German Lieder in the Nineteenth Century

The repertory of the nineteenth-century German lied offers a world of expressiveness condensed into brief moments of musical time. This collection of essays by prominent scholars surveys representative works of the major lied composers, as well as the styles, forms, and poetry that characterize this body of music.
The book begins with a chapter by Harry Seelig on the literary context of the nineteenth-century lied, arguing that Goethe practically single-handedly created German Romantic poetry and influenced poets and composers alike. Subsequent chapters focus on the contributions of individual lied composers. Susan Youens presents an overview of Schubert's songs and discusses in detail his text-setting and style in selected songs; Rufus Hallmark does the same for Schumann, extending his discussion to the composer's little-known late songs and songs for more than one voice; Virginia Hancock makes a case for treating Brahms's folk-tune and folk-lyric settings on an equal footing with his Kunstlieder; Lawrence Kramer examines Wolf's distinctive approach to the lied in light of the contemporary emergence of psychiatry; Barbara A. Petersen discusses the broad range of musical aesthetics found in Richard Strauss's lifetime of lieder composition; and Christopher Lewis writes on the special way in which Mahler's songs evoke the Romantic dilemma.
In counterpoint to these studies of the masters, Jurgen Thym's contribution highlights five composers whose lieder are less widely discussed and performed in English-speaking countries: Carl Loewe, Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, Franz Liszt, Robert Franz, and Peter Cornelius; John Daverio writes on the song cycle as a reflection of Romantic imagery and aesthetics; and Robert Spillman emphasizes the practical issues of the singer's communication with an audience in German. Numerous music and text examples are used to illustrate the authors' points, and extensive notes and bibliographies accompany each essay.