Grove's dictionary of music and musicians

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382 SCHUMANN
quoted above. As a Protestant his relations to
the Mass and Requiem were perfectly unfettered
and in the oompositlon of these works he can
have had no thought of their adaptation to divine
service, since even in form they exhibit peculiarities
opposed to the established order of the
Mass. It may, however, be assumed that it was
the Catholic feeling of Diisseldorfwhich suggested
them, and that he intended the works to be
performed on certain occasions at church concerts.
The words of the Mass will always have a great
power ofelevating and inspiring an earnest artist
but irrespective of this, the composition of a
mass must have had a peculiar attraction for
Schumann on other grounds. A poetical interest
in the Catholic Church of the Middle Ages was
at that time widely prevalent in Germany,
particularly in circles which weremost influenced
by romantic poetry, and found in the Middle
Ages the realisation of their mostcherished ideals.
Schumann shared in this tendency ; a vein of
mystical religionism, which otherwise might
have lain dormant, often shows itself in his later
compositions. For instance, under the name
Eequiem we find the setting of a hymn, ascribed
to Heloise, the beloved of Ab^lard (op. 90,
No. 7),
Eeguiescat a Itibora
Dolorosa, et amore, etc.
Other instances are the poems of Mary Stuart
(op. 135), and the Requiem for Mignon. In
the Mass he has, contrary to custom, introduced
an offertorium, TotapuUhra es, Maria, et onaeula
non est in te.
In judging of Schumann's sacred music, it is
necessary to repeat that, though the chorus is
not, strictly speaking, the musical means by
which he was best able to express himself, yet
both custom and the character and importance
of the subject urged him to make considerable
use of it in these works. Thus they contain a
contradiction in themselves ; they are all nobly
and gravely conceived, but as choral music are
only very rarely satisfactory. The Mass, no
doubt, ranks highest, and contains much that
is very beautiful ; the Kyrie,' the Agnus,'
' '
the beginning and end of the 'Sanotus,' and
part of the ' Creclo,' being among Schumann's
very best choral works. Unfortunately there
is less to be said for the Requiem ; we should
have expected the mere idea of a mass for the
dead to have inspired such a genius as Schumann's,
even without recollecting the wonderful
tones which he has found for the final requiem
in ' Manfred.' But this work was undoubtedly
written under great exhaustion ;
and the iirst
romantic chorus alone makes a uniformly harmonious
impression. It closes the list of Schumann's
works, but it is not with this that we
should wish to complete the picture of so great
and noble a master. He once said with reference
to the Requiem, ' It is a thing that one writes
for oneself.' But the abundant treasure of
individual, pure, and profound art which he has
bequeathed to us in his other works is a more
lasting monument to his name, stupendous and
imperishable.
Among the published works that treat of
Schumann'slifeandlabours, that by Wasielewski
deserves the first mention {Bohert Schumann,
eine Biographic, von Josef W. von Wasielewski ;
Dresden, R. Kunze, 1858 ; ed. 3, Bonn, E.
Strauss, 1880). Though in time it may yet
receive additions and revision, it has still the
enduring merit of giving from accurate acquaintance
the broad outlines of Schumann's Ufe.
seim, Zeben
[AugustReissmann's Robert Seh/wmarm ,
undseine fFerke(1865, 1871, andl879)contains
analysis of many works.] Other valuable contributions
to his biography have been written
by Franz Hueffer, Die Poesie in der Musik
(Leipzig, Leuokart, 1874) ; by Richard Pohl,
Ermnervmgen am, R. Sch/uma/rm, in the Deutsche
Revue, vol. iv., Berlin, 1878 (pp. 169 to 181,
and 306 to 317) ; by Max Kalbeck, R.
Schumann in Wien, forming the feuilletons of
the Wiemer Allgem^ine ZeUurvg of Sept. 24,
29, and Oct. 5, 1880. An accurate and sympathetic
essay on Schumann, Robert Schumann's
Tage und Werhe, was contributed by A. W.
Ambros to the Culturhistorische Bilder aus dem,
Musikleben der Gegenwart (Leipzig, Matthes,
1860 ; pp. 51-96). Schumann's literary work
was reviewed by H. Deiters in the Allg.
musik. Zeitumg (Leipzig, Breitkopf & Hartel,
1866, Nos. 47-49). [The Gesammelte Schriften
reached their third edition in 1883 ; and were
translated by Fanny Raymond Ritter ; Die
Davidsbilndler hy F. 6. Jensen (1883) is full of
interest. A collection of the master's Jugendbriefe
edited by Clara Schumann, appeared in
1885, andwas translated in 1888 ; F. 6. Jensen's
Neue Folge of letters (1886) appeared as The
Life of Robert Schumann told in his Letters, translated
by May Herbert (1890). Litzmann's
biography of Clara Schumann contains much
new information. A large selection from all the
letters was published by Dr. Karl Storck in
1907, and translated by Hannah Bryant.]
Schuberth & Co. published in 1860-61 a Thematic
Catalogue of Schumann's printed works,
extending to op. 143 only. A complete index
to all the published compositions of Schumann,
with careful evidence as to the year in which
each was written, published, and first performed,
and their different editions and arrangements,
was compiled by Alfred Dbrffel as a supplement
to the Musikalisches Wochenblatt (Leipzig,
Fritzsch, 1875). It is impossible to indicate
all the shorter notices of Schumann in books
and periodicals. The author of this article has
had the advantage of seeing a considerable
number T)f his unpublished letters, and of obtainingmuch
information at first hand from persons
who were in intimate relations with him.