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The Genesis and Reception History of Robert Schumann's Kerner

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The Genesis and Reception History of Robert Schumann's Kerner The Genesis and Reception of Robert Schumann’s Kerner Liederreihe, Op. 35 Robert Joseph Gennaro A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Music. Chapel Hill 2009 Approved by: Jon W. Finson Mark Evan Bonds Tim Carter Annegret Fauser Jocelyn Neal ©2009 Robert Joseph Gennaro ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT Robert Joseph Gennaro: The Genesis and Reception of Robert Schumann’s Kerner Liederreihe, Op. 35 (Under the direction of Jon W. Finson) Robert Schumann’s Zwölf Gedichte von Justinus Kerner: Eine Liederreihe, op. 35 (1840), represents the composer’s final song cycle from his Liederjahr, and it stands as one of his three contributions to the nineteenth-century Wanderlieder tradition (the others being op. 36 and op. 39). While multiple comprehensive studies address several of Schumann’s song cycles (opp. 39, 42, and 48), op. 35 has not received the same amount of attention from musicologists. One of the reasons for this, according to Barbara Turchin, is the misunderstanding of op. 35’s poetic theme and musical substance. The Kerner Liederreihe lacks the kind of teleological narrative found in Dichterliebe and Frauenliebe und Leben. But there may be more important questions surrounding op. 35 than tightly-knit narrative progression. My study places op. 35 in the context of the loosely-knit nineteenth-century Wanderlieder cycle by tracing its history from genesis through critical reception. I examine the process by which Schumann composed these songs, from his selection of Kerner’s verse to the chronology of composition, realization in the Berlin Liederbücher, and organization in the first edition print. Although there are no known sketches for op. 35, we can compare the layers of the autograph realization to study Schumann’s compositional process. In the final two chapters I examine the publication and reception history of op. 35, noting the way in iii which Schumann divided the cycle into volumes and how writers have assesed the result, from the earliest known review to the most recent studies by current musicologists. In general, we find that Schumann tried to bring tonal and narrative order to the opus in a loose sense, a phenomenon in which writers (including this one) have become increasingly interested. iv To my family—all past and present. And to Mireille for her love and continuous support of me in all things. v PREFACE This dissertation stems almost entirely from Jon Finson’s graduate seminar in spring 2002 on “Schumann and the Ballad,” in which we studied examples of this genre from the first half of the nineteenth century. We focused not only on identifying songs that fit within the context of the German ballad, but also on an introduction (in great detail) to issues of declaiming text, to Schumann’s interest in various poets, and to some of the lesser known numbers from Schumann’s cycles and collections. Among the works we were introduced to was “Stirb, Lieb’ und Freud’!,” which stands as the second number from Schumann’s Kerner Liederreihe, op 35, and part of the final cycle Schumann composed during his Liederjahr. This lone song spurred my interest in the other numbers in the opus, in their music, in scholarly responses to them, and eventually, in writing this dissertation. In approaching op. 35, we are faced with several tasks not unlike other cycles from Schumann’s oeuvre. At the outset of any study of the composer’s songs lies a matter of text selection. Why did Schumann select a particular verse for setting? Was it a matter of the poem’s mechanics, content, or a combination of the two? And in the case of cycles where there is an issue of narrative, how do his selections of texts, in many cases from disparate portions of a poetic collection, relate to one another? The latter question has been examined by numerous musicologists with regard to Schumann’s well-known song cycles (Dichterliebe, Frauenliebe und Leben, and the Heine Liederkreis). But for op. 35, much of the scholarly work on the cycle seems to question Schumann’s selection of Kerner’s verse, vi and scholars intimate that his choices comprise nothing more than a random assortment. The first part of my dissertation will assess Schumann selections of Kerner’s poetry for op. 35 on the basis of poetic content, meaning, and metrical design, and I will also discuss how he declaimed text. Based on these studies, I put forth some theories as to how Schumann might have proceeded to organize these texts into a more teleological design in later chapters. I also explore the composer’s early interests in setting Kerner’s poetry, since he represented Schumann’s favorite choice as a young song composer. Next I turn to Schumann’s settings. The manner in which Schumann went about composing Lieder has been noted by various scholars, such as Rufus Hallmark. The composer was very consistent in his manner of fashioning songs: he produced melodic sketches first and then drafted both melody and piano accompaniment together. This latter step for all of the Kerner songs Schumann composed at the end of 1840 appears in the third volume of the Berlin Liederbücher, a manuscript in which the composer entered many of his songs in full realizations that eventually serve as the basis for later fair copies. Even though melodic sketches for op. 35 no longer exist, the Liederbücher allow us to see how Schumann worked when we compare his first layer of entry (where he transferred the melody from sketches) in one shade of ink, to secondary layers (revisions to melody, accompaniment, or copying errors), made in another shade. In this chapter I analyze all of the revisions Schumann produced in the Berlin drafts as he realized the Kerner songs, and I also trace the variants between the autograph and the first edition versions in order to show the layers of compositional decisions the composer made. While the manner in which Schumann composed the songs in manuscript reveals much about op. 35, it only marks the beginning of many important issues as to how the vii composer arrived at his final product. At the fore of this discussion is the final arrangement of the songs into a Liederreihe, its publication in two uneven volumes of five and seven songs, and omission of two numbers entered in the Berlin piano drafts. I explore how Schumann might have arrived at the greater narrative and tonal designs of the cycle, as he organized the songs into the final Liederreihe. My final chapter assesses critical reaction to op. 35—from the initial writings of nineteenth-century writers up to the present day—as I investigate the variety of responses to Kerner’s poetry, to Schumann’s treatment of the poet’s verse, to questions of cyclicity in the collection, and to how this opus stands among Schumann’s other notable song cycles. I would like to thank my advisor, Jon W. Finson, for his guidance, continuous help, and keen interest in seeing me through this dissertation. I am truly indebted to all of his advice—both scholarly and in many ways, fatherly—throughout this entire process. In addition, special thanks goes to the members of my committee who have aided in the completion of this dissertation, and provided assistance to me both inside and outside of the classroom. I would like to thank my parents and Mireille for all of the love and support they have continued to provide to me throughout this entire dissertation. And finally, my grandmother Maria Neuhaus deserves a special mention for all of her guidance in helping me translate various German documents. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES……………………………...…………………………………………....xii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS……………….……………………..…………….…………..xiii LIST OF EXAMPLES…………………………………………………….……..……….…xiv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS…………………………………………….……..…………..xxi Chapter I: Selection of Texts, Declamation, and Subject Matter…..………….……………...1 The Early Songs…….…..………………………………….………….….....………...3 Justinus Kerner………………………………………………...…….…...…..………..6 Schumann’s First Kerner Songs…………………...…………………....….....……………9 Schumann’s “Year of Song” and Return to Kerner….………...……..…………………19 Setting Kerner Phase I……………………….………………….…………………………24 Phase II………………………………..………………….………….……………………...45 Phase III…………….…………………..……………………….….……….……..………..56 The Subject Matter of Kerner’s Poetry……………….…………….…….……………...66 Chapter II: Compositional Process…………………………………………..…...………...……..76 “Lust der Sturmnacht”…………………………….…………………..….…………….…82 “Stirb, Lieb’ und Freud’!”…..………………………………..………………………..…….86 “Trost im Gesang”…………...………………………..……………..…...……………….93 “Wanderung”………………………………………………………...………....………….96 ix “Auf das Trinkglas eines verstorbenen Freundes”………………….…………..…..100 “Stille Liebe”…………………..…………………………………………………..…...107 “Stille Thränen”………………………………………..……………….……………...109 “Frage”……………………………………………………..………………………..….114 “Wer machte dich so krank?”……………………………………...………..………..116 “Alte Laute”....................................................................................................................120 “Sehnsucht nach der Waldgegend”..………..……………….……………..………...121 “Erstes Grün”…………………………………………………………….………….…126 “Sängers Trost”………………….……………....…………….……………………….128 “Wanderlied”………………….…………………………….……………………….…128 Varieties of Compositional Revisions in Summary………….…………....……….132 Chapter III: The Creation of the Kerner Liederreihe and Publication of the First Edition……………………………………………………………………….……….….……..…..136 Publication History….………………………………..…………………….....…...…137
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