composed 1848/1849 - dedicated to Miss Annette Preusser zugeeignet
Eintritt
Jäger auf der Lauer
Einsame Blumen
Verrufene Stelle
Freundliche Landschaft
Herberge
Vogel als Prophet
Jagdlied
Abschied
“You
receive here the Waldszenen [Forest Scenes], a long work, much cherished
by me. May it bring you profit, and if not actually a whole forest, then
it will at least add a little tree to a new business.” Schumann wrote
these words to his publisher Bartholf Senff in Leipzig on October 8, 1850.
He had composeded this cycle in Dresden during the time of the Revolution
of 1848. It represented nothing less than an attempt through music to influence
the development of man into a learned, independent, and self-sufficient
individual; an internal revolution of education through music which was
not to be limited solely to pianists. The Waldszenen, op. 82, are a collection
of nine highly differentiated, subtle pieces, to each of which the composer
originally appended a literary motto, though the Friedrich Hebbel quote
would be the only one to be published.
The original motto for “Eintritt” (“Entrance”),
No. 1:
“We travel down the dew-pearled path/Through
tall grass, through sweet-smelling moss/Into the very lap of the thicket.”
Gustav Pfarrius
The motto for “Verrufene Stelle” (“Condemned
Places”), No. 4:
“The flowers, for all their tall growth,
Are pale here, like Death;
Only one in the middle stands there
in dark red.
Its color comes not from the sun,
Which never shone down upon it,
It has it from the Earth,
And it drank human blood.” Friedrich
Hebbel
The motto for “Vogel als Prophet” (“Bird
as Prophet”), No. 7:
“Take good care, be wakeful and alert.”
Joseph von Eichendorff
The motto for “Abschied” (“Farewell”),
No. 9:
“Quietly the shadow steals further,
The evening breeze wafts through the
valley,
Far peaks gladly greet,
The last rays of the sun.” Gustav
Pfarrius
Robert Schumann was attempting to create an expressive language through simple means. The first piece, “Eintritt” (“Entrance”), is characterized by a simple rhythmic model, but also finely-realized voice-leading that reflects the “travel down the dew-pearled path.” Each single number receives its own inimitable character through different creative means: like the simple counterpoint by which the dissonances are emphasized in “Einsamen Blumen” (“Lonely Flowers”), or the mysteriously quiet, French overture like rhythms of “Verrufene Stelle” (“Condemned Places”).
© Franz Vorraber