (At my heart, at my breast) the passion is finally let loose, growing louder and faster until finally the piano can no longer keep up.

In contrast to the high notes, which express positive emotion, Nun hast du mir den ersten Schmerz getan (Now, for the first time, you have given me pain) sits low in the voice. The rhythms are more erratic, with repeated notes suggesting a more recitative-like flow. The melody grows slower and softer, a mirror image of the preceding piece; the speaker is finally able to calm herself, but this only signifies a loss of passion altogether.

The cycle is unified by the repetition of the first song at the end; in retrospect, one can hear the darker, minor undertones beneath the speaker's happiness at first meeting her love as a foreshadowing of the sorrow yet to come.

The copyright of the article Musical Expression in Frauenliebe und -Leben in Classical Music is owned by Amelia Hill. Permission to republish Musical Expression in Frauenliebe und -Leben in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.