Grove's dictionary of music and musicians

'
faTonrite ' Ich mochte wohl der Kaiser sein. '
melodies and skilfnl accompaniments almost
obliterate sach defects. Mozart wrote many
Tolksthiimliche Lieder ; some hnmorons, like
' Die Alte ' (with its amusing exjpression-mark,
'ESn wenig dureh die Xase zu singen ')
; some &esh
and joyons as 'Komm', lieber Mai,' and the
But it is in the form of the Aria and dureJiannponiries
Lied that we find his most perfect
song-wTiting.
' Abendempfindnng,' witii the
heantifhl opening phrases espressive of the calm
moonlight eTening, and his masterpiece, Das
'
Yeilchen,' which he wrote to words by Goethe,
are on a level with his best work in other
branches.
Some of Beethoven's earlier songs, snch as
'An einen Singling,' 'Das KriegsUed,' 'Molly's
Ahschied,' and 'Der freie Mann,' are volfcsthtimlich
; the form is small, and the aooompaniment
nothing more than the melody simply harmonised.
The structore is similar in Gellert's
sacred songs, op. 4 S. except in the ' Bnsslied,'
where there is a fuller development, both of
voice and accompaniment. ' Adelaide ' is also
an early work, bnt it is written in a larger
form, and shows signs of the dramatic treatment
which for a while inflnenced Beethoven's vocal
writing. Many other songs cast in the scena
and aria form coold be instanced, bnt of fax
higher interest are Uiose written in the lyrical
vein. He set six poems of Goethe's, as op. 75,
and three as op. S3, and although there is
mnch in these songs which mi^t have tempted
Beethoven to nse the scena or the cantata form,
he resisted it. He adhered to the strophical
divisions, and left it to the instrmuental part
to satisfy their dramatic requirements. In
Mignon's song, 'Kennst dn das Land,' each
stanza has the same beantifnl melody, and the
accompaniment alone varies and intensifies. In
Jeitteles' Liederkreis. 'An die feme Geliebte,'
op. 9S. the unity which makes the cycle is
wholly the work of the composer, and not of
the poet. It is Beethoven who binds the
songs tc^ther by short instrumental interludes
modulating into the key of the next song, and
by weaving the exquisite melody with which
the cycle begins into the last song. Most of
the songs of this immortal cycle are strophical,
but with great variety of accompaniment ; and
the just balance of the vocal and instrtmiental
parts, and the warmth and fervour of the
expression, equally contribute to the faithful
representation of lyric thought and feeling.
Enough stress cannot be laid on the importance
of Beethoven's work in song-writing, for having
effectively shown the power of harmony and
modulation as means of expression ; also for
having enlarged the part sustained by the pianoforte
He taught his instrument, as it were,
to give conscious and intelligent utterance to
1 The MUle cndle-fiOD?. 'SchJaie. m^n PlinMdieD.' long attribated
to Hoait. b4u recently been pt«^«d b^ Dr. Jlax Fijedluider
to bave been written 1^ £einhard Flies.
SONG 611
the poetic intention of the words. Furthermore,
we must recognise that although Beethoven's
genius rose to its loftiest heights in
other branches of music, it was he who first
raised Song from the entirely suboi-dinate position
it had hitherto held to an honourable
place in the ranks of musical art.
Spohi* also wrote lyric songs, and was fitted
for the work by his romantic and contemplative
nature. Bnt his songs are marred by excessive
elaboration of minutiae, and in the profusion of
details clearness of outline is lost. Again, his
modulations, or rather chromatic transitions,
are so frequent as to be wearisome. Of all his
songs, ' Der Bleicherin Nachtlied ' and Der
'
Bosenstranch ' are freest from these faults, and
they are his best.
A greater influence was exercised upon the
Song by Carl Maria von Weber.- He published
two books of Tolkslieder, op. 54 and op. 64,
perfect in their simplicity and of real distinction.
Of his other seventy -eight songs the
most celebrated are those from Korner's ' Leyer
und Schwert' ; the cradle-song, 'Schlaf Herzenssbhnchen,'
'Die gefangenen Sanger,' and the
finest of all, Das Madchen ' an das erste Schneeglbckchen.'
These songs deserve their celebrity,
and there are indeed many others which are
not so well known, nor as often heard as they
deserve to be. Weber's fame as a song-writer
has perhaps suffered somewhat from the circumstance
that many of his best songs are in his
operas, and it has been partially eclipsed by
the supreme excellence of one or two composers
who were immediately subsequent to him.
Incidental reference has already been made
more than once to Goethe, to whom the obligations
of the Song are great. Tlie fine outburst
of lyric song which enriched the music
of Germany in his lifetime was very largely due
to him. The strong but polished rhythm, and
the full melody of his verse, were an incentive
and inspiration to composers. J. Fr. Reichardt
was the first to make it a systematic study to
set Goethe's lyrics to music, and between 17 SO
and 1810 he issued several collections.^ So
long as Keichardt merely declaimed the words
in melody, or othenrise made the music subordinate
to the verse, he was successfnL Goethe's
words were, in short, a sute guide for a talent
like his. Keichardt was not a great master, bnt
he may claim the honour of having stmck the
true keynote of lyrical songs, and greater artists
than Mmself immediately followed in his footsteps.
Xothing he ever wrote is better than his
setting of Tieck's Lied der '
Xacht,' and in this
song he clearly shows himself to be the fore-
3 It is wstfa wbile to note that Weber liima*if sk;s in fais
literaiT vxsts. ihat ' strict truth in declamatiiKi is the fifst and
foremost requisite of Tocal mnaic. . . . Any Tocal music ^lat
alids or f^^''^^ tile poet's meaning and intention is a iaUnre.'
3 Some of Goethe's voids appeared among Beichardt^s miscellaneous
songs aa early as 1