A Poet's Love

Though some suppose that Schumann failed to get the gist of Heine's meaning, it seems more likely that his alterations of emphases­and at times even the words themselves­were intentional.¹² The cycle is a musical expression of his passion for Clara, at this point in early 1840 a relationship still in turmoil until September. Schumann had previously demonstrated in Leiderkreis (op.24) his capacity of marrying music and verse to bring out meanings more than the mere sum of the parts;¹³ now his composition reached new heights as he created a work a bit more personal.

"Im wunderschönen Monat Mai" begins the cycle with wistful memories of a past love, mirroring Schumann's own despair when it seemed Clara's love was becoming a hopeless dream. The verse is simple, clear and "rich in allusion," typical of Heine's art.¹⁴ The piece begins more or less in F minor, though the chord is only ever implied. The voice enters as if in a sad memory of a happier past, indicated by the key of A major for the reminiscence. Trailing off like an ellipsis, the chord ends on a C major chord, leaving the ear expecting more to come.

Heine meant the flowers and birdsong in "Aus meinen Tränen spreißen" merely figurative, but Schumann clearly thought of them more literally, indicated by the factual sense of the opening phrases. A feeling of wistfulness in the chromatic accompaniment in bars 12­14 offer a change in attitude from "if" to "if only." ¹⁵