Part 29

When, in 1840, Schumann reached the sunshine of domestic happiness, he was compelled to express his joy in singing, not only in vocal compositions, but also in his instrumental pieces, which now began to assume a more sustained melodic breadth. He played no instrument besides the pianoforte, and for this reason has often been accused of not fully understanding the true nature of string or wood instruments. We admit that occasionally a desired effect is not well produced, but a thousand instances prove that as a general statement such an accusation is entirely false. There are portions where the composer shows a lack of transparency, but a great many more are very brilliant and most finely balanced. His use of the strings is certainly effective enough in his chamber works, though the finest results are obtained in their combination with the pianoforte.

The three string quartets dedicated to Mendelssohn show the latter's great influence on Schumann's progress in larger forms. Later the composer changed many details, and now we class them among the most valuable productions of the kind since Beethoven's death, the beauty of the ideas and their fascinating treatment increasing our admiration with each hearing. Schumann likes to place the Scherzo before the slow movement and to substitute for the Trio an Intermezzo in two-four time. Greater than these quartets, however, are the famous quintet and quartet in E-flat for pianoforte and strings. The former especially has been called the greatest chamber work since Beethoven, and it has not yet been thrust from this position of honor. How one would have liked to witness the first performance of this splendid work with Clara Schumann, to whom it is dedicated, at the piano! Two very short themes form the basis of the first movement, which has a bright, energetic character and received an extremely rich harmonic treatment with a brilliant ornamental figure work. Then follows a funeral march of a peculiar character, having a choral-like episode in the major key, and a passionate agitato in F minor. The highly spirited Scherzo has again two trios, one sweet and melodious, and the other a labyrinth of mysterious sounds and thoughts. The same harmonic wealth and energetic spirit we find again in the Finale, in which through a combination of the principal theme with the first one in the opening moment, a grand climax is reached, closing a work which, with all its romantic spirit and modern rhythm and harmony, retains the character of a perfectly classic masterpiece. The pianoforte quartet deserves as much praise, one of its most conspicuous features being the close relation which Schumann bears to Bach, while retaining his own strikingly modern poetical spirit.

The trios for piano, violin and violoncello in D minor and F are of a high order too, full of ingenious ideas, one being especially interesting by its passionate, poetic spirit, the other through a greater perfection in form; but the originality and artistic perfection which characterize them do not appear in the G minor trio [Op. 110]. Of a lighter character, yet delightful on every page, are the "Phantasiestücke" for violin, 'cello and piano, and the "Märchenerzählungen" for piano, clarinet and viola.

The two passionate, melancholy Violin Sonatas of his later years are, in spite of their great musical worth, perhaps more gratifying for players than for a concert audience, while many an enjoyable page may be found among the different compositions for clarinet, horn, viola, or violoncello and pianoforte.

Schumann's organ compositions are few in number, the principal ones being the six fugues on B-A-C-H, which differ considerably in value and character.

Besides the pianoforte concerto already mentioned, Schumann has composed one for violoncello in A minor, demanding a player of great musical intelligence: one for four horns, a revival of the old concerto grosso, and a fantasia for violin with orchestral accompaniment dedicated to Joachim, who owns also the manuscript of a whole violin concerto. All these works belong to Schumann's last period, showing traces of exhaustion, but still his noble, always purely artistic purposes.

In order to picture Schumann's orchestral works with any degree of justice, we should be gifted with his own wonderful powers of description, thus producing upon our readers an impression similar to that produced by the musical work upon a sympathetic listener. What a splendid protest are they against the faint-hearted belief, that with Beethoven's "Ninth" the symphony as such had not only reached its supreme development, but died. Surely it required a genius, a great personality, a thorough master of the symphonic art to write in this field something worthy of the great predecessors, and yet original. But such a personality was Schumann, and his symphonies will forever belong to the golden treasure of instrumental music. Far from being imitations in any respect, they hold an independent position of their own and will live as long as their composer's name. Already the first one in B-flat appears at once as a masterpiece of lasting value. In this he might be called a younger brother of Beethoven, a lad with youthful thoughts and hopes and longings, with rosy cheeks and brilliant eyes, full of sweetest tenderness and mirth, but glowing with youth, manliness and vigor. His kinship with Schubert is often apparent too, although he always shows his own peculiar face. In regard to the form, he introduces many new features.

This is particularly noticeable in his treatment of the second theme in the first and last movements, in the use of two trios in the Scherzo, and in the melodious Larghetto, which greatly resembles his Phantasiestücke for piano. Throughout, this music is extremely inspiriting; in spite of an occasional lack of clearness in the instrumentation it is powerful and brilliant or of exquisite delicacy, and its spirit full of love, happiness and spring.

The second symphony in D minor, later revised and published as No. 4, is decidedly more passionate and concentrated, some of the four movements being closely connected, besides having partly a common thematic material. New also is the slow impressive introduction of the finale and the free, fantasia-like treatment of the second part of the opening movement. In the place of a broad adagio a lovely romance precedes the Scherzo, which retains its usual shape, and in all four movements the principal key of D is dominant.

Schumann's relationship to Beethoven seems however nowhere more conspicuous than in the great symphony in C. It has an eminently virile, strong and dithyrambic character. The solemn introduction of the first movement, the conciseness of its first part, the wide scope of the working-out portion, even the character of the themes, remind us at once of Beethoven's spirit. An extensive, fanciful scherzo with two different trios in two-four time precedes the beautiful Adagio, which, with its intense feeling, sweet sadness and almost transcendental loftiness, comes perhaps nearer to Beethoven than anything else in modern symphonic literature. An exultant finale crowns this truly monumental work. And let us not forget that it was written in a gloomy period of mental and physical distress. The deep study of Bach at that time left many traces in the masterly contrapuntal work.

A new world is revealed in the so-called Rhenish Symphony in E-flat. There Schumann begins at once with the Allegro, the first subject of the movement bearing a vigorous character with effective syncopations and clad in all the splendor of the full orchestra, the second being a charming melody in G minor. Omitting the usual repetition of the first part, he extends the working-out portion by new and ingenious combinations of the two subjects. Here again we are often reminded of Beethoven. After the brilliant Coda a lovely intermezzo follows with a sweet, almost popular melody for the 'celli, alternating with a lively staccato figure of the string and wood instruments and a romantic song for two horns, the whole suggesting perhaps a pleasant trip on the Rhine at sunset. And is there anything more delicate and touching in any modern symphony than the Andante in A-flat, where every instrument seems to have a soul and to sing directly into our inmost heart, now plaintive and sad, now consoling with an indescribable delicacy of feeling. Still the composer does not hasten to the finale, but puts in another slow movement in E-flat minor in the character of a solemn ceremony (suggested by the installation of the archbishop in Cologne), highly effective by its spirit, and vastly interesting by its masterly counterpoint and rich instrumentation. It touches us like liberty regained from such mysteries when the finale opens with its brilliant, vigorous theme, and the whole glorious movement fills our hearts with its own enthusiastic spirit. Yet this great work was written when Schumann's powers began to decay, and when he was occupied with many less successful efforts in other musical fields.

The fifth symphonic work, written directly after the first symphony, but revised and published later under the title "Overture, Scherzo and Finale," has also become a favorite because of its charming, inspiriting character, especially prominent in the scherzo, which is an excellent revival of the old gigue form.

Notwithstanding Schumann's admiration for Berlioz, his firm belief in the close relation between poetry and music, and his programmatic tendencies in earlier pianoforte works, it is very significant that he has in all his orchestral writing closely followed the path of his great predecessors. Hereby he gave great encouragement to still cling to the classic tradition, and to believe in the possibility of a further development of the symphonic form.

Even the master's overtures may be regarded in this light of pure music, although they refer to certain distinct objects. They all were first intended as preludes for some drama or festival occasion, such as the one on the Rhine-wine song, in which after a long orchestral movement a tenor solo leads over to the popular chorus finale. The overtures to his dramatic works "Genoveva" and "Manfred" rank highest, and will be dwelt upon later; the others refer to Shakespeare's "Julius Cæsar," scenes of Gœthe's "Faust," Gœthe's "Hermann and Dorothea," and Schiller's "Bride of Messina"; the last named being particularly worthy of a deep interest and sympathy.

Omitting the many songs for children (some of which have a peculiar charm), Schumann has composed over two hundred works in this smallest form of vocal music, the majority of which were written in the happy year of his marriage. They made Schumann at once a peer of Franz Schubert, and placed him in the front rank of German song composers as the representative of an entirely new style, which has been quite successfully adopted by younger masters. His poetic nature enabled him, so to speak, to repeat the whole process of the poet in the conception and shaping of his work, but as a musician and in the richer and more delicate language of music, and thus to more clearly express the finest thoughts and feelings of the poem. The words are treated very melodiously, but with a fine sense for correct accentuation. Although the voice retains the melodic expression of the sentiment, the accompaniment, far from being a conventional support, is raised to such importance that it is absolutely essential to the vocal strain. Thus much that the poet could only suggest, found a wonderfully distinct musical expression, partly in fine preludes, interludes and postludes, and partly in the details of the strict accompaniment. Here again, one is surprised at the abundance of new harmonic and rhythmic combinations. These songs demand the most intimate harmony between singer and player and most of them lose greatly by a translation in any other language, as the music is often closely connected, not only with the thought and sentiment, but with the special poetic diction of the German text. Schumann has sometimes been accused of lacking a thorough comprehension of the human voice; in a certain sense this may be true, on the other hand one must admit that there are few public singers who are capable of giving a just rendering of his finest songs, many of which are besides hardly appropriate for the concert hall.

The master's high culture guided him in the selection of poems, and the great representatives of German lyric poetry, Heine, Rückert, Eichendorff, Chamisso, and Kerner, owe a great deal of their popularity to Schumann, as so many of their finest poems have become inseparably connected with his music. In his several cycles of songs (Heine's and Eichendorff's "Liederkreis," Heine's "Dichterliebe," Rückert's "Liebesfrühling," to which Clara Schumann has contributed some numbers, and Chamisso's "Frauen-Liebe und Leben"), the single numbers are not connected, but their coherence is often indicated by some other way. Intensity and purity of feeling, truth of expression for situations or moods of every kind, and a rare harmony between the poetic and musical senses secure to many of these songs the highest position in this kind of literature. Some have a simple, almost popular character (particularly those by Burns), others are very elaborate. In ballads ("Belsazar," "Soldier's Bride," "Two Grenadiers," "Die Rothe Hanne," "Der arme Peter," etc.), Schumann has a peculiar style of his own, differing much from that of the great master of German ballad music, Loewe, less popular, yet in many ways not less effective. Less happy perhaps are his later settings of the songs from Gœthe's "Wilhelm Meister" and of poems of Elise Kullmann, Queen Mary Stuart and others.

Much could be said of the many delightful vocal duets, varying so much in style and spirit, and interesting us so much both in the vocal and piano parts. Yet we can only mention them here, as well as the several important and larger works for solo voices and piano in a cyclic form, such as the "Minnespiel" from Rückert's "Liebesfrühling," the "Spanische Liederspiel" and "Spanische Liebeslieder," all of which should be favorite numbers for vocal chamber concerts.

Next in our review stand the part songs for mixed, female or male voices. Some of them deserve a place beside Mendelssohn's little masterpieces, others are almost forgotten or, like the great motet for double male chorus and organ, or the canons on Rückert's "Ritornelle," are beyond the sphere of male chorus societies. Few have won a greater popularity than the "Gipsy Life" with piano, triangle and tambourine. Of greater importance, however, are several works with orchestra, undeservedly neglected, Rückert's "Advent" and "New Year Songs," Hebbel's gloomy "Nachtlied," and especially the touching "Requiem for Mignon" from Gœthe's "Wilhelm Meister." Less distinction is attributed to the four great ballads for chorus, soli and orchestra, Uhland's "Glück von Edenhall," "des Sänger's Fluch," "der Königssohn," and Geibel's "Vom Pagen und der Königstochter." By having these ballads arranged in a more extended, dramatic form, Schumann impaired the work of the poet; moreover he succeeded only partially in his musical setting, weak portions predominating over the more effective and even fine passages, which are by no means wanting. The Requiem and the Mass, both for chorus and orchestra without solos, the latter acknowledged as decidedly superior, were composed in feverish haste, and give little proof of his ability to reveal his religious feelings by means of great choruses or to adapt his music to the Catholic service. In these late years he tried his powers in almost every field of composition, even applying the melodramatic form to poems, which are recited to a pianoforte accompaniment ("Schön Hedwig," "die Flüchtlinge," "der Haideknabe.")

There yet remain several great works which have helped to make Schumann's name immortal. In the poem of "Paradise and the Peri," forming a part of Thomas Moore's "Lalla Rookh," Schumann found a subject particularly suited to his individuality, a touching romantic fairy tale with rich Oriental scenery and pictures of strongly contrasted vivid colors. Schumann changed the poem in some places and made a few additions of his own, but did not in the least impair its beauty or coherency. The epic portions are attributed to different solo voices and sometimes even to the chorus. The orchestral accompaniment is very elaborate, demanding great care for an adequate performance. All these scenes in India, Africa and at the gates of Eden required a sensuous, yet refined instrumentation to portray them in their peculiar colors. Orchestra and the human voice were called upon to furnish the truest and most touching expression for the varied emotions of every number, which might be warlike and thrilling or tender and sweet, exuberant with joy or hopeless with despair, illustrating the charm of a blooming scenery or the gloom, suffering and death brought by the plague. The solos demand singers with beautiful, well-trained voices, and a thorough comprehension of all the musical and poetic beauties. A more brilliant and impressive soprano solo part than the Peri does not exist in all concert literature. There are also parts assigned to a second soprano, alto, tenor and two bass voices, the solos alternating with concerted numbers of extreme beauty. Of the chorus numbers the finales of parts one and three are on a large plan and have a jubilant and highly spirited character. Not less beautiful are the smaller numbers, each so wonderfully adapted to its particular situation and mood. Indeed one cannot speak too highly of all this music, and even one who does not sympathize with some monotonous portions in the third part, or an occasional deviation from correct declamation, will admit that this work is indeed the finest repository of the wealth, beauty and peculiarity of Robert Schumann's musical genius, in a field in which he has no superior and hardly a rival. It inaugurated indeed a new form of secular chorus music, more modern in spirit and freer in the whole arrangement than the oratorio proper, more dramatic than the cantata, and of greater refinement than the opera.

"The Pilgrimage of the Rose" cannot claim a similar high position. Arranged for Schumann by Horn after a poem of Pfarrius, it deals with a conventional story of a weakly, sentimental character, in spite of a few highly poetical incidents, and is unduly extended. Yet the music contains a most beautiful chorus for male voices with horns, and charming mixed choruses for female and mixed voices, their tones being either soft and mellow or as bright and spirited as anything written in much younger and happier years. The solos are, however, more monotonous, the famous duet of the miller and his wife being one of the few exceptions. It is also doubtful whether Schumann did right in arranging the original piano accompaniment for a whole orchestra.

The second immortal work, by which Schumann has enriched vocal concert literature, is his music to scenes from Gœthe's "Faust." Part I. consists, after the weak overture, of the scenes in the garden, the dome, and before the Mater dolorosa, from the first part of Gœthe's tragedy; the scene in the garden is distinguished by a peculiarly fine musical dialogue and orchestral accompaniment, that in the dome by the addition of an impressive Dies iræ. The more important scenes, however, divided in two parts, are from Gœthe's second play: "Ariel's song in the morning dawn," "Sunrise," "Faust's monologue," "Scene of the four grey women," "Faust's blinding, death and glorification." For this mystic poetry Schumann has found a sublime musical language, which revealed to thousands the beauty of Gœthe's verses, and the hidden meaning of his thoughts. The fantastic scene of the grey women, Faust's farewell song, the dialogue between Mephisto and his Lemures, digging Faust's grave, the latter's death followed by a wonderful postlude, are extremely impressive. Yet the climax is reached in the half-religious, allegorical third part, where saints and angels sing, amongst them Gretchen as "una poenitentium." Here are true gems of musical sublimity, comparable with nothing else in the works of Schumann or any other composer. The incorporeal world of spirits becomes almost visible through the music. The final chorus in eight parts shows in its solemn beginning a marvellous mastery of contrapuntal art, while the allegro on the "eternal womanly" perhaps in neither of the two different settings which Schumann has written, fully reaches his high intentions, and is unduly extended. There are many solo and concerted numbers, yet Faust remains the central figure. The sublime music accorded to him makes his part unique, approaches nearest the Christ in Bach's "Passion," and demands a noble voice, technical perfection, and the finest shading in the spiritual expression of every phrase. The orchestral part, too, demands a careful preparation. Schumann also composed many numbers in which Gœthe did not prescribe the assistance of music, and if it is true that as a whole this work has a fragmentary character, one must not forget that Schumann originally intended it for the concert stage, and as such it will forever remain one of the noblest tasks for great choral societies. However it cannot be denied that here too a full enjoyment of all the musical depth and beauty is only possible in connection with the German text, with the peculiar melody, rhythm and color of Gœthe's diction.

Of a somewhat fragmentary character is also the music to Byron's "Manfred." This dramatic poem with its wealth of thought and almost unbearable gloom was never intended for theatrical purposes; it has a kindred spirit with Faust and even with Schumann's own nature, and certainly no composer could have entered deeper into this poetical glorification of melancholy and despair. Schumann wrote the music under such conditions of mind that it could only come from the depths of his heart. The overture ranks among his greatest productions as a highly impressive picture of a passionate mental struggle, rich in new orchestral effects and finenesses of expression. Besides a lovely entr'acte the many melodramas force even upon those who generally are opposed to this form, the confession that Schumann was one of the greatest musical psychologists; while the few vocal numbers (except perhaps the song of the spirits of Ahrimanes and the Requiem) have less significance. One feels this especially in theatrical performances, which, although not intended by either poet or composer, impress us still deeper than the usual reading, singing and playing in concert form.