Clara and Robert: the Schumanns. Robert is looking thoughtful and composerly (is that a word?), while Clara, relegated(??) to the piano, stares benignly into the middle distance.
An ideal marriage? It had a very rocky start with Clara’s father, Friedrich Wieck…
… doing everything he possibly could to prevent it. And then there was the tension, for Clara, between her hausfrau duties (including the eight children); a major talent for, and the need to, write music, and an extremely successful career as a concert pianist. This success, in turn, caused difficulties for Robert, who often felt overshadowed by his wife’s celebrity.
But, despite these problems, what comes across is the deep affection in which the couple held each other. Here are two settings of Friedrich Rückert that just about sum up the situation:
Robert Schumann:
Widmung (Dedication)
Widmung
Friedrich Rückert
Du meine Seele, du mein Herz,
Du meine Wonn’, o du mein Schmerz,
Du meine Welt, in der ich lebe,
Mein Himmel du, darein ich schwebe,
O du mein Grab, in das hinab
Ich ewig meinen Kummer gab!
Du bist die Ruh, du bist der Frieden,
Du bist vom Himmel mir beschieden.
Dass du mich liebst, macht mich mir wert,
Dein Blick hat mich vor mir verklärt,
Du hebst mich liebend über mich,
Mein guter Geist, mein bess’res Ich!
Dedication
O
You my soul, you my heart,
You my rapture, O you my pain,
You my world in which I live,
My heaven you, to which I aspire,
O you my grave, into which
My grief forever I’ve consigned!
You are repose, you are peace,
You are bestowed on me from heaven.
Your love for me gives me my worth,
Your eyes transfigure me in mine,
You raise me lovingly above myself,
My guardian angel, my better self!
Translation © Richard Stokes, author of: The Book of Lieder (Faber); The Complete Songs of Hugo Wolf (Faber);A French Song Companion (Oxford University Press); The Spanish Son g Companion (Scarecrow Press); The Penguin Book of English Song (Penguin Classics); and J.S. Bach: The Complete Cantatas (Scarecrow Press). Provided via Oxford Lieder (www.oxfordlieder.co.uk)
Score (original [high] pitch)
Clara Schumann:
Liebst du um Schönheit
(If you love for beauty)
Liebst du um Schönheit
Friedrich Rückert
Liebst du um Schönheit,
O nicht mich liebe!
Liebe die Sonne,
Sie trägt ein goldnes Haar.
Liebst du um Jugend,
O nicht mich liebe!
Liebe den Frühling,
Der jung ist jedes Jahr.
Liebst du um Schätze,
O nicht mich liebe!
Liebe die Meerfrau,
Sie hat viel Perlen klar.
Liebst du um Liebe,
O ja, mich liebe!
Liebe mich immer,
Dich lieb’ ich immerdar.
If you love for beauty
E
If you love for beauty,
O love not me!
Love the sun,
She has golden hair.
If you love for youth,
O love not me!
Love the spring
Which is young each year.
If you love for riches,
O love not me!
Love the mermaid
Who has many shining pearls.
If you love for love,
Ah yes, love me!
Love me always,
I shall love you ever more.
Translation © Richard Stokes, author of: The Book of Lieder (Faber); The Complete Songs of Hugo Wolf (Faber);A French Song Companion (Oxford University Press); The Spanish Son g Companion (Scarecrow Press); The Penguin Book of English Song (Penguin Classics); and J.S. Bach: The Complete Cantatas (Scarecrow Press). Provided via Oxford Lieder (www.oxfordlieder.co.uk)
Score (page 4)
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The Art of Listening 