“Zwei Venetianische Lieder” by R. Schumann in the tradition of Austro-German romantic song
Authors: Lian Yuanmei 
Published: June 2020

Introduction. Given article considers R. Schumann’s “Zwei Venetianische Lieder” / “Two Venetian Songs” (ор. 25, №17–18) on poems by T. Moore, in F. Freiligrath translation. Often the creation of the Venice ambience in art works was due to trips and impressions on this city. In 1829, R. Schumann, as a student of Heidelberg University, went on a trip to Switzerland and Italy during his study vacation. One of the cities on the travel map was Venice. R. Schumann “resurrected” the city ambience only eleven years after in the “Zwei Venetianische Lieder” (“Two Venetian Songs”), which became part of the song cycle “Myrthen” (1840). How do these two vocal miniatures, that are one of the first in the composer’s vocal creativity, reflect the individual style of his writing? Do they correlate with the nature of the “true” Schumann, who is known for his famous works, such as the cycle “A poet’s Love”? Objective. The purpose of the article is to comprehend composer methods of Venice image embodiment in “Zwei Venetianische Lieder” in the context of creative tradition of the Austro-German romantic song. Methods used in the research: 1) historical method, allowing to comprehend the selected material in the perspective of the development of Austro-German song of the 19th century; 2) intonational method, which involves the study of vocal melody in terms of melodic reactions to figurative content; 3) genre method, caused by the features of chamber vocal lyrics; 4) stylistic method, corresponding to a specific opus consideration in the general context of the composer’s creative work. The results of the study. “Zwei Venetianische Lieder” were grown up in the artistic climate of its era. The popularity of traveling in the circles of well-educated youth was a practical realization of spiritual impulses and the inner need to push the boundaries of the information space for awareness of the nature of self-own identity through a meeting with a different culture and worldview. Italy, and the entire Mediterranean areal, as the cradle of the Christian humanist culture, was a center of attraction for the German romantics. The creation of the artistic and aesthetic archetype of Italy and Venice by J. W. Goethe in “Italian Travels” and “Epigrams” has created a tradition of perception these themes not only in German literature, but also in music. R. Schumann was one of the first to respond to this creative idea. He was also the first among German composers to turn to the “poetic” Venice of the Englishman Thomas Moore and initiated the appearance of a series “Venetianische Lieder” in Austro-German music of the 19th century. A number of authors were involved in the creation of this series – F. Mendelssohn Bartholdi, A. Fesca, С. Dekker, and others. The melancholic mood of the many “Venetianisches Gondellied” written by German composers was the result of the process of mythologizing the image of Venice. The creative people (poets, writers, composers, painters) were involved in this process. They perceived this city through the prism of artistic relations, associations, and sought in its canonical symbols (channels, gondolas, sea, mirror, mask) new semantic dimensions, means of the expression of self-reflection. “Zwei Venetianische Lieder” from the song cycle “Myrthen” by R. Schumann stand apart on this list as not only the first, but also as the works distinguished by its originality. 1840 year is considered as the “song year” in the composer’s work. In this year 138 songs and the best of song cycles were written by the composer: “Liederkreis” ор. 24, “Myrthen” ор. 25, “Liederkreis” ор. 39, “Frauenliebe und Leben” ор. 42, “Dichterliebe”, ор. 48. After the “piano decade” (1829–1839) Schumann’s appeal to the song came a surprise, in particular, for the author himself. This led to the change in his musical aesthetics, to the revision of the hierarchy entrenched in the consciousness, about the primacy of music over other arts and the instrumental music over the vocal. Although the cycle “Myrten” op. 25 (1840) is one of the first in the vocal works by R. Schumann, it is distinguished by the maturity of style writing. R. Schuman’s psychological sensitivity to the poetic word is conveyed in the intonational nature of the songs, careful selection of harmonic means, finely tuned tonal plans that can emphasize both, contemplation and rebelliousness. Musical and poetic integrity is also ensured by the increased importance of the accompaniment and the piano part in whole that include the expressive instrumental introductions and postludes aimed at revealing of an image. Conclusion. The study of R.Schumann’s “variations” on Thomas Moore’s “Venice” as a separate scientific topic makes it possible to realize the scale of the creative competition established by the outstanding composer in his “Zwei Venetianische Lieder” from the vocal cycle “Myrthen”.