What we can learn from two songs by Clara Wieck Schumann
In this blog post I’ll discuss two songs by Clara Schumann: Lorelei (1843) and Was weinst du, Blümlein (1853). It’s been a while since I’ve had the time to write one of these posts so I decided to take a few minutes and do a quick write-up for both these songs!
I love the versatility and broad applications of Lorelei. This piece offers so much to both theory and analysis courses, and non-major classes!
Schumann’s expressive use of chromatic harmony (applied chords, common-tone diminished seventh chords, Neapolitan and Augmented sixth chords) provides interesting and accessible examples for chromatic harmony study. While it’s easy to pull examples from this piece to add to a handout or assignment, I really enjoy more in-depth class analysis of this piece as well. It’s great for “analysis day,” but its abundance of different concepts also makes the piece a good choice to revisit over the course of the semester.
The key scheme of the song invites discussion on modulation vs. extended tonicization, and provides a starting point for class discussion of text setting and narrative .
For non-majors, broader parametric analysis charting fundamental concepts like range, contour, rhythm, and dissonance, can be done very effectively. Broadly speaking, Schumann’s use of contrast is a great launching point for students to think about how the piece is structured. Comparing the parameters stanza by stanza can lead students to draw conclusions about the development of the song as a whole.
It’s also intriguing and worthwhile to discuss the Heine poem and the myth behind it (find the text and translation here), and to delve deeper into the gender connotations and implications of the story.
Meanwhile, Was weinst du, Blümlein is a short and accessible song that has many potential classroom applications. Find the score here.
It features several great examples of secondary dominant and leading-tone chords and an Italian augmented sixth chord. This is a great piece to use for in-class work on applied chords and tonicization.
There are straightforward examples of HC’s, IAC’s, and PAC’s, along with “textbook” seventh chord voice leading. Other topics include non-chord tones (appoggiaturas, anticipations, passing tones), and passing 6-4 chords. Additionally, the presence of melodic intervals like the diminished fourth make for interesting intervallic analysis of the melody for first semester theory.
The length of this song is also helpful when in-class analysis is limited. The song is easily divided among small groups of students, for a “treasure hunt” approach to applied chords, cadences, or other concepts. Given the traditional resolution of most of the applied chords, the piece also provides straightforward analysis or identification examples for assignments or tests.
Both of these songs are among my favorite examples for theory class, and also seem to be very much enjoyed by my students. Of course, analysis always benefits from further context about the composer! Check out these resources to learn more about Clara Schumann:
Biography
List of Works
About her relationship with Brahms (includes excerpts from letters)