Frauen-Liebe und Leben

There are nine lyrics in the cycle, to which Chamisso gave the title Frauen-Liebe und Leben. It was first published in 1830,[1] and twice in 1831 in the first editions of his poetry, and of his complete works.[2][3]

Schumann in his cycle did not set the final stanza of No. 2 ('Er, der Herrlichste von allen') with its sudden change of mood. He also left out the last poem, No. 9 'Traum der eignen Tage', which is addressed to the now aged protagonist's granddaughter ("Tochter meiner Tochter"). Loewe set all nine poems in full, although only the first seven were published together.

The original published titles of the poem-cycle and the song-cycles are:

• Chamisso (1830): Frauen-Liebe und Leben
• Loewe (1836): Frauenliebe
• Lachner (c1839): Frauenliebe und -leben
• Schumann (1840): Frauenliebe und Leben

The Schumann work has been edited and published several times since 1840, and all the current reliable music publishers[4] still use the original 1840 published title, Frauenliebe und Leben, as do a majority of secondary sources discussing Schumann's song cycle.[5] However, Frauenliebe und -leben has been used in a minority (approximately one third) of recently published secondary sources,[6] and also on some LP and CD covers. This latter spelling is a 'correct' style of written German using the ergänzungsstrich (i.e. suspended or hanging dash in a list of things),[7] although it does not accurately reflect the work's published title.

Robert Schumann in 1839. Lithograph by Joseph Kriehuber

Schumann composed his setting, Frauenliebe und Leben in 1840, his "year of song" in which he wrote numerous lieder and three other complete song cycles: Liederkreis, Op. 24, Liederkreis, Op. 39 and Dichterliebe, Op. 48. There are eight poems in his cycle, together telling a story from the protagonist's first meeting her love, through their marriage, to his death. They are:

1. 'Seit ich ihn gesehen' ("Since I saw him")
2. 'Er, der Herrlichste von allen' ("He, the noblest of all")
3. 'Ich kann's nicht fassen, nicht glauben' ("I cannot grasp or believe it")
4. 'Du Ring an meinem Finger' ("You ring upon my finger")
5. 'Helft mir, ihr Schwestern' ("Help me, sisters")
6. 'Süßer Freund, du blickest mich verwundert an' ("Sweet friend, you gaze")
7. 'An meinem Herzen, an meiner Brust' ("At my heart, at my breast")
8. 'Nun hast du mir den ersten Schmerz getan' ("Now you have caused me pain for the first time")

Schumann's choice of text was very probably inspired in part by events in his personal life. He had been courting Clara Wieck, but had failed to get her father's permission to marry her. In 1840, after a legal battle to make such permission unnecessary, he finally married her.

The songs in this cycle are notable for the fact that the piano has a remarkable independence from the voice. Breaking away from the Schubertian ideal, Schumann has the piano contain the mood of the song in its totality. Another notable characteristic is the cycle's circular structure, in which the last movement repeats the theme of the first.

The composer's initial MS sketches, dated 11 July 1840, are still extant. They mostly outline the voice part on single staves, with just a few bars of piano postlude at the very end of No. 8.[8]

Carl Loewe

Carl Loewe's Frauenliebe, for mezzo-soprano and piano, was published as his opus 60 in 1836.[18] He called it a Liederkranz ('wreath [or garland] of songs'), rather than a Liederkreis ('song-cycle').

Although Loewe set all nine of Chamisso's poems in September 1836,[19] only the first seven were published together during his lifetime.[20] No. 9, 'Traum der eignen Tage', was published separately in 1869,[21] and No. 8 remained in MS until 1904 when it was included in the Breitkopf & Härtel complete edition of his works.[22]

Franz Lachner (l.) with Schubert (centre) and Eduard von Bauernfeld at a heuriger in Grinzing

Franz Lachner (1803–1890) made a setting entitled Frauenliebe und -leben for soprano, horn (or cello) and piano as his Op. 59 (c1839); he made another arrangement for soprano, clarinet and piano, published in 1847 as his Op. 82.[23]

Like Schubert's Auf dem Strom, D. 943, it is part of the small repertoire of solo vocal music ensemble with horn. Lachner's youngest brother, Vincenz Lachner, wrote a song 'Waldhornruf' (Hunting horn call') for tenor, horn and piano.[24]

• Schumann's Frauenliebe und -leben: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
• Texts of the Schumann cycle at lieder.net
• Loewe's Frauenliebe is contained in his complete Liederkreise: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
• Text of No. 9 of the Loewe cycle at lieder.net
• Chamisso's autograph MS of No. 4, plus covers of two early Schumann editions