371
SYMBOLISM IN THE DAVIDSBUNDLER DANCES OF ROBERT
SCHUMANN (LECTURE-RECITAL) TOGETHER WITH THREE
RECITALS OF SELECTED WORKS BY MOZART, CHOPIN,
SCHUBERT, J. S. BACH, RACHMANINOFF, BLOCH,
SCARLATTI, BEN WEBER, BEETHOVEN,
PROKOFIEFF AND LISZT
DISSERTATION
Presented to the Graduate Council of the
North Texas State University in Partial
Fulfillment of the Requirements
For the Degree of
DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS
By
Olive D. Padgett, B. M., M. M.
Denton, Texas
December, 1979 Padgett, Olive D., Symbolism in the Davidsbiindler
Dances of Robert Schumann (Lecture-Recital) Together with
Three Recitals of Selected Works by Mozart, Chopin, Schubert,
J. S. Bach, Rachmaninoff, Bloch, Scarlatti, Ben Weber,
Beethoven, Prokofieff and Liszt. Doctor of Musical Arts
(Piano), December 1979, 25 pp., 18 illustrations, 10 titles.
The first three recitals contained solely performances
of piano music. The first of these consisted of a Fantasy
and a set of variations by Mozart, the Fantaisie in F minor
by Chopin, and the Sonata in C minor by Schubert.
The second recital contained an English Suite by J. S.
Bach, two Etudes-Tableaux and two Preludes by Rachmaninoff,
and the Piano Sonata of Ernest Bloch.
The third recital consisted of four Sonatas by Scarlatti,
a Fantasia (Variations) by the American composer, Ben Weber,
a Sonata by Beethoven, Chose en soi and Pens6e by Prokofieff,
and a Polonaise by Liszt.
The fourth recital was a lecture on symbolism in the
Davidsbindler Dances of Schumann, examining various types of
symbolism appearing in the Dances: use of quotations from
his own and others' works, use of a motive based on the letters
of a name, use of "stage directions," use of tonality as a
symbol, use of word painting, and use of sound effects. The
lecture was followed by a performance of this work. All four recitals, tape recorded, and the lecture, typewritten, are filed together in the Graduate Office of the North Texas State University. TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ...... iv
PERFORMANCE PROGRAMS . . . . v10
Chapter
I. INTRODUCTION...... 1
General Background of the Davidsbindler Dances The Davidsbund The Importance of the Davidsbiindler Dances to Schumann
II. "HIDDEN MEANINGS" IN THE DAVIDSBUNDLER DANCES...... 9
III. CONCLUSIONS,...... 24
BIBLIOGRAPHY,...... 26
iii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Figure Page
1. Papillons, No. 12, measures 53-69 ...... 2
2. Dance No. 1, measure 1...... 9
3. Dance No. 1, measures 5-7; Dance No. 3, mea- sures 1-2; Dance No. 4, measures 1-2; Dance No. 8, measure 1; Dance No. 12, mea- sure 1...... 11
4. Dance No. 2, measures 1-2; Dance No. 9, mea- sures 1-2; Dance No. 18, measures 2-7 . . . . . 12
5. Dance No. 1, measures 13-14; Dance No. 7, mea- sures 24-26; Dance No. 16, measure 1...... 13
6. Dance No. 1, measures 26-29; Dance No. 2, mea- sures 3-4; Dance No. 11, measures 8-10; Dance No. 12, measures 5-6; Dance No. 15, measures 12-24...... 14
7. Dance No. 10, measures 13-15; Dance No. 13, measures 57-62...... 16
8. Dance No. 3, measures 76-80; Dance No. 4, measures 1-5..-...... 16
9. Dance No. 5, measures 1-4; Dance No. 7, mea- sures 1-2; Dance No. 11, measures 1-4; and Dance No. 13, measures 1-3...... 17
10. Dance No. 6, measure 1...... 18
11. Dance No. 17, measures 1-3...... 18
12. Wieck: "Le Ballet de Revenants," third theme . 18
13. Dance No. 2, measures 3-4 and 6-8 ...... 19
14. Dance No. 3, measures 76-80 ...... 19
15. Papillon No. 1, measures 1-4...... 20
16. Dance No. 3, measures 17-20 ...... 20
iv Figure Page
17. Dance No. 3, measures 47-49...... 21
18. Dance No. 9, measures 1-3...... 22
V NORTH TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MUSIC presents
OLIVE PADGETT, Pianist
in a
Graduate Recital
Monday, June 25, 1973 8:15 p.m. Recital Hall
PROGRAM
Fantasy in C minor, K. 396 Mozart Nine Variations on "Lison dormait", K. 26h Mozart
Fantaisie in F minor, Op. 49 Chopin
INTERMISSION
Sonata in C minor, D. 958 Schubert Allegro Adagio Menuetto: Allegro Allegro
Presented in partial fulfillment of the reauirements for the degree Doctor of Musical Arts.
vi H TvORT NXAS STATE UNIVERSITY SCICL CF TIUSIC pre sents
OLIVE PADGETT, Pianist
in a Graduate Recital
Tuesday, July 2, 11074 8:15 p.m. Recital Hall
PROGRAM
English Suite No. 5 in E minor Bach Preludri Allemande Courante Sarnbande Passepied I (en Rondeau) Passepiad II Gigue
Etude s-Tableaux, Cpus 39 Rac hmaninof f No, Lt in B minor No. 2 in A minor Preludes, Opus 23 No. 3 in D minor No. 2 in Bb major
INTEMISSION
Sonata (1935) Ernest Bloch 1aestoso ed energico Pastorale Moderato alla marcia
Presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Musical Arts.
vii NORTH TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MUSIC presents
OLIVE PADGETT., Pianist in a
Graduate Recital
Monday, February 21, 1977 6:30 p.m. Recital Hall
PROGRAM I Four Sonatas Scarlatti F minor, K. 19 F minor, K. 519 B minor, K. 27 G major, K. 241
Fantasia (Variations), Opus 25 Ben Weber (1916.- ) II Sonata in Eb Major, Opus 31, No. I Beethoven Allegro Scherzo: Allegretto vivace Menuetto: Moderato e grazioso Presto con fuoco III Chose en soi, Opus 45b Prokofieff Pensee, Opus 62, No. 1
Polonaise in E major Liszt
Presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Musical Arts.
viii NORTH H TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF MuSIc
presents
OLIVE PADGETT, Pianist
in a
LECTURE RECITAL
Monday, July 30, 1979 5:00 p.m. Concert Hall
SYMBOLISM IN THE DAVIDSBUNDLER DANCES
OF ROBERT SCHUIMIANN
Presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Musical Arts
ix CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Robert Alexander Schumann has been called the most romantic of the Romantic composers--romantic in the sense that he was "the most personal and poetic of composers, . . . the one most symbolic of his age, the most introspective, and the one most responsive to the new allied art forms that were sweeping Europe." 1
Schumann spoke of music as a language, and of musicians as poets. As he wrote in 1838 to Clara Wieck, the brilliant pianist who later became his wife:
I am affected by everything that goes on in the world, and think it all over in my own way, politics, literature, and people, and then I long to express my feelings and find an outlet for them in music. That is why my compositions are sometimes difficult to understand, because they are connected with distant interests; and sometimes striking, because everything extraordinary that happens impresses me, and impels me to express it in music.
That Schumann meant this in a literal, and not only in a figurative, sense is obvious from the many examples of extra-musical allusions which abound in his words, a few examples of which will suffice:
IHarold C. Schonberg, "Most Romantic of Them All," Musical Courier, CLIII (February, 1956), 42-43.
Robert Schumann, Early Letters of Robert Schumann, translated by May Herbert (London,1888), p. 270.
1 2
First, the Papillons, Op. 2, consist of twelve sketches
inspired by "The Masked Ball," chapter 63 of Jean Paul's novel, Flegeljahre. The last page of Schumann's score
bore the words: "The noise of the carnival is stilled. The
clock in the tower strikes six.,,3 Schumann very literally
depicts the noise being stilled with a motive from the first
Papillon, each successive appearance of which is shortened
by one additional note. (See Figure 1.)
Fig. 1--Papillons, No. 12, measures 53-69.
At the same time, six high A's are struck to represent the
tower clock, as the sounds of the carnival die out.
3 Robert Schauffler, Florestan: The Life and Work of Robert Schumann (New York, 1963), p. 279. 3
His third Symphony, the "Rhenish," was intended to portray scenes from life along the Rhine River. Its fourth movement for example, Feierlich (or Ceremonial), is program
music inspired by the enthronement of an archbishop in
Cologne Cathedral.4
A final example is his use of a tonal analogue on the
name of Abegg in the Abegg Variations, Op. 1.
Schumann also testified that in his mind words and
music were different forms of the same thing when he wrote
"When I am playing [Schubert's] music, I feel as if I were
reading a Jean Paul novel turned into music." 5
Background of the Davidsbindler Dances
The eighteen pieces we know today as the Davidsbindler
Dances were begun in 1837, completed in 1838, and published
as Op. 6 by Friese in Leipzig, under the title DavidsbUndler-
tdnze, and the composer was given as Florestan and Eusebius.
The dances first appeared in two sets of nine pieces each.
In this original edition, Schumann indicated the programmatic
nature of the work by signing each of the eighteen dances
with an "F" (for Florestan) or an "E" (for Eusebius), after
signing the first one "Florestan und Eusebius." The only
dances not so signed are the ninth and eighteenth, where a
prefatory statement identifies the author, and the sixteenth,
4Ibid., p. 414.
SSchumann, Early Letters, p. 80. 4 which flows without interruption into the seventeenth; the two together then are attributed to "F. u. E." Under the
title was an "old saying":
In all' und jeder Zeit VerknUpft sich Lust und Leid: Bleibt fromm in Lust und seyd Beim Leid mit Muth bereit.
(Forever and ever Joy and sorrow are entwined; Remain devout in joy And meet sorrow with courage.)
The performing directions for each piece were given in
German rather than the customary Italian. In addition, a
"stage direction" preceded the last piece of each set.
Before No. 9 stood: "Hereupon Florestan stopped and his lips
quivered sorrowfully," and before No. 18: "Quite super-
fluously Eusebius remarked as follows: but all the while,
great bliss spoke from his eyes." Thus, a dichotomy is
established throughout, by alternating the characters of
Florestan and Eusebius, the two sides of his own nature,
by the linking of joy and sorrow in the proverb, and by the
contrast between the two endings, both in the key of C, but
the one so tempestuous and sorrowful, the other so dreamily
amorous.
It should be mentioned that the second edition, published
in 1851, with minor revisions by Schumann, dropped the word
"Dances," being entitled simply Die Davidsbindler (Eighteen
Character Pieces), and dispensed with the signatures, the
proverb and the descriptive notes. 5
The Davidsbund
When his collected writings, largely his contributions to the Neue Zeitschrift fir Musik, were published in 1854,
Schumann, in his introduction, cast some light on the nature of the Davidsbindler as a
. . . society, a more than secret one, since it never existed anywhere save in the imagination of its founder: that of the DavidsbUndler (The Davidites). In view of the desirability of drama- tizing the different points of view from which works of art may be discussed, it seemed opportune to invent antithetic artist-characters to whom these different views might be ascribed. The most important of these characters were Florestan and Eusebius . . . Like a scarlet thread this society of Davidsbndler ran through the entire journal, 6 mingling "Truth" and Poetry" in humorous fashion.
The Davidsbund, then, was an imaginary society of pro-
gressive young artists up in arms against the elderly stick-
in-the-mud Philistines, representing the musical establishment
of the day, who championed all that was conservative,
mediocre and tasteless against what was new or of lasting
value in art. Among the members were those in Schumann's
intimate circle, such as Clara, her father, Friedrich Wieck,
and friends involved with him in the publication of the Neue
Zeitschrift fUr Musik, as well as such unsuspecting members
as Mendelssohn and Stephen Heller.
The two most prominent members were Florestan and
Eusebius, the two names he had chosen to represent the
6 Robert Schumann, On Music and Musicians, translated by Paul Rosenfeld, edited by Konrad Wolff (New York, 1946), p. 26. 6 contrasting sides of his own nature: Florestan, the impetuous and flamboyant extrovert, and Eusebius, the reflective and poetic introvert. They had already made appearances beginning in 1831 in his diaries and his journal articles, also, subsequently, in his piano pieces, often as composer and sometimes as dramatis personae.
The Importance of the Davidsbundler Dances to Schumann
The Davidsbiindler Dances are not sketches of the various members of the society but a musical offering to Clara from
Florestan and Eusebius. Her father's opposition to their courtship had caused a long separation between Schumann and
Clara beginning in early 1836. Hitherto Schumann had been a pupil of Friedrich Wieck and even had lived in the Wieck home, but he became a pers-ona non grata when Clara developed a serious interest in him. However, a secret reconciliation between the two lovers took place in August, 1837, and the
Davidsbuindler Dances (along with the Fantasiesticke, Op. 12) were the first new works to appear from Schumann's pen after
this happy event. He was most concerned that she like and understand the dances, as several of his letters to her establish. On January 5, 1838: 7
. . . The DavidsbUndler Dances and Fantasiesticke will be finished in another week. There are many bridal thoughts in the dances, which were suggested by the most delicious excitement that I ever 7 remember. I will explain them all to you one day.
A little later
. . . Have you not received the 'Davids-tdnze?' (one copy is in silver print). I sent them to you last Saturday week. You might patronize them a little, do you hear? They are my particular property. But my Clara will understand all that is contained in the dances, for they are dedicated to her, and that more emphatically than any of my other things. The whole story is a Polterabend*, and now you can imagine it all from the beginning. If ever I was happy at the piano it was when I was composing those. 8
Apparently Clara had not the imagination with which he
credited her, for on February 11 he was again asking:
. . . Do let me know how you like the Phantasiestticke, and DavidsbUndlertdnze,--but tell me quite openly, and think of me not as your lover, but as your husband. . . . I have just discovered that it strikes twelve at the end of the "Davidstdnze":
On March 3rd, Clara responded:
I played Fischhof some of your Phantasiesticke which he liked extremely. . . . I like the Davidstanze very much, too . . . but I must honestly confess that often they are too much like the Carnaval which I like the best of all these little pieces.i0
7Schumann, Early Letters, p. 260.
* A Polterabend was the eve of a wedding on which, according to German legend, sprites haunted the bride's dwelling and played practical jokes.
8Ibid., p. 261. 9Ibid., pp. 262-263.
10 Berthold Litzmann, Clara Schumann: An Artist's Life, translated by Grace E. Hadow, Vol. I of 2 vls. (New York, 1972), p. 137. 8
Clara's response clearly disappointed Schumann for he wrote to her not long after:
. . . You pass over the Davidsbundlersta'nze very lightly; I think they are quite different from the Carnaval, compared to which they are what a face is to a mask. But I may be mistaken, as I have not forgotten them yet. All I know is that they were written in happiness, and the others in toil and sorrow.1 1
It is thus obvious that the Davidsbiindler Dances occupied a special place in Schumann's heart and that he wished them to make a special impact on Clara, too.
It is the intent of this paper to try to explore what hidden meanings, or symbols, Schumann might have intended
Clara to discover in the dances.
1 1 Schumann, Early Letters, p. 267. CHAPTER II
"HIDDEN MEANINGS" IN THE DAVIDSBNDLER DANCES
An examination of the score of the Davidsbindler Dances
reveals that Schumann used a number of methods to hint at
extramusical matters.
The opening measure of the first number is a "Motto
von C. W." This quotation (see Figure 2) is from a Mazurka
Il Aotto V0V% C. W.
Fig. 2--Dance No. 1, measure 1
included in Clara's Opus 6, Soir6es Musicales. Schumann
had praised these pieces highly in a Neue Zeitschrift
article of September 12, 1837: " . . . they tell us much
about music, and how it surpasses the effusions of poetry,
how one can be happy in pain and sad when happy [italics
mine]." Note the similarity to the idea expressed in the
"old saying" which prefaces the dances.
1 Robert Schumann, The Musical World of Robert Schumann, A selection of his own writings, translated, edited, and annotated by Henry Pleasants (New York, 1965), p. 123.
9 10
(This may be an appropriate time to call attention
to the opus number of this work, chronologically out of
order, since Op. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, and 17 had all
preceded it in order of composition. It may have been
just a happy coincidence that Op. 6 should have been avail-
able to attach to the first piece written after the
important reconciliation of 1837, and one which used the
motto drawn from Clara's Op. 6 so prominently.)
This motto, which consists of an upward leap of a
sixth followed by a falling second, appears in various
guise throughout the dances, often with the leap filled
in (see Figure 3), sometimes retaining only the distinctive
falling second (see Figure 4), the falling second sometimes
extended to encompass a third, i.e., using pitches mi-re-do
or their equivalent (either descending or inverted) (see
Figure 5), and more often extended to become a long descending
scale (see Figure 6), especially one beginning on F-sharp.
Additional significance attached to a descending scale
beginning on F-sharp will be mentioned later.
This use of a recurrent motto to unify otherwise
unconnected pieces into a large form was not unusual for
Schumann, his having already done so in the Carnaval.
Unlike that example, there are no recurrent pitches involved here, but it is probable that the motto had a special meaning for Schumann, one which he expected Clara to recognize, perhaps having to do with the idea of joy linked 11
-I -h
s
Assh
.f + I- +
|. sy r ' AL
.. . -|.
Fig. 3--Dance No. 1, measures 5-7; Dance No. 3, measures 1-2; Dance No. 4, measures 1-2; Dance No. 8, measure 1; Dance No. 12, measure 1.
Note: In this illustration and some of those following, "+" is used to denote essential thematic tones or intervals in cases where a bracket would be less clear. 12
+1 +-+V
i - I I - -4- Ar I
lo
-f- +
Fig. 4--Dance No. 2, measures 1-2; Dance No. 9, measures 1-2; Dance No. 18, measures 2-7. 13
50
Fig. 5--Dance No. 1, measures 13-14; Dance No. 7, measures 24-26; Dance No. 16, measure 1. 14
v tf a VIA \'!! -v a-?
x ell :2 ,,j I
4-f 11 it d AJ I #-Y u A.-A
lot
Fig. 6--Dance No. 1, measures 26-29; Dance No. 2, measures 3-4; Dance No. 11, measures 8-10; Dance No. 12, measures 5-6; Dance No. 15, measures 12-24. 15 with sorrow expressed in the proverb and also in Schumann's review of the piece quoted from.
A quite different type of symbolism is suggested by a second unifying device used by Schumann in the Dances. This is a motive probably based on the letters of Clara's name, much as he had used the surname of Meta Abegg as a point of departure for the Variations on the Name Abegg. Although all the letters of Clara's name are not musical notes, those which are, , could logically be supple- C-A-A mented as follows: .*2 This motive C-L-A-R-A appears in Schumann's opera, Genoveva, at the hero's words
"Take care of my wife,"3 It appears throughout the D-minor
Symphony after Schumann stated in 1841 that his next symphony would be called "Clara" and that in it he would paint her picture with flutes, oboes, and harps.4 In the dances, the motive appears in its original form, possibly only inciden- tally, at the end of No. 2 (see Figure 13) and in Nos. 10 and 13 (see Figure 7), then appears in its retrograde form and transposed, , as the second unifying
A - R- - L -C
2Eric Sams, "Did Schumann Use Ciphers?" The Musical Times, CVI (August,1965), 584-591.
3 Eric Sams, "Brahms and His Clara Themes," The Musical Times, CXII (May, 1971), 432-434.
4 Berthold Litzmann, Clara Schumann, p. 325. 16
f)I I II aI I a I
Oar I I I
I I J7-~J 4- A i 4
XJ
Fig. 7--Dance No. 10, measures 13-15; Dance No. 13, measures 57-62.
Fig. 8--Dance No. 3, measures 76-80; Dance No. 4, measures 1-5. 17
device for the work. This theme, with or without its first
note, appears in the bass in No. 3 and 4 (see Figure 8, preceding page), as the main theme of Nos. 5, 7, 11, and 13
(see Figure 9), and using the first three notes only
Fig. 9--Dance No. 5, measures 1-4, Dance No. 7, measures 1-2, Dance No. 11, measures 1-4, and Dance No. 13, measures 1-3.
throughout the bass of No. 6 (see Figure 10). The prevailing motive of No. 17 suggests a relationship, possibly in an
inverted form (see Figure 11). 18
Fig. 10--Dance No. 6, measure 1
Fig. 11--Dance No. 17, measures 1-3
Fiske has already noted that the pendulum-like theme of "Le Ballet de Revenants" from Clara's Soir6es Musicales,
Op. 5, contained this A-R-A-L-C motive (see Figure 12).5
Fig. 12--Wieck: "Le Ballet de Revenants," third theme
It is obvious that it also contains the motive in its original form, as well as a descending scale starting mi-re-do.
The first eight notes of this theme in the same key are conspicuous in Dance No. 2 (see Figure 13), and the
Roger Fiske, "A Schumann Mystery," The Musical Times, CV (August, 1964), 574-578. 19
Fig. 13--Dance No. 2, measures 3-4 and 6-8
descending B minor scale starting on F-sharp leads into the
first appearance of the A-R-A-L-C motive in Dance No. 3.
(see Figure 14.)
-I f 73 L
Alk dam
a --q*404- I I I
Fig. 14--Dance No. 3, measures 76-80
A still different type of symbolism concerns quotations
from Schumann's own works. No. 3, signed by Florestan,
contains one probable example of this self-quotation and a second clear one. To take up the more ambiguous of the two, we find a theme which appeared first in the Papillons. (see Figure 15.) 20
Fig. 15--Papillon No. 1, measures 1-4
In the Carnaval, Op. 9, this theme drifts in and out of the piece representing Florestan: its entrance is first marked "Adagio," and the second time "Papillon?". This
"cross reference" could mean that the scale theme repre- sented Florestan in the Papillons, a suggestion of Eric
Sams,6 or could possibly simply be used to tie together the two cycles both representing scenes at a masked ball.
In the third Davidsbfindler dance, the scale motive in the same key and register (see Figure 16) may be merely a recollection of a masked ball or yet another appearance of
Florestan in one of his festive guises.
I W i:II L I I
Fig. 16---Dance No. 3, measures 17-20
6 Eric Sams, "Schumann and the Tonal Analogue," Robert Schumann, The Man and His Music, edited by Alan Walker (New York, 1974), pp. 393-394. 21
At any rate, there can be no doubt about the quotation,
in the same piece, of a phrase from the "Promenade," No. 19
of the Carnaval: (see Figure 17.)
Fig. 17--Dance No. 3, measures 47-49
The appearance of this music in a piece dedicated to Clara
by Florestan gives us a strong clue as to who was doing
the promenading at the "Carnaval."
A fourth form of symbolism, and one which Schumann had used before, is the use of "sound effects": a striking clock
to signal the end of merry-making. In contrast to the clock which struck six o'clock A.M. in the treble to bring
Papillons to a close, here we. find the hour of twelve o'clock ringing in the deep bass at the end of the cycle.
This would seem a discreet hour to end an evening of merri- ment on the eve of a wedding. Schumann's claim to Clara that he only afterward discovered the effect seems a bit disingenuous, since he had carefully struck low C exactly twelve times and, in an overlapping fashion, middle C exactly twelve times, to emphasize the point further. It would indeed be a strong coincidence if this were to have happened accidentally. 22
Yet another type of symbolism is Schumann's use of word painting; that is, use of a musical motive to depict an action or word. After preceding Dance No. 9 with the reference to Florestan's sorrowfully quivering lips, he portrays the quivering by agitated, accented falling seconds. (see Figure 18.)
Fig. 18--Dance No. 9, measures 1-3
A final type of extramusical allusion is that of ending each half of the work with a statement referring to one of the "authors," followed by a piece in the key of C. It can be seen that there is no particular pattern to the key scheme of the cycle, except that it centers rather heavily around the keys of G major and B minor. There seems to be no particular reason to use the key of C in such a prominent way to end each set of nine pieces, unless it was meant to be an allusion to the loved one's name, that is, "C-for-Clara." 23
Key Scheme of the Davidsbiindler Dances
First Set Second Set
1. G 10. D minor
2. B minor 11. D major
3. G 12. B minor
4. B minor 13. B minor
5. D 14. Eb
6. D minor 15. Bb-Eb
7. G minor 16. G
8. C minor 17. B major - B minor
9. C 18. C CHAPTER III
CONCLUSIONS
On the basis of all the evidence available, Schumann wrote the DavidsbUndler Dances during a period of great joy in his life, he was particularly enthusiastic about them, and he expected Clara to recognize something specific in them.
An examination of the music has shown that Schumann used a "motto," or quotation, from one of Clara's composi- tions and worked it up into an important unifying theme for the dances, and that he also quoted from his own earlier works. He used a motive based on the letters of Clara's name as a second unifying device. In the work's first published form, he ended each half with a "stage direction" and a piece in the key of C, almost certainly an allusion to Clara's name. He used word painting to describe an action referred to in the stage direction. Finally, at the end of the last dance, he graphically depicted a clock striking twelve on this same C-for-Clara.
Thus, Schumann employed a number of different forms of symbolism in the Davidsbindler Dances, and in his then- prevailing emotional state of euphoria, it is quite clear that they all meant: Clara.
24 25
Schumann's music must stand or fall on the actual notes he wrote on paper, not on the extramusical meanings the notes have for him. At the same time, paradoxically, knowledge about what the composer had in mind helps to explain the music. For the performer, this knowledge aids in deciding what to highlight in performance, as well as in freeing the imagination. For the listener, Schumann's Davidsbuindler Dances can fully be enjoyed on their own, as absolute music, but their enjoyment is enhanced when one understands the circumstances of their writing and the fact that they carry secret messages to Clara from Florestan and
Eusebius. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books
Litzmann, Berthold, Clara Schumann: An Artist's Life, based on material found in diaries and letters. Translated and abridged from the fourth edition by Grace E. Hadow, with a preface by W. H. Hadow (2 volumes), New York, Vienna House, 1972. Sams, Eric, "Schumann and the Tonal Analogue," Robert Schumann: The Man and His Music, edited by Alan Walker, New York, Harper 5 Row Publishers, Inc., 1974.
Schauffler, Robert, Florestan: The Life and Work of Robert Schumann, New York, Dover Publications, Inc., 1963.
Schumann, Robert, Early Letters of Robert Schumann, trans- lated by May Herbert, London, George Bell & Sons, 1888.
The Musical World of Robert Schumann, A selection from his own writings, translated, edited, and annotated by Henry Pleasants, New York, St. Martins Press, 1965.
, On Music and Musicians, translated by Paul Rosenfeld, edited by KonradYWolff, New York, Pantheon Books, Inc., 1946.
Articles
Fiske, Roger, "A Schumann Mystery," The Musical Times, CV (August, 1964), 574-578.
Sams, Eric, "Brahms and His Clara Themes," The Musical Times, CXII (May, 1971), 432-434.
, "Did Schumann Use Ciphers?" The Musical Times, CVI (August, 1965), 584-591.
Schonberg, Harold C., "Most Romantic of Them All," Musical Courier, CLIII (February, 1956), 42-43.
26