turchin, 19th-century wanderlieder cycle (jm 5-4, 1987)

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The Nineteenth-Century Wanderlieder CycleAuthor(s): Barbara TurchinSource: The Journal of Musicology, Vol. 5, No. 4 (Autumn, 1987), pp. 498-525Published by: University of California PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/763842 .

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The Nineteenth-centuryWanderliederCycleBARBARA TURCHIN

A lthough today Conradin Kreutzer's Liederare all but forgotten, in his own time they were among the most popu-lar and critically acclaimed works in the genre. In an account of a musi-cal soiree held in 1830 at the home of Rahel von Varnhagen, hostess ofthe leading Berlin salon, her husband reported that the noble songs ofSchubert, Beethoven, and Kreutzer were performed with utter purityof feeling to the great delight of all in attendance.1 Indeed, Kreutzer's498 songs kept good company.

If one singled out those songs that received the greatest praise,Kreutzer's setting of Ludwig Uhland's Neun Wanderliederwould placehigh on the list. Published as op. 34 in 1818, Kreutzer's Wanderliedercreated a stir among music critics and composers alike.2Judging by thepublished commentary of Kreutzer's contemporaries, in addition tothe large number of Wanderliedercycles that followed, it would be noexaggeration to state that his Wanderlieder nitiated a vital tradition innineteenth-century song-cycle composition. Schubert's Winterreise,Schumann's Kerner Liederreihe,and Mahler's Lieder eines fahrendenGesellenare today the best known of the many cycles that comprisethis tradition.The present essay provides an overview of the Wanderlieder ycle inthe nineteenth century. Particular attention is given first to Kreutzer'swork-specifically, its role in establishing a poetic toposthat was takenup numerous times by later composers, and its role in offering a musi-cal approach to song-cycle composition that proved more congenial tocomposers than the one taken by Beethoven in An dieferneGeliebte,op.98, published in 1816. How this poetic theme and musical approach

KarlAugust Varnhagen von Ense, Vermischte chriften.AusgewahlteSchriften,3rd ed.,19 vols. (Leipzig, 1876), XIX, p. 194.Conradin Kreutzer, Neun Wanderliederon Uhland,op. 34 (Augsburg, 1818). Prior totheir publication, Kreutzer's Wanderliederhad already gained some notoriety throughpublic performances (see Annelies Landau, Das einstimmigeKunstliedConradinKreutzers[Leipzig, 1930], p. 52, n. 72; p. 53).

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WANDERLIEDER CYCLEmanifest themselves in the above-mentioned cycles by Schubert, Schu-mann, and Mahler, among others, will then be considered.

Since the poem is the raisond'etre or the song, it isappropriate to begin with a discussion of Uhland's Wanderlieder, irstpublished as a group of eight poems in the 1813 anthology, DeutscherDichterwald,3 nd later expanded to nine in the 1815 edition of his col-lected poems.4 Uhland's lyrics, the style and spirit of which were de-rived from his intensive study of older German folk poetry, revitalizedin poetic form the figure of the solitary wanderer, a character central tomany contemporaneous novels including Goethe's WilhelmMeister,H6lderlin's Hyperion,Tieck's Franz Sternbald,Novalis's Heinrichvon Of-terdingen,and Eichendorffs AusdemLebeneinesTaugenichts.As Meyer Abrams has shown in his study Natural Supernaturalism,the wanderer and the act of wandering were at the heart of GermanRomantic literature and philosophic thought. To paraphrase Abrams,the travels of the wanderer symbolize mankind's quest to recover,through a circuitousjourney, the lost primal state of unity experiencedin the Golden Age of long ago. The circuitousjourney is both an educa-tional and psychological process which begins with man's fall from 499unity into self-division, self-conflict, and self-contradiction. The dy-namic of this process is to move towards a balance, an integration, aclosure of these divisions and contraries. The goal of the inner quest isto achieve a higher state of unity, a greater wholeness through in-creased self-awareness. The beginning and end of thejourney is man'sancestral home which is often linked with a female counterpart fromwhom the wanderer departs when setting out. The achievement of thegoal is frequently portrayed in a scene of recognition and reconcilia-tion, and is often symbolized in a loving union with the female other.5

The Bildungsgeschichterelated by Goethe, Holderlin, Tieck, andothers follow various paths taken by their protagonists in the search forself-knowledge and self-recognition. In poetic form, Uhland's Wander-liederalso is an expression of this Romantic quest and incorporatesmany facets of the wandering theme. On the surface the nine poemsrelate a simple tale of departure, absence, and return. On closer view,3 DeutscherDichterwaldvon Justinus Kerner, Friedrich Baron de la Motte-Fouque,Ludwig Uhland, Helmina von Chezy, Friedrich Kolle, August Mayer, Gustav Schwab,Varnhagen von Ense (Karl August) (Tibingen, 1813).4 Ludwig Uhland, Gedichte(Stuttgart, 1815). In this publication the poem "In derFerne" was added.5 M. H. Abrams, NaturalSupernaturalism:TraditionandRevolution n RomanticLiterature(New York, 1971), p. 255. In addition, see Theodore Gish, "Wanderlust nd Wanderlied:The Motif of the Wandering Hero in German Romanticism," Studies n Romanticism II(1963), 225-39.



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THE JOURNAL OF MUSICOLOGY

however, we recognize a painful emotional and psychological journeyduring which the wanderer reassesses and ultimately seeks to reestab-lish his relationship with his beloved, a symbol of both homeland andsociety-at-large. On the surface, the nine poems appear independent,each relating a particular point in the journey. On closer reading, wefind a network of recurring images and phrases that interrelate andunify the individual members.6 Using changes in season and in the sur-rounding landscape as a metaphor for the traveler's altered emotionalstates, Uhland portrays ajourney that turns from high spirits, to grimdespair and complete alienation, yet concludes with a hopeful, thoughanxiety-ridden, sense of renewal.

"Lebewohl" (poem 1) and "Scheiden und Meiden" (poem 2) ex-press the wanderer's ambivalence at the moment of departure. Heleaves his beloved not because of any external event but because of aninexplicable compulsion. He sets off with optimism in "In der ferne"(poem 3), taking delight in the sights and sounds of nature. Howeverthe mode of expression begins to change in "Morgenlied" (poem 4).The dim rays of dawn cast a haze over the springtime landscape; thebirds heard in the previous poem now "zwitschern nur im Traum."500 In both "Nachtreise" (poem 5) and "Winterreise"(poem 6) Uhlandequates the growing physical distance between the wanderer and hisbeloved with an increasing emotional separation leading ultimately tototal emotional estrangement. The cold, pale landscape of "Nacht-reise" reflects the traveler's inability to feel. Though he tries to sum-mon up memories of golden sunshine, of walks taken with the beloved,it is to no avail for he states, "Mein Lieb zu Grab getragen."Just as the change in season from springtime to winter should notbe taken literally, nor should the phrase "mylove is borne to the grave."The beloved herself has not died; it is his feelings of love that have beenburied, and in "Winterreise," the most desolate of the nine poems, thisis made explicit. Against a backdrop of frozen water and icy winds, thetraveler declares, "Erloschen ist die Liebe."7

6 For example, the Kuss the wanderer requests from his beloved because he must"scheiden" and "meiden" in "Lebewohl" (poem i) is made more urgent in the secondpoem titled, in fact, "Scheiden und Meiden." While "Erloschen ist der Sonne Strahl" in"Nachtreise" (poem 5), "Erloschen ist die Liebe"in "Winterreise" (poem 6).7 Both Helen Mustard (TheLyricCycle n GermanLiterature[New York, 1946], pp. 78-79) and Luise Eitel Peake ("Kreutzer's Wanderlieder:The Other Winterreise,"MusicalQuarterlyLXV [1979], 90) have questioned the unity of Uhland's Wanderlieder.n particu-lar they find the line "Mein Lieb zu Grab getragen" to be inconsistent with the traveler'sreturn to the beloved, but a contradiction exists only if the line is interpreted literally.Read within the context of the entire poem, as well as that of "Winterreise"and the cycleas a whole, it is clear that a figurative interpretation is meant, for, as Peake herself ac-knowledges, the poems relate not simply a physical journey but, of more importance, apsychological journey.Just as A. W. Schlegel came to realize in 1803, we too must remember that thenineteenth-century lyric cycle was not necessarily constructed and not alwaysmeant to be



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WANDERLIEDER CYCLE

The journey takes him to a city far from home in "Abreise" (poem7). Although he resides here for some time, he remains an outsider, anameless face. He quits this town and sets off once more in "Einkehr"(poem 8). The season again changes; it is now autumn when he stops torest under an apple tree which offers him the comfort and solace he sodesperately needs. Nature, the rejuvenator, revitalizes his spirits andhis resolve to return to his beloved, a resolution taken up with muchintensity in the brief but pungent final poem, "Heimkehr."No doubt, Kreutzer was attracted to Uhland's Wanderliederby theirwide range of feelings expressed in a manner that is unadorned, directand incisive. Kreutzer's musical treatment is initially contained and un-assuming. At first glance, there appears little in piano writing or in har-monic language to distinguish these mostly strophic and varied-strophic songs. Kreutzer's interpretive talents, however, are to befound in his vocal lines, which can move easily from simple folk style, torecitative-like declamation, to greater lyricism, and all within a singlesong, as in "Scheiden und Meiden" (Example i). Nor is drama beyondKreutzer's grasp. The furious opening of "Nachtreise," with agitatedarpeggios and minor harmonies, contrasts sharply with the more gen-tle movement and sweeter major sounds of the second half of each 501strophe (Example 2). Nor is a sense of irony beyond Kreutzer, who setsthe desolate "Winterreise"in the key of E-flat major. However, in theopening measures Kreutzer indicates "molto agitato" and instructs thevocalist to sing "Mithalber Stimme" (Example 3). Clearly, the success ofthis song depends on the interpretive skills of the performers.Kreutzer understood the importance of musical variety in a cycle aswell as the need to direct these diverse songs toward an expressive goalwhich is reached in "Heimkehr," the culmination and resolution of thetale. Agitated, stark tremolo figures accompany equally agitated vocalphrases that grow and swell until the final poetic line, "Eh'ich mag beider Liebsten sein!" Here, all tension resolves into D major; anxiety sub-sides into hopeful calm (Example 4).The publication of Kreutzer's Wanderliedermet with approval inthe press. Of particular interest is a review that appeared in the 1818issue of the Vienna AllgemeinemusikalischeZeitung:

Withtrulygreatjoythe reviewerdrawsthe public'sattentionto theseincomparable ongs, unique in their style,whichcertainlybelong tothe sweetestblossoms hatevermatured n Polyhymnia's arden ....They areall equallyexcellent and form a nearlyinseparablecycle,a

understood according to the aesthetic requirements of a time-defined dramatic work (seeA. W. Schlegel, Geschichte er romantischenLiteratur.Vorlesungeniber schbneLiteraturundKunst[1801-1804], Teil 3, ed. J. Minor, Deutsche Literaturdenkmale des 18. und 19.Jahrhunderts [Heilbronn, 1884], XIX, pp. 203-05).



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EXAMPLE 1. "Scheiden und Meiden"^ In massig leichterBewegung

I,,!tPt(. j Ij i r r r IJr ^So soil ich dich nun meiden, Du meines Lebens Lust!Andante con moto

#, (.J j u Umf

l: r H j f F _

$I"#88rI C7I1 IAch Liebchen! heisstdas meiden, wennmansichherzt, wenn man sich kiisst!

^I:"t ,t tS - rrr ^ ^rrr IrE

r p 5 5 5ljwenn man sich herzt und kusst, sich herzt und kusst

p cresc. f

1S ; =~~~~~~~~~~~~L-S j

502



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WANDERLIEDER CYCLE

EXAMPLE 1. (continued)fz

wenn man sich fest um- schliesst

chain of sweet smelling flowers.... To every singer who is accus-tomed to feeling what he performs,we recommend with completeconviction this distinguished Liederkreis.8The descriptive terms chosen by the critic are especially worthy ofnote. As far as I have determined, this review represents the first in-stance in which Cycluss applied to a set of songs. Furthermore, not sinceAn dieferneGeliebtehad the term Liederkreis een used.9Yet, Kreutzer's Wanderliedershares little in common, from the

standpoint of musical structure, with Beethoven's cycle. There are nopiano transitions to connect the nine Wanderlieder.On the contrary, eachof Kreutzer's songs is a physically and tonally self-contained and com-plete unit. Unlike Beethoven's cycle, there is no structural and expres-sive return of poetic or musical material at the close of the Wander-lieder.'?With respect to key structure as well, the two cycles present8 AllgemeinemusikalischeZeitung mit besondererRiicksichtauf den bsterreichischenaiser-staat,WienII (1818), pp. 478-79: "Mitwahrer Herzensfreude macht Ref. das musikalis-che Publicum auf diese in ihrer Art einzigen,ja unubertrefflichen Gesange aufmerksam,welche gewiss zu den zartesten Bliithen gehoren, die je in Polihymniens fruchtbarenGarten reiften.... Sie sind alle gleich vortrefflich, bilden einen beynahe nicht zu tren-nenden Cyclus, eine Kette siiss duftender Blumen.... Jedem Sanger der da auch zufuiihlenpflegt, was er vortragt, empfehlen wir aus voller Uberzeugung diesen ausgezeich-neten Liederkreis." Kreutzer's Fiinf Friihlingslieder,op. 33 (Augsburg, 1818) was re-viewed along with his Wanderlieder.9 For a discussion of the use of Cyklusand Kreis, as well as Roman, in the early nine-teenth century, see Barbara Turchin, "Robert Schuman's Song Cycles in the Context ofthe Early Nineteenth-Century Liederkreis"Ph.D. dissertation, Columbia University,1981), Chapter I, pp. 44-47 and Chapter III, pp. 97-116.10 This is not to say that there are no varied reappearances from song to song of me-lodic phrases, rhythmic patterns, or harmonic progressions. However, the examples arefew and, seemingly, without specific poetic or musical motivation.



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EXAMPLE 2. "Nachtreise"A i Sehr bewegt f

f? - r ) i Ij j f JIch reit ins fin- stre

Allegro molto agitato

f p

28

1 ^@oft hab' ich diesen Weg ge- macht, wann gold- ner

^ J ? 1 ; j r- ldolce e pu lento

f 1 f i f

f iJ rf rinyLand hin- ein Son- nen- schein ge- lacht,

I 4 T? -jPcontrary tonal designs-Beethoven's is tonally closed while Kreutzer's istonally open (see Figure i). Also, beyond this obvious difference, the re-lationships between adjacent keys are of a different kind.To judge the quality of these relationships, it is insufficient to saysimply that they are close or distant. It would be helpful to assess more

504



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WANDERLIEDER CYCLE

EXAMPLE 3. "Winterreise"A , Flichtig mit

tb^b< -- _Bei

Allegro molto agitato;^ ,P^ J J F T J T 1 _ rT1 rPp

I:v,5"1F F'

" 1halber Stimmeyb l r r r r lr r tI rdiesem kalten Wehen sind allen Strassen leer

O.J J7 7 " " I JI--- J J J J JJ J J ctc.

I Iprecisely the degree of closeness and distance. In fact, Gottfried Weber,a contemporary of Kreutzer and Beethoven, provided an approach tothe evaluation of key distance that we today can find useful.In the first volume of his VersucheinergeordnetenTheorieder Ton-setzkunst,Weber explains that those tonalities most closely related to agiven tonic are the dominant, subdominant, and relative and parallelminor (or major) keys." These are Weber's "first-degree"relationships.To determine the next degree of distance, Weber treats each first-degree related key as a tonic so that its most closely related keys are thenrelated in the second degree to the original tonic. In turn, each second-degree related key is treated as a tonic, and so on. Figure 2 reproduces

" J. Gottfried Weber, Versuch einer geordnetenTheorie der Tonsetzkunst,3 vols. in 4(Mainz, 1817-1821) I, pp. 283-301 (3rd ed./i832; English trans./1851). Weber evalu-ates the relationship of keys based on the number of pitches they have in common. Forthis reason, dominant, subdominant (both considered equally close) and relative minor(or major) keys are most closely related. This explanation, however, does not suffice withregard to the parallel minor (or major), which certainly has fewer pitches in commonwith the tonic. Here, Weber provides another rationale, the importance in function ofthe pitches they share-the tonic, dominant and subdominant tones.

505

11 i p- r _ - I 1



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EXAMPLE 4. "Heimkehr"Molto agitato sehr leise

b - I J44 IJ - I J|JO brich nicht Steg, du zit- terste sehr.

sempre staccato

34 sehr sanft und zuruckhaltend~ f r Ir If-'- - -I7eh' ich mag bei der Liebsten seyn! eh' ich

D P'P piu lento

y ? s j 0 ~ F"NtrrFr Irf Ir r

mag bei der Liebsten seyn

dolce0:il .' |JJ |JJ). . .*

the diagram format Weber favored in presenting his classificationscheme.'12 Weber's explanation and representation of key relationships was later adopted intotoby Gustav Schilling in his LehrbuchderallgemeinenMusikwissenschaftKarlsruhe, 1839/40). Weber's mode of representation, if not his manner of explanation, lived on into the

506



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WANDERLIEDER CYCLE

FIGURE 1. Key structure in An dieferne Geliebteand Neun WanderliederAn die fere Geliebte

3rd 4th 3rd 2nd?Eb G ---" Ab------- Ab ----C ?^--- Eb

1st

Neun Wanderlieder2nd 1st 2nd 1st 2nd 2nd 1st 1st

e '--- A--- --E - --G ---- g - Eb- CF d/D4th 4th

Using Weber'sdescriptive method, we find the key relationships be- 5tween adjacent songs in An dieferne Geliebte o be quite distant: third-degree (E!/G), fourth-degree (G/A!), third degree (Ab/C), and second-degree (C/EN).At the same time, however, E-flat major acts as the outerpillars of an arch form with A-flat major at the center, thus creating alarger, first-degree, subdominant tonal framework within which the in-dividual songs move (see Figure 1).In contrast to An dieferneGeliebte,he key relationships between ad-jacent songs of the Wanderlieder re either first or second degree andhence far more closely related. Furthermore, Kreutzer's cycle movesthrough a non-symmetrical series of keys in which each song representsa particular stage in the journey and is characterized by a distinctivetonal color.'3 Such a tonal plan indeed reflects and reinforces the idea oftraveling.'4 Finally, that Kreutzer chose and arranged the keys with an

twentieth century in Schoenberg's StructuralFunctionsof Harmony(revised and edited byLeonard Stein [New York, 1969]; 1st ed. 1954). The relationship of keys is taken up bySchoenberg in his discussion of "monotonality."13 The tonal, stylistic, and physical independence of Kreutzer's songs are, of course,characteristics not found in Beethoven's cycle. Although an obvious statement, it bearsemphasis. Kreutzer's songs live an independent existence as well as one within the cycle.However, the inner four songs of Beethoven's cycle would have difficulty gaining inde-pendence (even without the piano transitions) because they lack firm and direct tonaldefinition as wellas melodic distinction. As Hans Boettcher remarked, An dieferneGeliebteis more like a single Lied that has been greatly expanded from within (see Boettcher,BeethovenalsLiederkomponistAugsburg, 1928], p. 67).'4 Although a return at the close to the opening key of the cycle would be structurallysatisfying, it would be totally inappropriate with regard to poetic meaning. The wan-derer who rushes homeward is emotionally not the same man who departed.



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FI GU RE 2. Table of the relationships of keys from Gottfried Weber,Versuch inergeordnetenTheoriederTonsetzkunst,Vol. I(Mainz: Schott, 1817)

C a -A f-- f F -- d D-- b-- B - gx

F -d D b B g --- G --- --- E -- c X

Bb--g G e - E c--- C( a A#f f X

E---' e C a / A - f --F--- dp Dp- b--y / l " \ 'Ab f / F -7 d /D b B g -G- e-

Db- bb B- g / G e E C- aC

\508 eE' EI A f? dIst I

cb ab- Ab f - F / d / D -- b B g- g| \\\|2nd _/

Fb db \Db\- b B / g G e E - c| \\ \ 3rd //bb gb - Gb- - eb F-E c /C a -A f

4th/Ebb- cb Cb abE Ab /f F d D b

Abb -fb b--- F db Db E-- b --g - e

Dbb -bbb --B gb CGb e - Eb-- c C a

ear toward their expressive relation to the individual poem and to thecycle as a whole is suggested by the tonal relationships among songs 1, 6,and 9. Set in E-flat major, "Winterreise"(6), the point of greatest emo-tional and psychological separation, is likewise the point of greatesttonal distance from the start and close of the journey, for it is related



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WANDERLIEDER CYCLEin the fourth degree to both "Lebewohl" (1) and "Heimkehr" (9) (seeFigure 1).

When the Vienna AmZreviewer, quoted above, called the Wander-liedera Cyclusand a Liederkreis,learly he was not suggesting those musi-cal features that distinguish An die ferne Geliebte.Rather, CyclusandLiederkreis ere refer to the related contents and narrative design of thepoems, to Kreutzer's style in general, and to his abilityto create a feelingof musical drama and development in song. These are the features thatlend coherence to Kreutzer's Wanderlieder, nd these are the traits thatcame to characterize the majority of nineteenth-century song cycles.15The poet Wilhelm Muller wrote in an 1827 essayabout Uhland that his Wanderlieder ". .. leave a long train of imitationsbehind them."'6Miiller's remark applies equally well to musical compo-sition. A stream of settings of Uhland's Wanderliederssued forth fromthe pens of composers throughout the century (see Table la). More of-ten than not, these composers had to face the comparison critics madebetween their interpretation and that of Kreutzer. For example,Leopold Lenz, whose songs make more than passing reference toKreutzer's setting, met the following reproach: 509

When the lyricsand melodies of songs, like those by Uhland andKreutzer,alreadyhave becomedecided favoritesof thepublic, t is ill-advisedto ventureupon a newcompositionof the same.However,ifsuchsongsaredeservedlybeloved,as is trulythe casewithKreutzer's

15 This view is echoed in reviews of nineteenth-century song cycles. For example, in acritique of Schubert's Winterreisepublished in the Munich AllgemeineMusik-Zeitungof1828, the reviewer comments about song cycles, in general, ". .. the task of a song cycle, ifit is to form a beautiful whole, seems to us to be to carry in the detail and variety of its partsthe condition of a continuous and increasing interest, and therefore to be capable of be-ing sung from beginning to end in order to achieve its purpose completely." (Quoted inSchubert:A DocumentaryBiography,ed. Otto Erich Deutsch, trans. by Eric Blom [London,1946], p. 795.)In later years the same criteria were applied. About Georg Vierling's CyclusArabis-cherDichtung, op. 8 (Berlin, 18??), the reviewer for the Neue ZeitschriftfiirMusikremarks,"Nicht aber blos das Charakteristische in der ganzen Farbung dieser Gesange fesselt uns,sondern insbesondere auch der Reiz melodischer Gestaltung, der das Gewebe der Dich-tung nach seinen mannichfachen Phasen in den wohlklingendsten Tonen dem sinnli-chen wie dem geistigen Ohre eindringen lasst. Es besteht dieser Cyclus aus 5 Gesangen,deren keiner von dem anderen sich trennen lasst. Sie geben ein zusammenhangendesBild, das zu immer hohren Ausdrucke gesteigert ...." (XXXVI [1852], p. 192).16 Wilhelm Muller, "Ueber die neueste lyrische poesie der Deutscher: Ludwig UhlandundJustinus Kerner," Hermes,oderkritischesJahrbucherLiteraturXXVIII (1827), p. 105;reprinted in Vermischte chriften,ed. G. Schwab,5 vols. (Leipzig, 1830), IV, pp. 118-19:"Billig gedenken wir hier zuerst der vortrefflichen 'Wanderlieder,' die einen langen Zugvon Nachahmungen hinter sich herziehn. Denn es erscheintjetzt kaum ein Almanach,worin nicht ein Paar solcher Wanderlieder zum Besten gegeben werden. Jeder meint esnachmachen zu konnen, weil es sich so leicht, einfach und naturlich anhort."



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(the best of the composer's songs), then the undertaking is only somuch more ill-advised. Everyone will do well to avoid such a thing.17Then there were those composers who set poetic imitations ofUhland's Wanderlieder see Table ib). Here too the Kreutzer/UhlandWanderliederften served as the yardstick against which they were mea-sured. Heinrich Marschner surely felt the weight of comparison whenhe read the 1826 Leipzig AllgemeinemusikalischeZeitungreview of hisSechsWanderliederby the poet Wilhelm Marsano.18The critic sympa-thizes with Marschner and, indeed, with other composers who attemptto treat anew this subject so well known to the public by Kreutzer's work.

Unfortunately, the reviewer remarks, Marschner is at a disadvantage,not because his songs are inferior to Kreutzer's, but simply because hehandles the subject in a different manner.19About Marschner's songs, in general, the AmZreviewer comments,Although each of these six songs exists on its own and represents aspecific feeling sufficiently different from the others, and thereforean individual song can be sung alone very well without damage to the510 rest,yetagainthey also have suchan exact connectionamongthem-selvesthatthey form a sort of tragicLiederroman,husdifferentiatingthemselves from Uhland's and Kreutzer's work of this type.20Marsano'spoems tell a sad tale of unrequited love. Having been re-jected by his beloved for another, a young man sets out to wander inhope of finding some solace. Years of travel, however, do not bringpeace of mind. Ultimately, he returns home and to his horror, he wit-

17 Review of Leopold Lenz'sFriihlingsliederundWanderliederon Uhland,op. 8 (Munich,1828/29?) in the Leipzig AllgemeinemusikalischeZeitung (hereafter, Leipzig AmZ) XXXI(1829), 667-68: "Wenn Lieder, dem Texte und der Melodie nach, wie diese von Uhlandund Kreutzer, schon entschiedene Lieblinge des Publicums geworden sind, ist es miss-lich, sich an neue Compositionen derselben zu wagen. Sind aber solche Lieder mit Rechtbeliebt, wie diess mit diesen Kreutzer'schen (den besten diese Tonsetzers) wirklich derFall ist, wird das Unternehmen nur um so misslicher. Es that Jeder wohl, wenn er soetwas vermeidet."18 Review of Heinrich Marschner's Sechs Wanderliedervon WilhelmMarsano, op. 35(Leipzig, 1825/26?) in the Leipzig AmZ XXVIII (1826), 481-85.19 Adolph Bernhard Marx, in his review of Marschner's songs in the Berlin AllgemeinemusikalischeZeitung(V [1828], 111), is more harsh in his judgment, suggesting that be-cause Marschner was lured by the popularity of the Kreutzer/Uhland Wanderliederntoproducing a similar work, his songs lack a certain warmth and honesty of feeling.20 LeipzigAmZ XXVIII (1826), 482-83: "Obgleichjeder dieser 6 Gesange fur sich be-steht und ein bestimmtes, von dem andern hinlanglich verschiedenes Gefuhl dargestellt,und daher auch sehr wohljeder einzelne Gesang ohne allen Nachtheil nach Belieben fursich allein gesungen werden kann; so haben sie doch auch wieder einen so genau Zusam-menhang unter sich, dass sie eine Art von tragischem Liederroman bilden, wodurch siesich von Uhlands und Kreutzers Werken der Art unterscheiden."



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WANDERLIEDER CYCLE

TABLE laSettings of Uhland's Wanderlieder

Lenz,Leopold.Wanderliederon Uhland.Op. 8, Miinchen:Falterund Sohn(1828/29?).Barnett,John. SechsWanderliederon Uhland.Frankfurt:Dienst(1828-44).Decker,Constantin.NeunLieder.Op. 6. Berlin:Bote u. Bock(1828-44).Dessauer,Joseph. Wanderliederon Uhland.Berlin:Schlessinger 1826-44).Eckart, W. Vier Wanderlieder on Uhland. Berlin: Bote u. Bock (18??).Engels,Hubert.Neun Wanderliederon Uhland.Op. 4. Bremen:Cranz(1868-73).Dressier,A. F.Wanderlieder.p. 12.Berlin: Boteu. Bock(1874-79).Hepple, Henry.Neun Wanderlieder.Op. 4. Hamburg:Bohme(1874-79).Gruber,Franz.Wanderlieder. iinchen:Schmid(1880-85).Radnitzky,Franz.Neun Wanderliederon Uhland. Wien:Wetzler(1880-85).Schiitky,F.J. Wanderliederon Uhland.Op.30. Stuttgart:Zumsteeg(1880-85).Reisenauer,Alfred. Wanderliederon Uhland. Berlin:Challieru. Co.(1892-97).

511

nesses the burial of his beloved. Thus, in the most sorrowful of circum-stances, the wanderer's pain is finally brought to rest with the death ofthe loved one.Marschner's treatment of Marsano's poetic cycle reveals a kinship toKreutzer's approach to the song cycle. Each song is a musically self-sufficient entity. There are neither piano transitions, nor musical quota-tions or transformations between songs.2' The tonal scheme of the cycleis neither balanced nor closed (see Figure 3). The key relationships pro-gress from first degree to fourth degree, the latter being reserved forthe final, tragic song. Poetic content rather than abstract design guidedMarschner's choice and arrangement of keys. It appears that Kreutzer'sWanderlieder,ar more than Beethoven's An dieferne Geliebte, erved asthe musical exemplar for Marschner.2221 However, songs 1 through 4 all open with an ascending, triadic gesture, therebylending them a small degree of stylistic kinship.22 An interesting exception is Wilhelm Haser's SechsWanderliedervon Carl Griineisen(Leipzig, 1820). Haser physically binds the six songs together with a piano ritornello thatappears as prelude, interlude and postlude throughout the cycle. The key structure ofthe cycle is closely knit-(e)E; a; A; f#-D(D7); G; e/E. Not only is the poetic return homereflected in the return to the tonic of song 1in song 6, but the opening measures of song 6are identical (except for a change in mode) to those of song i. At the turn to major in song6, Haser recapitulates measure 20 to the end of song i. Clearly, Beethoven is the modelhere.



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TABLE lbSettings of other Wanderlieder cycles

Haser,Wilhelm.SechsWanderliederon CarlGriineisen.Leipzig:Breitkopfu.Hartel(1820).Marschner,Heinrich.SechsWanderliederon WilhelmMarsano.Op. 35. Leip-zig:Hofmeister(1825/26).Schubert,Franz.Winterreiseon WilhelmMuller.Op. 89. Wien: TobiasHaslinger(1828).Derege,Theodore. Wanderliederon WilhelmMuller.Op. 2. Leipzig:Klemm,(1838?).Schindler,Anton. Wanderliedern 9 SituationenonG. A. Schwarz.Bonn:Mompauer 1840).Weiss,Julius.Wanderliederon G. Tietz.Op. 9. Berlin:Bote u. Bock(1844?).Frohlich,Theodore.SechsWanderliederonW.Muller.Op. 1.Berlin:Wagen-fuhr (1828-1844).Gernlein,R.Wanderliederon Schlippenbach.Berlin: Bote u. Bock(1828-44).Skraup,Franz.Wanderliederon E. Vogt. Op. 5. Leipzig:Hofmeister(1828-44).Schumann,Robert.ZwolfGedichteonJustinusKerner:Eine Liederreihe.Op. 35. Leipzig:Klemm(1841).

Ecker,Bernhard.Wanderleben.in Liederkreisvon Fr.Dingelstedt.Op. 1.Mainz:Schott(1844-51).Gradener,K. G.P. ZehnReise-und WanderliederonW. Muller.Leipzig:Reiter-Biedermann1860-67).Liebe,Louis.Wanderlieder.iedercyclusvonA. Katsch.Op. 65. Kassel:Luck-hardt(1860-67).Hopffer,B. Wanderliederines heinischenandwerksburschen.iedercyklus onW.Muller.Op. 8. Berlin:Mitscher 1868-73).Hartmann,Ludwig.DreiWanderlieder.p. 21. Berlin:Furstner 1880-85).Rosenfeld,Leopold.Heimathsklinge.p. 11.Hamburg:Thiemer(1880-85).Zichy,Geza.Kiinstlerfahrt.iedercyklus.Berlin:Simrock 1886-91).Mahler,Gustav.Liederinesfahrendenesellen. eipzig:Weinberger 1897).Blumenburg,Felix.Wanderung. iedercyklus.Leipzig:Vormeyer(1892-97).

Without doubt, the Kreutzer/Uhland Neun Wander-liederwas the conceptual prototype for the better-known Schubert/Muller Winterreisecycle. Wilhelm Miiller, who composed the poems be-tween 1822 and 1823, surely was well aware that he hadjoined the Wan-derliederbandwagon. In many ways Miiller's tale of wandering is in-debted to Uhland's work. Like the latter's poems, here too landscapeand season reflect the traveler's inner state. As in Uhland's Wanderlieder,the journey described in Miiller's poems is primarily a psychological



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WANDERLIEDER CYCLE

F I G U RE 3. Tonal scheme of SechsWanderliederD d g f D Eb

l1st lst '2nd/ 3rd 4th

one. A comparison of Uhland's "Einkehr" and Miiller's "Der Linden-baum" brings to light a particularly striking point of contact. In both, atree offers rest and comfort to the weary traveler. While in Uhland'spoem the traveler finds solace in the tree and is spiritually renewed, inMiiller's, comfort is momentary. For him there is no lasting peace, andthe traveler is impelled to continue on his darkjourney.Herein lies the difference between the two Wanderliedercycles.Uhland's wanderer travels through a number of varied, emotionalstates. Hisjourney will end, presumably, where it began, at home in thearms of his beloved. In contrast, the despair and isolation of Uhland'smost bitter poem, "Die Winterreise," are pervasive modes of expressionthroughout Miiller's cycle of the same name. Here, a young man, de-nied the bond of love, an outcast among men, ultimately resigns himselfto an existence apart from society.Like Miiller, who was much impressed and influenced by Uhland'spoems, Schubert, too, was very taken with Kreutzer's setting of the po-ems. About Schubert's reaction to them,Joseph von Spaun reported thefollowing incident:

We once found him playing through Kreutzer'sWanderlieder,hichhadjust appeared.One of his friends (Huttenbrenner)said "Leavethat stuff alone and singus a few of yoursongsinstead," o which hereplied tersely,"Butyouareunjust; hesongsareverybeautifuland IwishI hadwrittenthem."23Schubert's knowledge and appreciation of Kreutzer's Wanderliederhelp to explain his approach to the setting of song cycles, an approachunfortunately misrepresented by modern scholars because of a generallack of information about song cycles composed in the early nineteenthcentury. Alfred Einstein's remarks serve as an example of such mistakenviews:These cycles[DieschineMillerin and Winterreise]how that Schubertnotonlyhadnothingto learn fromBeethoven,butalsothat he had no

23 Quoted in Schubert:Memoirsof hisFriends,ed. Otto Erich Deutsch, trans. by R. Levyand J. Nowell (London, 1958), p. 135. In an earlier telling of the event in an obituarynotice, Spaun places the incident in 1818 or 1819 (see Schubert:Memoirs,p. 27).



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THE JOURNAL OF MUSICOLOGYdesire to learn anything from him, for he must have knownBeethoven'sgreatestcontribution o the historyof the Lied,the cycleAn die erneGeliebte.. which,by means of the unifying accompani-ment and the returnto thebeginning,is fused intoa musicalandpsy-chologicalwhole.24

And more recently Maynard Solomon has voiced the same opinion,adding,. . .apart from Schubert'sdeliberateavoidanceof the closelyunifiedcyclicstructurenauguratedbyAndieferneGeliebte,tseemsthat Schu-bertdid not feel theweightof Beethoven'spriority n theLiedform.25Schubert did not willfully ignore Beethoven's op. 98 and strike outon a new path. On the contrary, he followed a course that stemmed fromthe then well-known and much admired Kreutzer/Uhland Wanderlieder.For this reason, we do not find in Winterreisehe more obvious, musically

unifying means employed by Beethoven. Indeed, in Schubert's cycle, asin Kreutzer's,choice of key in relation to poetic content has priority overchoice of key in relation to an abstract or functionally logical scheme.Adjacent poems of related contents most often are tonally related in thefirst or second degree, while far more distant key relationships are re-served for moments of poetic discontinuity (i.e., fifth degree: no. 12,"Einsamkeit," and no. 13, "Die Post"; fourth degree: no. 4, "Erstar-rung," and no. 5, "Der Lindenbaum").26Schubert, it appears, learnedfrom Kreutzer that the songs of a cycle can be physically independentand musically self-sufficient, and yet project a total picture that ema-nates not only from the poetic texts but from the general style of musicalsetting, the use of tonal coloration, and a sense of dramatic pacing.Along with the Lieder of Beethoven and Schubert,those by Kreutzer and Marschner were among the works heard by theyoung Schumann during evening entertainments at the Carus's home.In particular, Schumann mentioned Marschner's Wanderliedern diaryentries from December 2 and 14, 1828.27 Twelve years later, at the very

24 Alfred Einstein, Music in theRomanticEra (New York, 1947), p. 98.25 Maynard Solomon, "Schubert and Beethoven," gth-CenturyMusic III (1979), 124,n. 60.26 For various discussions of key choice and key relationships in Schubert's song cyclessee Thomas Archer, "The Formal Construction of Die SchineMiillerin,"MusicalQuarterlyXX (1934), 401-07; HansJ. Moser,DasDeutscheLiedseitMozart,2nd ed., (Tutzing, 1968),pp. 302-03; 316-17; and Kurt von Fischer, "Einige Gedanken zur Tonartenordnung inSchuberts Liederzyklen," MuzikoloskiZbornikXVII (1981), 87-95.27 See Georg Eismann, ed., RobertSchumannsTagebiicher:1827-1838, vol. I (Leipzig,1971), pp. 128-46, passim (October-December, 1828).



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WANDERLIEDER CYCLE

end of 1840, Schumann turned to the poet Justinus Kerner, selectedfrom his collected works individual poems, and fashioned from themthe Zwilf Gedichtevon Justinus Kerner: Eine Liederreihe,op. 35. TheKerner Liederreihes Schumann's contribution to the Wanderliederradi-tion. Unfortunately, this marvelous opus has frequently been misrepre-sented because it has been misunderstood both with regard to poetictheme and musical substance.The poetic content of op. 35 has elicited diverse responses frommodern critics. Stephen Walsh and Gerald Moore, for example, assertthat Schumann chose the poems more or less at random, a view pro-moted, no doubt, by the separation of the Kerner songs between vol-umes I and II of the Peters edition.28 On the other hand, Eric Sams andHans Moser do not dismiss the poems as an arbitrary assortment, butthey perceive only a vaguely suggested story of lost love and separa-tion.29 In reality, Schumann's selection and arrangement of Kerner'spoems reveal a tale that runs parallel to the wandering cycles of Uhland,Miller, and Marsano."Lust der Sturmnacht" (song i) presents a young man blissfully lostin love, at peace in the arms of his beloved while a storm rages outsidetheir room. His ardent feelings are crushed in "Stirb,Lieb und Freud!" 515(song 2) where we learn that his beloved has renounced worldly love infavor of the more powerful calling of God. Rejected in love, denied theemotional bond that links the individual to society, the young man be-comes one of the solitary wanderers he pitied in the opening song. Hisjourney is the subject of the following ten poems.The search for comfort and solace in the sights and sounds of nat-ure is the poetic substance of "Wanderlied" (song 3), "Erstes Griin"(song 4), and "Sehnsucht nach der Waldgegend" (song 5). The wayfarerbegins hisjourney optimistically, but as the distance from his homelandincreases, so do loneliness and alienation in equal measure. In "Wan-derung" (song 7) and in "StilleLiebe" (song 8), thoughts of his belovedfinally surface in an attempt to reconcile and overcome his grief. Thewanderer hopes that Nature may yet work its magical power and healthe wound inflicted by mankind. But, in an unexpected twist, the finalpoem of the sequence, "AlteLaute"(song 12), rejects as insufficient Nat-ure's restorative potential and concludes despondently with the sugges-tion that peace may finally come only in death.Schumann's better known song cycles can be described, in general,as a synthesis of Beethoven's and Kreutzer's approach to the Liederkreis.

28 Stephen Walsh, The Lieder of Robert Schumann (New York, 1971), p. 67; GeraldMoore, Poet'sLove:TheSongsand Cyclesof Schumann(New York, 1981), p. 160.29 EricSams, TheSongs ofRobertSchumann,2nd ed., (London, 1975), p. 166; Moser, DasDeutscheLied,p. 359.



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THE JOURNAL OF MUSICOLOGYThe individual song is treated as a physically separate entity, though notalways a tonally independent unit. Adjacent songs are most frequentlyrelated in the first or second degree. Reinforcing the close tonal rela-tionships that typically can be found in both the small- and large-scaledesign of his cycles, are recurring motives, melodic figures, and har-monic progressions that give each song cycle its distinctive sound.30 Thischaracterization likewise applies to the Kerner Liederreihe.The follow-ing examples of melodic and harmonic integration will serve to under-line the musical coherence of op. 35, thereby weakening the assertionthat this is a random assortment of Lieder.The two concluding songs, "Wer machte dich so krank?" and "AlteLaute," are bound into a single number by virtue of the fact that one isan explicit variation of the other. In turn, the musical material of thisclosing pair is derived in its entirety from an earlier song, "Stirb,Liebund Freud!" (song 2). Example 5 reveals the close connection betweenthe initial gesture of their vocal lines, a connection that lies close to thesurface. The relation between their supporting harmonies is less appar-ent because of the interpolated chords in measures 5 of the closing pair.The harmonic continuation of song 2 (m. 3) is likewise the harmonic516 continuation of the concluding songs (mm. 7-8).31

Of special significance, subsequent melodic phrases of the final pairare taken from a melodic phrase heard several times (but in differentkeys) in "Stirb,Lieb und Freud!", a melodic phrase heard at the mostpoignant moments of the poem-the moment when his beloved re-nounced worldly love, and the moment when the speaker cried out, "Sieweiss es nicht, mein Herz zerbricht, stirb, Lieb und Licht!"(See Example6 which presents the melody as it appears in both songs 2 and 12.) Be-cause Schumann has reharmonized the phrase in the latter songs, therelation to its source is obscured. But surely this is Schumann's inten-tion. In "Alte Laute," especially, the melodic phrase accompanies thepoetic line "derZeit, als ich vertraute der Welt und ihrer Lust."The mel-ody is not meant to be a literal restatement, but rather a reminiscence,a sound from the past that represents the moment long ago when hisfaith and trust in love were destroyed. In this manner, Schumann en-twines past, present, and future, literally and figuratively, poetically andmusically.32

30 For a discussion of Schuman's opp. 39, 42, and 48, see Barbara Turchin, "Schu-mann's Song Cycles: The Cycle within the Song," 19th-CenturyMusicVIII/3 (1984), 231-44.31 The opening measures of songs 11 and 12 reappear at their respective final poeticverses.32 To place the closing pair of songs at another point in the cycle, a suggestion made byMoore (APoet'sLove,pp. 159- 60), is to completely misunderstand the poetic and musicalsubstance of op. 35.



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WANDERLIEDER CYCLE

The tonal plan of the Kerner Liederreihes particularly interestingand deserves attention (see Table 2). Tonal duality, or, put another way,tonal ambivalence, characterizes a number of songs in Dichterliebe(songs1 and 9), in the EichendorffLiederkreis(song 7), and in Frauenliebeund-leben(song 6). "Frage,"song 9 of op. 35, goes further in this direction.In response to the poetic question, Schumann fashioned a song thatposes a tonal query, for "Frage"never establishes a tonal center. Rather,it picks up the E-flat major tonic of the preceding song, "StilleLiebe,"and without cadentially reinforcing this key, moves on toward A-flatmajor, then by-passes it, and concludes unexpectedly on a G-majortriad, the dominant of the song to follow, "Stille Thranen." "Frage"isliterally a tonal bridge."Stirb, Lieb, und Freud!" (song 2) likewise poses a tonal question.Although A-flat major is the tonic of this song, A-flat is supplanted bythe key ofF minor at the conclusion (see Example 7). However, this is anF minor that is implied by strong dominant preparation, one that is notexplicitly achieved. As a result, the cadentially reinforced final C-majortriad is yet heard as the dominant of F minor.One might presume that the demand for tonal resolution to F mi-nor would be fulfilled in the following song, "Wanderlied." Yet, this is 517not quite the case. "Wanderlied" indeed opens with a four-fold repeti-tion of the pitch F, but F is immediately understood to be the dominantof B-flat major. Thus, the bridge that connects the two songs leads thewanderer in an unexpected direction.Finally, between "StilleThranen" (song 1o) and "Wer machte dichso krank" (song 11) there is no bridge; there exists a tonal break (seeExample 8). The concluding C-major triad of "Stille Thranen" serves asthe dominant of a strongly implied F major tonic. In this instance, how-ever, Schumann makes no attempt to tonally interrelate "StilleThranen" with the following song in A-flat major. The wanderer's roadhas ended.Do these unresolved conclusions reflect a decline in Schumann'sperception of tonal coherence? I think not. On the contrary, the posi-tion of "Stirb,Lieb und Freud!" and "StilleThranen" within the seriessuggests that Schumann intentionally avoided tonal clarification in or-der to underline significant turning points in the poetic sequence. Forexample, the loss of the beloved, related in song 2, is the event thatcauses the speaker to break past bonds, to strike out on another path, towander far from home. The lack of direct tonal bonding symbolizes thisact. Schumann may have intended the ambiguous conclusion of "StilleThranen" to set the final two poems, the epilogue, apart and in this wayto heighten their impact.Whether the unresolved concluding cadences of songs 2 and lo addto or detract from our experience of the Kerner songs as a totality is a



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EXAMPLE 5. KernerLiederreihe,Op. 35; initial gestures in nos. 2, 11,and 12"Stirb, Lieb und Freud!" no. 2

I(Tenor vorzugsweise.) Iia 1 Ta.ncranm P 9'e,.- J J. J,J JI" J.JZu Augs- burg steht ein ho- hes Haus, nah

J b;;bJ a77 J ^ r

iP I

"Wer machte dich so krank?" no. 111 Langsam, leise 2 13 P 4

Dag du so krank geworden,(Vorzugsweise Bariton)

t, ^ , - ::Of

45 j>j S ^ ^f i j7 7wer hat es denn ge- macht? Kein kih- ler Hauch ans Norden

l.9: : _-b__ Fr-t7P

518



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WANDERLIEDER CYCLE

EXAMPLE 5. (continued)"Alte Laute," no. 12

A ,1 Noch langsamer und leiserDieselbe Weise

2 13 P 4y\c. | -_ || - |j> .JJI ;J AHorst du den Vo- gel sin- gen?

5l j J |1 \J J I r vSiehst du den Blu- ten- baum? Herz! kann dich das nicht bringen

=: ''- , .f : - ;

point that may be argued. However, neither instance is an oversight noran accident. Finally, that Schumann was sensitive to the distinctive tonalfeatures of op. 35 is suggested by his use of the descriptive term Lieder-reihe,rather than Liederkreis r Liedercyklus.

Throughout the century the Wanderlieder raditionendured. Composers continued to find musical and poetic riches in thewandering theme. Not least of these composers was Gustav Mahler whobetween the years 1883 and 1885 worked on his contribution to the

519



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THE JOURNAL OF MUSICOLOGYEXAMPLE 6. Melodic phrase heard in Op. 35, nos. 2 and 12

"Stirb, Lieb und Freud!" no. 21 36(= 52; 67)n _- f b o _ J o -

am Haup- te ganz von Him- mels- glanz

ir ' T r f f- Jr rj.... ,,b ir -J - - "

"Alte Laute," no. 1214 > 15 I ritard.

der Zeit, als ich vertraute der Welt und ihrer Lust.

rtard.

^~--btb ,n-'9 [-:.

genre, the Lieder einesfahrenden Gesellen.33Although decades separatethis opus from those discussed above, musical and poetic features of theGesellencycle have their counterparts in earlier Wanderliedercycles,thereby providing some insight into Mahler's musical and literary back-ground.Although a personal event in Mahler's life provided the stimulus forthe Gesellensongs, he chose to express his feelings in traditional folk-like,poetic themes. The opening number, "Wenn mein Schatz Hochzeitmacht," is in fact a poem from the Arnim-Brentano Des knabenWun-

33 Donald Mitchell places the period of composition between December of 1883 andJanuary of 1885, while Henri-Louis de la Grange places the period between December of1884 and January of 1885. For discussions about the cycle's composition and its publica-tion, see Mitchell, GustavMahler: The WunderhornYears Boulder, Colo., 1976, c. 1975),pp. 27-43; 91-126, and de la Grange, Mahler,vol. I (New York, 1973), pp. 741-42.

520



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WANDERLIEDER CYCLE

TABLE2Robert Schumann, Zw6lfGedichte

1. "Lustder Sturmnacht"2. "Stirb,Lieb und Freud!"3. "Wanderlied"4. "ErstesGrin"5. "Sehnsucht nach der Waldgegend"6. "Aufdas Trinkglas"7. "Wanderung"8. "Stille Liebe"9. "Frage"10. "Stille Thranen"

11. "Wer machte dich so krank?"12. "Alte Laute"

closingcadenceeb/EbA, (C= V/f)Bbg/GgElBbEl,El,--Ab _- (G= V/C)C (C= V/F)AbAb,

521derhorn ollection, which Mahler expanded by adding to the poem sev-eral verses of his own making.34The subjectof this poem-the portrayalof a young man, filled with grief because his beloved has marriedanother-we have met before in the song cycles of Marschner, Schu-bert, and Schumann.35 The tale related in the following three poems ofthe GesellenLieder (all written by Mahler himself) parallels the earliertales as well. Once again, a rejected lover turns to the sights and soundsof nature in the hope of finding comfort and peace. But neither wander-ing through fields, nor bird song, nor bright sunshine work their magic.In the final poem, the despondent wayfarer quits the town in the dead ofnight without a single good-bye having been said to him, a scene simi-larly portrayed by Uhland in "Abreise" and by Muller in "Gute Nacht."Muller's linden tree, the counterpart to Uhland's apple tree, appears inthe lastverse of Mahler's final poem. At the foot of the tree the wayfarerfinds lasting peace in sleep. Mahler's musical setting suggests that this isthe sleep of death.36Mahler'sLiedereinesfahrendenGesellenoccupies a special place in hisoeuvre, not only because it is the first of several orchestral song cycles he

34 See de la Grange, Mahler,pp. 742-43.35 Of course, in the Kerner Liederreihehe marriage is of a spiritual nature.36 Mitchell is certain that the wanderer finally comes to rest in a grave beneath the lin-den tree (see GustavMahler,pp. 33-34), because Mahler quotes the concluding measuresin the funeral march of the first symphony and recollects these measures in songs of simi-lar meaning. De la Grange, however, senses an atmosphere of "serene and hopeful resig-nation"! (see Mahler,p. 745).



26/29


EXAMPLE . Tonal question in Op. 35, no. 2

Sie weig es nicht, mein Herz zerbricht,

?U ?-_el. - L

522

composed, or because it served as a source of material for his first sym-phony, but because this early work reveals so many traits that stampMahler's unique musical style. Among the features that have attractedthe attention of music scholars is its tonal structure, which hasbeen char-acterized as unusual and innovative. Not only does the cycle begin andend in different keys, but each of its songs likewise opens and concludesin different tonalities (see Figure 4).Dika Newlin proposed that this striking procedure be called "pro-gressive tonality,"37and in the late 940s and 195os this term provokedmuch heated debate and discussion. Hans Tischler and Hans Keller,37 See Dika Newlin, Bruckner,Mahler,Schoenberg New York, 1947), pp. 128-31.



27/29

WANDERLIEDER CYCLE

EXAMPLE 8. Tonal break in Op. 35, no. io^ _Y I ' VV ' I I I I I

sei sein Herz.

IOUl J J- , J-^'Telb. *

1 1 , f ^ V T ^523

I F ra. m. I. U.

A ^ ritard. AdaioA IiAdgiA rrA7" A 4k~

====- p/I i1 IT C~# PV9-4: i*- Iv

FIGURE 4. Tonal scheme of LiedereinesfahrendenGesellend-------g D---- - F

2nd 4th

4th 4thd- -----eb e- f

5th

-i '_." J. J. J.Y % r- 1- . 1R , - --1 tl d

Trj



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among others, found the concept inadequate and poorly formulated.38However, "progressive tonality" describes very well the relationship be-tween adjacent tonalities in the Gesellen cycle. As the cycle proceeds, thetonalities grow progressively distant.39 We have here a tonal design thatembodies the wayfarer's physical wandering and increasingly dis-traught emotional state. A similar symbolic use of key relationships wasmet earlier in Kreutzer's and Marschner's Wanderlieder.

If we place Mahler's cycle within the larger tradition of Wanderlieder,it becomes clear that a cycle which begins and ends in different keys isnot unusual but, in fact, typical.40 Furthermore, Mahler was not the firstto open and close a song in different tonalities. That honor may be be-stowed on a number of earlier composers, and Schumann is certainlythe most distinguished of this group.41Mahler, who indeed much admired Schumann's compositions,wrote,

Schumann is one of the greatest composers of song, to be mentionedin the same breath with Schubert .... Restrained feeling, true lyri-cism and a profound melancholy pervade his songs, of which the524 dearest to me are precisely the less well-known ones which aren't for-ever being sung, as are those of the Frauenliebeund -lebencycle.42

It is very possible, if not probable, that Mahler had in mind Schumann'sKerner Liederreihe.Certainly, no straight and narrow path connects theworks of Kreutzer, Marschner, Schubert, Schumann, and Mahler in or-

derly succession. However, these composers all had roles in the develop-ment of the Wanderlieder tradition, and this poetic and musical bondbrings their works into closer proximity.

38 See Hans Tischler, "Key Symbolismversus ProgressiveTonality,"MusicologyI(1949), 383-88 and "Mahler's mpacton the Crisis of Tonality,"MusicReviewXII(1951), 113-21; and Hans Keller, "The Entfuhrung's 'Vaudeville',"Music ReviewXVII(1957), 304-13-39 In an earlierversionof the Gesellenycle,thekeyschemewasquitedifferent-d-g;Db- F;b-c; e-f (seeMitchell,GustavMahler, . 94).The resultingkeyrelationshipsarehaphazardn comparison o the final,publishedsequence.40 As Donald Mitchellremarks n his studyGustavMahler:TheEarlyYears(London,1958),p. 223),Schubert,beforeMahler,opened andclosed his song cycles n differentkeys,so thatMahler'sonalplanis not totallynovel.However,Mitchell,aswell as otherscholars,have failed to realize hat such tonalplansare in factthenorm for themajorityof nineteenth-century ong cycles.41 Mitchell itesDichterliebes a prototype or Mahler,but the KernerLiederreihes themoreappropriateworkforcomparison seeGustavMahler:TheEarlyYears, . 223).42 QuotedbyNatalieBauer-Lechnern RecollectionsfGustavMahler, d. Peter Frank-lin,trans.DikaNewlin(Cambridge,1980),p. 169(summerof 19go).



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WANDERLIEDER CYCLE

Indeed, from Kreutzer to Mahler, the Wanderliedercycle led an ac-tive and vital life. The composition of Wanderliedercycles by the mostrenowned composers, as well as by the Kleinmeister,f the period under-lines the popularity and importance of this poetic theme. That the workof Conradin Kreutzer, a composer little-known today, had considerableinfluence on the manner of composing song cycles taken by his moreillustrious contemporaries is of particular significance. Finally,althoughKreutzer's name will never replace Beethoven's in the annals of musichistory, Kreutzer's Wanderliedersurely deserves consideration equal toBeethoven's more famous Liederkreisn the chapter on the nineteenth-century song cycle.

Merrick,New York

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turchin, 19th-century wanderlieder cycle (jm 5-4, 1987)

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