Robert Schumann's Dichterliebe Song #4 Research Proposal

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Schumann forestalls by making transition to another dimension by creating a second highpoint, different in effect from the first direct link. Yet -- it is not the same as the previous bar. Here the third bar turns from bass to treble, with three eighth notes on the second bar, and on the third bar -- two eighth notes. This represents a highpoint, yet one that is not as significant as the first one witnessed earlier in the work.

The piece itself is a lyrical testament to the mixed emotions involved in romantic love. It highlights a male voice singing a famous German poem. The poem itself is spliced into two four-line stanzas with an ending rhyme schematic. The initial four lines are repeated a second time during the second melodic highpoint of the piece. It represents a narrative told within the context of couplets. It is also non-strophic in its basic design and structure. Translated into English, the poem reads as: "When I look in your eyes all my pain and woe fades: when I kiss your mouth I become whole: when I recline on your breast I am filled with heavenly joy: and when you say, 'I love you, I weep bitterly." The words of the poem itself proceeds linearly towards a highpoint. Yet, the set line erupts with change in direction of narrative. Love brings happiness, but the lover becomes sad with the revelation of the requited nature of his love. The third poem rhymes by twos, different than the first two. In this, the vocalist acknowledges that looking at his love is what makes the narrator of the poem happy. Yet this same love seems to make him sad as well. This represents the idea that the lover loving you represents the end of the chase. That person looses their freedom with their confession of love for the other. Thus, this love scene is both happy and sad at the same time. Surprising, yes, but the piece presents the idea in a lower tone, giving the listener time to digest and interpret the basic conceits.

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The lover is in love, yet sad to see the freedom of his lover diminish with her confession of a requited love for him. Thus, the song echoes both the sadness and joy of love. This is followed by the actual musical score. There is a building intimacy which is interrupted by a bitter end, a surprising twist to the bitter weeping the poet experiences when his love says she loves him back. Yet the sadness is constantly interjected by the more upbeat melody of the high points. The symbolic nature of the poem and the actual musical score set behind it flows very nicely. The two are synergistically interwoven to show that love is never only one single emotion, but a blend of very different emotions. The musical composition solidifies this message with the emotion it brings forth to the ears of the listener. Set in a longer song cycle, this particular piece represents this oxymoron within the seemingly blissful romance of young and new love. It is one of the first melodramatic tones from the larger song cycle, but with the conversion from the D. notes of the third song, it is a harmonious blend, rather than a complete break from the optimism of Song 3 in Schumann's Dichterliebe. Thus, the piece successful paints the dualistic nature of love itself.

By mirroring the human voice, Schumann successful repeats all of loves complex and opposing emotions within the context of one piece. It shows the joy of loving another, as well as the sorrow of watching another loose their freedom to the confinements of loving only one. The complexities of such strong emotional responses are broken down….....

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