3. Collaboration

There are not many husband and wife composer teams; and I can think of only one couple who have actually collaborated on a piece.

We’ve already heard one of Clara Schumann’s contributions (Liebst du um Schönheit) to the twelve settings of Friedrich Rückert poetry that she and Robert composed a year after their marriage (1841). The collection was entitled Liebesfrühling (Love’s Springtime); and, of the dozen songs and duets, Clara (who was pregnant at the time) composed three (see below).

Robert & Clara Schumann:
Twelve Songs

0:00 1. Der Himmel eine Träne geweint
2:11 2. Er ist gekommen (by Clara Schumann)
4:23 3. O ihr Herren
5:19 4. Liebst du um Schönheit (by Clara Schumann)
7:14 5. Ich hab’ in mich gesogen
9:12 6. Liebste, was kann denn uns scheiden
11:19 7. Schön ist das Fest des Lenzes
12:22 8. Flügel! Flügel! um zu fliegen
15:36 9. Rose, Meer und Sonne
19:50 10. O Sonn’, o Meer, o Rose
23:25 11. Warum willst du andre fragen (by Clara Schumann)
25:13 12. So wahr die Sonne scheinet

Translations available here

Robert Schumann:
Kinderszenen
(Scenes from Childhood)

Contrary to what one might expect, Robert Schumann’s Kinderszenen (Scenes from Childhood) was written two years before his marriage and three before the birth of his first child. The title actually refers to reminiscence of the composer’s own childhood and the music, in terms of both performance and listening is mainly aimed at adults. The set contains one of his most famous pieces, Träumerei (Dreaming).

00:38 Von fremden Ländern und Menschen
(Of Foreign Lands and Peoples)
02:09 Kuriose Geschichte (A Curious Story)
03:15 Hasche-Mann (Blind Man’s Bluff)
03:48 Bittendes Kind (Pleading Child)
04:38 Glückes genug (Happy Enough)
05:17 Wichtige Begebenheit (An Important Event)
06:09 Träumerei (Dreaming)
08:43 Am Kamin (At the Fireside)
10:02 Ritter vom Steckenpferd (Knight of the Hobbyhorse)
10:43 Fast zu ernst (Almost Too Serious)
12:12 Fürchtenmachen (Frightening)
13:52 Kind im Einschlummern (Child Falling Asleep)
15:31 Der Dichter spricht (The Poet Speaks)

Score


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