![Robert Schumann - Bunte Blätter op. 99 [With score] @DamonJHK](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/TGzJ7rL8OlA/maxresdefault.jpg)
Uploaded July 2020 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
Composer: Robert Schumann (8 June 1810 – 29 July 1856)
Performer: Sviatoslav Richter
Year of recording: 1971 (Studio recording)
Bunte Blätter {Colored Leaves}, op. 99, for piano solo, written in 1836-1849
Drei Stücklein
00:03 – I. Nicht schnell, mit Innigkeit
01:55 – II. Sehr rasch
02:44 – III. Frisch
Fünf Albumblätter
03:40 – IV. Ziemlich langsam
05:51 – V. Schnell
06:29 – VI. Ziemlich langsam, sehr gesangvoll
08:39 – VII. Sehr langsam
10:44 – VIII. Langsam
12:10 – IX. Novellette. Lebhaft
14:38 – X. Präludium. Energisch
15:49 – XI. Marsch. Sehr getragen
24:44 – XII. Abendmusik. Im Menuetttempo
28:26 – XIII. Scherzo. Lebhaft
32:36 – XIV. Geschwindmarsch. Sehr markiert
This collection of mostly small piano pieces written during various periods from 1836 to 1849, was not assembled and published until 1852, two years before Schumann suffered a debilitating mental breakdown and entered a mental asylum, where he would die in 1856. Bunte Blätter is a unique collection, containing two small collections within it, as well as six additional separate pieces.
It opens with Stücklein III (Three Small Pieces), the first of which, dating to 1838, is songful and sweet in its lovely melody and sonorous harmonies. Schumann presented the piece to his wife-to-be Clara as a Christmas gift. The next two, from 1839, are each less than a minute: the first is anxious and driven, the latter, nearly as fast, but brimming with joy and sunshine in its prancing, less harried gait.
Following are the five (untitled) Albumblätter (Album-leaves), slightly more substantial efforts, but none longer than two-and-a-half minutes. The opening piece, from 1841, is slow and ponderous, but thematically rich enough to inspire Brahms to write a theme and variations work based on it. It is followed by a breathless, stormy dash (1838), lasting less than a minute. Another slow piece (1836) ensues, this one lyrical and melancholy, and originally designed for Schumann's popular collection Carnaval. An even more melancholy work (1838) follows. Its heartbreaking, almost listless manner was well served by its original title, Pain of Youth. The closing Albumblätter is also slow and sad, but at least shows some sunshine in its less somber musical landscape.
The chipper 1838 Novelette follows, with its jaunty outer sections and swirling, mysterious but light interior. The toccata-like Praeludium is next, filling its minute length with stormy, muscular sonorities and an ominous sense. The ensuing Marsch (1843), at around seven or eight minutes, is the longest piece in the set. It opens gently in its somber manner, lightens up for the Trio, and closes with the same stately seriousness with which it began. Abendmusik (Evening music) follows, a playful, gentle piece suggesting the evening has a little sunlight mixed with its shadows. The ensuing 1841 Scherzo is bright and energetic in its outer sections, while its Trio is just as lively and colorful. Colorful is also the word to describe the closing Geschwindmarsch (Quick march) from 1849. It brims with good-natured menace and quirky energy in its somewhat exotic sonorities.
[allmusic.com]
Composer: Robert Schumann (8 June 1810 – 29 July 1856)
Performer: Sviatoslav Richter
Year of recording: 1971 (Studio recording)
Bunte Blätter {Colored Leaves}, op. 99, for piano solo, written in 1836-1849
Drei Stücklein
00:03 – I. Nicht schnell, mit Innigkeit
01:55 – II. Sehr rasch
02:44 – III. Frisch
Fünf Albumblätter
03:40 – IV. Ziemlich langsam
05:51 – V. Schnell
06:29 – VI. Ziemlich langsam, sehr gesangvoll
08:39 – VII. Sehr langsam
10:44 – VIII. Langsam
12:10 – IX. Novellette. Lebhaft
14:38 – X. Präludium. Energisch
15:49 – XI. Marsch. Sehr getragen
24:44 – XII. Abendmusik. Im Menuetttempo
28:26 – XIII. Scherzo. Lebhaft
32:36 – XIV. Geschwindmarsch. Sehr markiert
This collection of mostly small piano pieces written during various periods from 1836 to 1849, was not assembled and published until 1852, two years before Schumann suffered a debilitating mental breakdown and entered a mental asylum, where he would die in 1856. Bunte Blätter is a unique collection, containing two small collections within it, as well as six additional separate pieces.
It opens with Stücklein III (Three Small Pieces), the first of which, dating to 1838, is songful and sweet in its lovely melody and sonorous harmonies. Schumann presented the piece to his wife-to-be Clara as a Christmas gift. The next two, from 1839, are each less than a minute: the first is anxious and driven, the latter, nearly as fast, but brimming with joy and sunshine in its prancing, less harried gait.
Following are the five (untitled) Albumblätter (Album-leaves), slightly more substantial efforts, but none longer than two-and-a-half minutes. The opening piece, from 1841, is slow and ponderous, but thematically rich enough to inspire Brahms to write a theme and variations work based on it. It is followed by a breathless, stormy dash (1838), lasting less than a minute. Another slow piece (1836) ensues, this one lyrical and melancholy, and originally designed for Schumann's popular collection Carnaval. An even more melancholy work (1838) follows. Its heartbreaking, almost listless manner was well served by its original title, Pain of Youth. The closing Albumblätter is also slow and sad, but at least shows some sunshine in its less somber musical landscape.
The chipper 1838 Novelette follows, with its jaunty outer sections and swirling, mysterious but light interior. The toccata-like Praeludium is next, filling its minute length with stormy, muscular sonorities and an ominous sense. The ensuing Marsch (1843), at around seven or eight minutes, is the longest piece in the set. It opens gently in its somber manner, lightens up for the Trio, and closes with the same stately seriousness with which it began. Abendmusik (Evening music) follows, a playful, gentle piece suggesting the evening has a little sunlight mixed with its shadows. The ensuing 1841 Scherzo is bright and energetic in its outer sections, while its Trio is just as lively and colorful. Colorful is also the word to describe the closing Geschwindmarsch (Quick march) from 1849. It brims with good-natured menace and quirky energy in its somewhat exotic sonorities.
[allmusic.com]
![Robert Schumann - Bunte Blätter op. 99 [With score]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/TGzJ7rL8OlA/mqdefault.jpg "Robert Schumann - Bunte Blätter op. 99 [With score]
Composer: Robert Schumann (8 June 1810 – 29 July 1856)
Performer: Sviatoslav Richter
Year of recording: 1971 (Studio recording)
Bunte Blätter {Colored Leaves}, op. 99, for piano solo, written in 1836-1849
Drei Stücklein
00:03 – I. Nicht schnell, mit Innigkeit
01:55 – II. Sehr rasch
02:44 – III. Frisch
Fünf Albumblätter
03:40 – IV. Ziemlich langsam
05:51 – V. Schnell
06:29 – VI. Ziemlich langsam, sehr gesangvoll
08:39 – VII. Sehr langsam
10:44 – VIII. Langsam
12:10 – IX. Novellette. Lebhaft
14:38 – X. Präludium. Energisch
15:49 – XI. Marsch. Sehr getragen
24:44 – XII. Abendmusik. Im Menuetttempo
28:26 – XIII. Scherzo. Lebhaft
32:36 – XIV. Geschwindmarsch. Sehr markiert
This collection of mostly small piano pieces written during various periods from 1836 to 1849, was not assembled and published until 1852, two years before Schumann suffered a debilitating mental breakdown and entered a mental asylum, where he would die in 1856. Bunte Blätter is a unique collection, containing two small collections within it, as well as six additional separate pieces.
It opens with Stücklein III (Three Small Pieces), the first of which, dating to 1838, is songful and sweet in its lovely melody and sonorous harmonies. Schumann presented the piece to his wife-to-be Clara as a Christmas gift. The next two, from 1839, are each less than a minute: the first is anxious and driven, the latter, nearly as fast, but brimming with joy and sunshine in its prancing, less harried gait.
Following are the five (untitled) Albumblätter (Album-leaves), slightly more substantial efforts, but none longer than two-and-a-half minutes. The opening piece, from 1841, is slow and ponderous, but thematically rich enough to inspire Brahms to write a theme and variations work based on it. It is followed by a breathless, stormy dash (1838), lasting less than a minute. Another slow piece (1836) ensues, this one lyrical and melancholy, and originally designed for Schumanns popular collection Carnaval. An even more melancholy work (1838) follows. Its heartbreaking, almost listless manner was well served by its original title, Pain of Youth. The closing Albumblätter is also slow and sad, but at least shows some sunshine in its less somber musical landscape.
The chipper 1838 Novelette follows, with its jaunty outer sections and swirling, mysterious but light interior. The toccata-like Praeludium is next, filling its minute length with stormy, muscular sonorities and an ominous sense. The ensuing Marsch (1843), at around seven or eight minutes, is the longest piece in the set. It opens gently in its somber manner, lightens up for the Trio, and closes with the same stately seriousness with which it began. Abendmusik (Evening music) follows, a playful, gentle piece suggesting the evening has a little sunlight mixed with its shadows. The ensuing 1841 Scherzo is bright and energetic in its outer sections, while its Trio is just as lively and colorful. Colorful is also the word to describe the closing Geschwindmarsch (Quick march) from 1849. It brims with good-natured menace and quirky energy in its somewhat exotic sonorities.
[allmusic.com]")
![Dmitri Shostakovich - Violin Sonata [With score]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/T_kvs_F5tKY/mqdefault.jpg "Dmitri Shostakovich - Violin Sonata [With score]
Composer: Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich (25 September 1906 - 9 August 1975)
Performers: David Oistrakh (violin), Sviatoslav Richter (piano)
Recorded in 1969
Sonata for Violin and Piano, op. 134, written in 1968
00:00 - I. Andante
10:20 - II. Allegretto
16:56 - III. Largo
The story goes that in 1967 Shostakovich presented David Oistrakh with a 60th birthday present, the Violin Concerto No. 2. But the composer was premature by a year, and felt obligated to write another composition for the violinists actual 60th birthday. The work he produced was this 1968 Sonata for Violin and Piano, Op. 134, one of his finer late efforts.
The piece opens with an allusion to serial music: the piano presents a theme in octaves starting in the bass and rising to the upper register, playing all 12 notes of the chromatic scale before the violin enters. The tempo is Andante. The mood is grim, as is typical of the composers late works, especially the last several quartets. A second theme appears, march-like and cynical. The two instruments exchange renditions of it, and then the main theme is reprised by the violin. Shortly thereafter another engaging idea is presented by the violin, seeming to glide eerily downward from its upper ranges, while the piano delivers chilling harmonies in both registers. There is also some ghostly sul ponticello playing in the latter pages. Not long after this work appeared, Soviet musicologists tried in vain to explain the mood of this bleak music as pastoral.
The second movement, marked Allegretto, begins with a heroic-sounding theme. But the mood quickly turns anxious, as if the composer were expressing his irony under some considerable pressure. A waltz seems to promise relief from the unbounded energy and tension, but does not manage to break the rigid mood.
The finale, marked Largo, begins with a somber introduction. Then the violin, played pizzicato, presents the dark main theme, after which come 13 variations. The pianos first rendition of the melody calls to mind the late compositions of Liszt. The music shifts moods, going from pensive to playful, from sinister to simple. An outburst on the piano just past the middle of the movement leads to a climactic episode on the violin. The eerie music from the first movement returns, as does the march-like theme, and the work ends chillingly.
A typical performance of this sonata lasts about a half hour. Oistrakh premiered it on January 8, 1969, in a private performance before the Union of Soviet Composers. The pianist on that occasion was composer Moisei Weinberg. Sviatoslav Richter played the piano part with Oistrakh in May of that year for the first public performance.
[allmusic.com]")
![Edvard Grieg - Lyric Pieces (Volume VII), op. 62 [With score]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/U1oC2K_KS3c/mqdefault.jpg "Edvard Grieg - Lyric Pieces (Volume VII), op. 62 [With score]
-Composer: Edvard Hagerup Grieg (15 June 1843 – 4 September 1907)
-Performer: Gerhard Oppitz
6 Lyric Pieces Book VII, op. 62, written in 1893-95
00:00 - I. Sylfide {Sylph}
02:03 - II. Takk {Gratitude}
06:54 - III. Fransk serenade {French Serenade}
09:13 - IV. Bekken {Brooklet}
10:53 - V. Drömmesyn {Phantom}
14:45 - VI. Hjemad {Homeward}
Edvard Grieg spent most of the winter and spring of 1894 - 1895 holed up in the Hotel King of Denmark in Bergen, sick with the flu. In March 1895 the state of Griegs health caused him to cancel an important personal appearance in Berlin. In the spring, Grieg traveled mountains of the north for a rest cure in the clean, cold Norwegian air, and returned to his home, Troldhaugen, in May in good health and spirits. The composition of the seventh Lyric Suite for piano, Op. 62, likely extended through both Griegs time of illness and that of his recovery.
Certainly a rejuvenated Grieg is heard in the brilliant opener, Sylfide (Sylph). Lithe and balletic, this quick-footed piece is cast in a 3/4 time thats mostly missing its third beat, and the melody skips around with the frosty agility of a snowflake. Not so the following Tak (Thanks) in which a grateful melody is framed in an uninteresting chorale setting, interrupted only by a predictable crescendo built on decorated half notes. Ballet rhythms return in Fransk Serenade (French Serenade) which is mainly of the period; it is charming and short. Brilliantly pianistic and étude-like is the Bekken (The Brook) which follows, Grieg achieving very effective minor-key sonorities from the piano in the last page. Drommesyn (The Phantom) is based around a single melodic period that is characterized by a limpid four-against-six pattern at the end. Grieg varies this idea only with a single repeated note. Grieg takes his period through some unusual harmonic changes, and the overall economy of means used in The Phantom is reminiscent of that in Liszts late piano works.
In March 1895, Grieg assisted his friend the composer Johan Halverson with the preparation of a four-hand piano score for publication of the latters Entry of the Boyars. At about that time Grieg composed his own rousing, but very different march under the title of Hjemad (Homeward). The outer sections of the march are tremendously thrilling, with an excellently realized progression leading to the coda.
While the seventh book of Griegs Lyric Suites contains individual numbers that are among the best found in these sets, this collection as a whole is generally not thought of as being one of the stronger entries in the canon.
[allmusic.com]")
![Edvard Grieg - 5 Songs, op. 69 [With score]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/UB1TGIz45yM/mqdefault.jpg "Edvard Grieg - 5 Songs, op. 69 [With score]
-Composer: Edvard Hagerup Grieg (15 June 1843 – 4 September 1907)
-Performers: Monica Groop (Voice), Roger Vignoles (Piano)
5 Songs for Voice and Piano, op. 69, written in 1900
00:00 - I. Der gynger en Båd på Bølge {A boat is rocking on the wave}
02:54 - II. Til min Dreng {To my little son}
06:29 - III. Ved Moders Grav {At mothers grave}
09:10 - IV. Snegl, Snegl! {Snail, snail, come out of your house}
12:28 - V. Drømme (Dream)")
![Olivier Messiaen - Catalogue doiseaux (Book 7) [With score]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/V0ahnMu1ALI/mqdefault.jpg "Olivier Messiaen - Catalogue doiseaux (Book 7) [With score]
Composer: Olivier Messiaen (10 December 1908 27 April 1992)
Pianist: Yvonne Loriod (Messiaens wife)
Olivier Messiaen - Catalogue doiseaux, written between 1956-1958, Book 7 (Septième livre)
00:15 - XI. La Buse variable (Common buzzard)
10:34 - XII. Le Traquet rieur (Black wheatear)
19:48 - XIII. Le Courlis cendré (Eurasian curlew)
Book VII concludes the cycle, recapitulating birdsongs similar to earlier movements, with the dodecaphonic La buse variable (the buzzard), the playful Le traquet rieur (the black wheatear), and Le courlis cendre (the curlew), a stark depiction of the French coastline.")
![Edvard Grieg - 6 Romances, op. 39 [With score]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/VCR50kgUBOU/mqdefault.jpg "Edvard Grieg - 6 Romances, op. 39 [With score]
-Composer: Edvard Hagerup Grieg (15 June 1843 – 4 September 1907)
-Performers (Songs 1, 3, 5): Monica Groop (Voice), Ilmo Ranta (Piano)
-Performers (Songs 2, 4): Marianne Hirsti (Voice), Rudolf Jansen (Piano)
-Performers (Song 6): Knut Skram (Voice), Rudolf Jansen (Piano)
00:00 - I. Fra Monte Pincio {From monte Pincio}
04:53 - II. Dulgt kjærlighed {Hidden love}
07:54 - III. I liden højt deroppe {High on the grassy slope}
10:00 - IV. Millom rosor {Among roses}
11:51 - V. Ved en ung hustrus båre {At the grave of a young wife}
16:42 - VI. Hører jeg sangen klinge {Hör’ ich das Liedchen klingen; When I hear that song}
6 Romances for Voice and Piano, op. 39, written in 1869-84")
![Edvard Grieg - 5 Songs, op. 70 [With score]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/VH6v0UzKP80/mqdefault.jpg "Edvard Grieg - 5 Songs, op. 70 [With score]
-Composer: Edvard Hagerup Grieg (15 June 1843 – 4 September 1907)
-Performers: Monica Groop (Voice), Roger Vignoles (Piano)
5 Songs for Voice and Piano, op. 70, written in 1900
00:00 - I. Eros
03:03 - II. Jeg lever et Liv i Længsel {I live a life of longing}
05:42 - III. Lys Nat {Lucent night}
07:42 - IV. Se dig for, når du vælger din Vej {Beware when you choose your way}
09:41 - V. Digtervise (Poets song)")
![Igor Stravinsky - Symphony of Psalms [With score]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/VUSfrgPQjRM/mqdefault.jpg "Igor Stravinsky - Symphony of Psalms [With score]
Composer: Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (17 June 1882 6 April 1971)
Orchestra: Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Sir Georg Solti
The Symphony of Psalms, written in 1930
00:00 - 1st movement
03:24 - 2nd movement
10:07 - 3rd movement
The Symphony of Psalms is a three-movement choral symphony and was composed by Igor Stravinsky in 1930 during his neoclassical period. The work was commissioned by Serge Koussevitzky to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The symphony derives its name from the use of Psalm texts in the choral parts.
According to Stravinsky, the commission for the work came about from a routine suggestion from Koussevitzky, who was also Stravinskys publisher, that he write something popular for orchestra without chorus. Stravinsky, however, insisted on the psalm-symphony idea, which he had had in mind for some time. The choice of Psalm 150, however, was in part because of the popularity of that text. The symphony was written in Nice and Echarvines, which was Stravinskys summer home in those years. The three movements are performed without a break, and the texts sung by the chorus are drawn from the Vulgate versions in Latin. Unlike many pieces composed for chorus and orchestra, Stravinsky said that “it is not a symphony in which I have included Psalms to be sung. On the contrary, it is the singing of the Psalms that I am symphonizing.
Although the piece was written for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the world premiere was actually given in Brussels by the Société Philharmonique de Bruxelles on December 13, 1930, under the direction of Ernest Ansermet. The American premiere of the piece was given soon afterwards by Koussevitzky and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, with the chorus of the Cecilia Society (trained by Arthur Fiedler) on December 19, 1930. The first recording was made by Stravinsky himself with the Orchestre des Concerts Straram and the Alexis Vlassay Choir at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris on February 17 and 18, 1931. The choir, throaty, full-blooded, darkly, inwardly passionate, sing with liturgical conviction and intensity in a memorable performance.
Like many of Stravinskys other works, including Petrushka and The Rite of Spring, the Symphony of Psalms occasionally employs the octatonic scale (which alternates whole steps and half steps), the longest stretch being eleven bars between rehearsal numbers 4 and 6 in the first movement. Stravinsky stated that the root of the entire symphony is the sequences of two minor thirds joined by a major third... derived from the trumpet-harp motive at the beginning of the allegro in Psalm 150.
Stravinsky portrays the religious nature of the text through his compositional techniques. He wrote substantial portions of the piece in fugal counterpoint, which was used widely in the church in the Renaissance and Baroque periods. He also uses the large chorus to create a ritual atmosphere like that of the Church.
Original Audio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AEyByiiN7g (and 2 others)")
![Olivier Messiaen - Catalogue doiseaux (Book 4) [With score]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/WCdi0BomzJg/mqdefault.jpg "Olivier Messiaen - Catalogue doiseaux (Book 4) [With score]
Composer: Olivier Messiaen (10 December 1908 27 April 1992)
Pianist: Yvonne Loriod (Messiaens wife)
Olivier Messiaen - Catalogue doiseaux, written between 1956-1958, Book 4 (Quatrième livre)
VII. La Rousserolle effarvatte (Eurasian reed warbler)
The fourth book contains the seventh and central movement, La rousserolle effarvatte (the reed warbler), at over half an hour the longest movement. Like the fourth movement and like Messiaens earlier Reveil des oiseaux, it outlines more than a day of birdsong, with dozens of birds heard.")
![Paul Hindemith - String Quartet No. 6 [With score]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/WLXVWmTDw7U/mqdefault.jpg "Paul Hindemith - String Quartet No. 6 [With score]
-Composer: Paul Hindemith (16 November 1895 - 28 December 1963)
-Performers: The Danish Quartet
String Quartet No. 6 in E flat Major, written in 1943
00:00 - I. Sehr ruhig und ausdrucksvoll
04:44 - II. Lebhaft und sehr energisch
09:25 - III. Ruhig. Variationen
18:55 - IV. Finale. Breit und energisch")
![Edvard Grieg - Foran sydens kloster, op 20 [With score]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/WXBrGo3psfI/mqdefault.jpg "Edvard Grieg - Foran sydens kloster, op 20 [With score]
-Composer: Edvard Hagerup Grieg (15 June 1843 – 4 September 1907)
-Soloists: Barbara Bonney (Soprano), Randi Stene (Alto)
-Orchestra: Göteborgs Symfoniker
-Conductor: Neeme Järvi
-Choir: Womens Voices of the Gothenburg Symphony Chorus
Foran Sydens kloster (Before a Southern Convent), for soprano, alto, female chorus and orchestra, Op. 20, written in 1871")
![Robert Schumann - Romanzen und Balladen II, op. 49 [With score]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/WxpRPYLwFH4/mqdefault.jpg "Robert Schumann - Romanzen und Balladen II, op. 49 [With score]
-Composer: Robert Schumann (8 June 1810 – 29 July 1856)
-Performers: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (Bariton; I and II), Christoph Eschenbach (Piano; I and II), Olaf Bär (Bariton; III), Helmut Deutsch (Piano; III)
Romanzen und Balladen II, 3 Songs for Voice and Piano, op. 49, written in 1840
00:00 - I. Die beiden Grenadiere {The two Grenadiers}
03:49 - II. Die feindlichen Brüder {The warring Brothers}
05:59 - III. Die Nonne {The Nun}
1840 was Schumanns first great lieder year, the one that produced the great song cycles Myrthen, the Heine and the Eichendorff Liederkreis, Dichterliebe, Frauenliebe und -Leben, and the Kerner Zwölf Gedichte. As if this was not enough, he also wrote individual songs, many of which, like these, he collected into small Romance and Ballad Collections. He wrote Die feindlichen Bruder in April and Die bieden Grenadiere in May, both to Heine poems, and Die Nonne to a Fröhlich poem in November. They were published, however, with Die beiden Grenadiere as the first, making a cyclic progression from war among nations, to war between brothers, and finally to war with ones emotions in a cloister, supposedly a place of peace.
Die beiden Grenadiere is one of Schumanns masterpieces, setting up in generally less than four minutes a drama that it might take a movie half an hour to present. The music begins dispiritedly, though still with military discipline, slowly grows in pride and resolve, bursting out with passionate energy with the famous quotation from the Marseillaise, and then falling back. This last stroke adds poignancy to a song that otherwise could be just bombast; the listener is left to speculate whether the soldier has fallen prey to despair or to death. Ironically, while Schumanns version is the more insightful and effective, Richard Wagners, written only months before, was far more successful, particularly in France (doubtless Wagners more optimistic ending, using the Marseillaise triumphantly, was more appealing to French sensibilities!).
While this song is certainly the best known and for the most effective, with its vivid characterization and intense drama, the other two songs have their own merits. The deliberately archaic style Heine adopted for Die feindlichen Bruder is reflected in the rushed, slightly breathless vocal lines and subdued piano figures suggesting the flashing of the swords; this is not an eye-witness account of either the duel or a sighting of its ghostly repetition, but rather a fireside narration, evoking a sense of spookiness rather than terror. (Some performers have even interpreted it as an ironic treatment of the craze for Gothic stories of duels, tragic loves and rivalries, and ghosts.) Die Nonne, with its contrasting sorrow and merriment, shows Schumanns ability to handle pathos with a delicate touch that keeps it from becoming overwrought, and so, he makes the final drooping notes a particularly striking portrayal of quiet, unexpressed grief.
[allmusic.com]")
