Uploaded July 2021 | Updated September 2026, 3 hours ago

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-Composer: Robert Schumann (8 June 1810 – 29 July 1856)
-Performers: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (Bariton), Christoph Eschenbach (Piano)

Romanzen und Balladen III, 3 Songs for Voice and Piano, op. 53, written in 1840

00:00 - I. Blondels Lied {Blondel's Song}
05:37 - II. Loreley
06:36 - III. Der arme Peter {Poor Peter} - I. Der Hans und die Grete tanzen herum {Hans and Grete dance about}
08:02 - III - II. In meiner Brust, da sitzt ein Weh {Within my breast lies a woe}
09:19 - III - III. Der arme Peter wankt vorbei {Poor Peter staggers by}

Schumann's third set of Romanzen und Balladen, Op. 53, was the last group of songs from his legendary "year of song" (1840) to be published. In the company of so many outstanding lieder, especially the song cycles Dichterliebe and Frauenliebe und -leben, the three (actually five) songs of Op. 53 have often been lost in the shuffle and are not especially familiar to listeners. But stylistically, poetically, and more importantly in their animating spirit, they are every bit as representative of Schumann the song composer. The best-known and most interesting song is the third, Der arme Peter (Poor Peter), which is actually three songs in one, and therefore a self-contained song cycle in miniature somewhat like Beethoven's An die ferne Geliebte. It is often excerpted and performed on its own.

Although composed separately and to poems of three different authors, the Op. 53 songs are unified by the theme of devotion. The first song, Blondels Lied, is by the poet Johann Gabriel Seidl, and is the tale of a medieval minstrel keeping a vigil in song for his king. At times reminiscent of Auf einer Berg from the Op. 39 Liederkreis, and even Talismane from Myrthen, it is constructed around a repeated refrain of the text "Suche treu, so findest du!" (Seek in faith and you shall find!). Loreley is among Schumann's shortest songs and usually takes less than one minute to perform. But in that brief span it manages to capture the very spirit of Romantic poetry and song writing in its evocation of a ghostly moment -- the disembodied refrain, "Remember me," mingling with the sounds of the sea. Finally, Heinrich Heine's Der arme Peter is the unfortunate tale of a young man driven to suicide by the loss of his love. He first sees her dancing with her new groom; then avoids her for fear of saddening her with his grief; and finally determines that the grave is where he most belongs. As is typical of both Schumann and Heine, Peter's sad tale is infused with enough irony to be both sad and humorous, but never sentimental.
[allmusic.com]