Schumann: Gesänge der Frühe, Op.133

Introduction

Gesänge der Frühe (Songs of dawn), Op. 133, is a composition in five movements by Robert Schumann for solo piano. Composed in October 1853, it is one of Schumann's last compositions, composed three years before Schumann's death. By the time Schumann began work on these pieces, he was suffering from mental and emotional decline. Though the pieces exhibit clear formal, tonal and melodic organizational schemes, his dissolving focus and increasing insanity made the composition process difficult. The set was composed just five months before Schumann's attempted suicide and confinement to a mental institution. The set is dedicated to "the high poetess" Bettina von Arnim.

Schumann's wife, Clara Schumann, wrote in her private diary, "dawn-songs, very original as always but hard to understand, their tone is so very strange."^[2] Like many of Schumann's late works, the pieces are indeed difficult to understand. The music is very intimate and yet, at times, unsettling. The composer's mental collapse is seemingly foreshadowed in the music. The piece is probably Schumann's last coherent piano piece.

The Swiss composer Heinz Holliger wrote a work for orchestra, choir and tape in 1987 under the same title, Gesänge der Frühe (nl), which quoted Schumann and the German poet Friedrich Hölderlin.

Movements

The five movements are tonally organized by the three notes in the D major triad: D, F-sharp, and A. The first, second, and fifth pieces are in D major; the fourth piece is in F-sharp minor; and the third piece is in A major. A performance takes about 13 minutes.

1. Im ruhigen Tempo (In a tranquil tempo, D major)

The opening movement is like a chorale with rhythmic simplicity and a subdued, but rich texture. Many dissonant intervals permeate the transparent texture. The main melody is heard in stretto in the final two phrases. The entire movement has an almost religious sonority.

2. Belebt, nicht zu rasch (Animated, not too quick, D major)

The movement is nearly entirely contrapuntal. The composer avoids showing listeners where the tonic key is. The abrupt changes in texture, unusual harmonies, lack of obvious cadences, and puzzling dynamic markings make this movement perhaps the most difficult to understand of the five movements.

3. Lebhaft (Lively, A major)

Probably the most virtuosic of the set, this movement has a constant, galloping rhythmic drive which continues throughout the piece. The octaves and large chords contribute to the heavy sonority.

4. Bewegt (Moved, F-sharp minor)

A melody is mixed with a cascading accompaniment of 32nd notes. The music is restless and becomes agitated in the climax. Because of the lyrical, song-like qualities of the melody, this movement is perhaps the easiest to understand of the set.

5. Im Anfange ruhiges, im Verlauf bewegtes Tempo (First tranquil, then moved tempo, D major)

The final piece returns to a similar character and sonority as the first movement. A quicker 16th note accompaniment emerges from the thin texture. The lack of a strong final cadence brings this enigmatic piece to an ambiguous, but beautiful close.