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Songs Without Words

February 08, 2023

Not to be confused with Moonchild: Songs Without Words.

Songs Without Words (Lieder ohne Worte) is a series of short lyrical piano works by the Romantic composer Felix Mendelssohn written between 1829 and 1845. His sister, Fanny Mendelssohn, and other composers also wrote pieces in the same genre.

Music

The eight volumes of Songs Without Words, each consisting of six songs (Lieder), were written at various points throughout Mendelssohn's life and published separately. The piano became increasingly popular in Europe during the early nineteenth century, when it became a standard item in many middle-class households. The pieces are within the grasp of pianists of various abilities and this undoubtedly contributed to their popularity. This great popularity has caused many critics to under-rate their musical value.[citation needed]

The first volume was published by Novello in London (1832) as Original Melodies for the Pianoforte, but the later volumes used the title Songs Without Words.[1]

The works were part of the Romantic tradition of writing short lyrical pieces for the piano, although the specific concept of "Songs Without Words" was new. Mendelssohn's sister Fanny wrote a number of similar pieces (though not so entitled) and, according to some music historians, she may have helped inspire the concept. The title Song Without Words seems to have been Felix Mendelssohn's own invention. In 1828, Fanny wrote in a letter "My birthday was celebrated very nicely ... Felix has given me a 'song without words' for my album (he has lately written several beautiful ones)."[1]

Mendelssohn himself resisted attempts to interpret the songs too literally, and objected when his friend Marc-André Souchay sought to put words to them to make them literal "What the music I love expresses to me, is not thought too indefinite to put into words, but on the contrary, too definite". (Mendelssohn's own italics)[2] Mendelssohn also wrote other Songs Without Words not collected in volumes, and published only in recent years. Furthermore, original drafts exist for many of the 'Songs' many of which differ quite substantially from the eventually published versions.[3] In 2008, the Italian pianist Roberto Prosseda recorded a collection of Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words for Decca Records totalling 56 Lieder, some of them never recorded before.

Songs

The titles attributed to some of the songs below were given by Mendelssohn himself.[4] Other fanciful titles were given to certain of them by later publishers but have no authority and do not reflect any intention of the composer.

Book 1, Op. 19b (1829–30)

  1. Andante con moto (E major)
  2. Andante espressivo (A minor)
  3. Molto allegro e vivace (A major)
  4. Moderato (A major)
  5. Poco agitato (F♯ minor)
  6. Andante sostenuto: Venetianisches Gondellied ("Venetian Boat Song") (G minor)

Book 2, Op. 30 (1833–34)

 
Book 2, No. 6, "Venetian Boat Song No. 2"
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  1. Andante espressivo (E♭ major)
  2. Allegro di molto (B♭ minor)
  3. Adagio non troppo (E major)
  4. Agitato e con fuoco (B minor)
  5. Andante grazioso (D major)
  6. Allegretto tranquillo: Venetianisches Gondellied ("Venetian Boat Song") (F♯ minor)

Book 2 was dedicated to Elisa von Woringen.[5]

Song number 2 was written for his sister Fanny to celebrate the birth of her son in 1830.[1]

Book 3, Op. 38 (1836–37)

 
Book 3, No. 6, "Duetto"
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  1. Con moto (E♭ major)
  2. Allegro non troppo (C minor)
  3. Presto e molto vivace (E major)
  4. Andante (A major)
  5. Agitato (A minor)
  6. Andante con moto: Duetto ("Duet") (A♭ major)

Song number 6 was given the title Duetto by Mendelssohn, since two melodies were written to represent two singers. It was composed in Frankfurt in June 1836, soon after he had met his future wife.[1]

Book 3 was dedicated to Rosa von Woringen.[5]

Book 4, Op. 53 (1839–41)

 
Irving Berlin's ragtime take on Op. 62, No. 6
  1. Andante con moto (A♭ major)
  2. Allegro non troppo (E♭ major)
  3. Presto agitato (G minor)
  4. Adagio (F major)
  5. Allegro con fuoco: Volkslied ("Folksong") (A minor)
  6. Molto allegro vivace (A major)

Book 4 was dedicated to Sophia Horsley.[1]

Book 5, Op. 62 (1842–44)

 
Book 5, No. 3, "Funeral March"
Book 5, No. 4, "Morning Song"
Book 6, No. 4, "Spinner's Song"
Performed by Randolph Hokanson
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  1. Andante espressivo (G major)
  2. Allegro con fuoco (B♭ major)
  3. Andante maestoso: Trauermarsch ("Funeral march") (E minor)
  4. Allegro con anima (G major)
  5. Andante con moto: Venetianisches Gondellied ("Venetian Boat Song") (A minor)
  6. Allegretto grazioso: Frühlingslied ("Spring Song") (A major)

Song No. 6 "Spring Song" was also sometimes known in England as "Camberwell Green", being the place in London where Mendelssohn composed it while staying with the Benneckes, relatives of his wife.[1]

Book 5 was dedicated to Clara Schumann.[1]

Book 6, Op. 67 (1843–45)

  1. Andante (E♭ major)
  2. Allegro leggiero (F♯ minor)
  3. Andante tranquillo (B♭ major)
  4. Presto: Spinnerlied ("Spinner's Song") (C major)
  5. Moderato (B minor)
  6. Allegro non troppo (E major)

The Spinnerlied has also been given the nickname the "Bee's Wedding" since the busy accompaniment to the melody resembles the buzzing of bees.

Book 6 was dedicated to Sophie Rosen.[1]

Book 7, Op. 85 (1843–45)

  1. Andante espressivo (F major)
  2. Allegro agitato (A minor)
  3. Presto (E♭ major)
  4. Andante sostenuto (D major)
  5. Allegretto (A major)
  6. Allegretto con moto (B♭ major)

This book, and Book 8, were published posthumously.

Book 8, Op. 102 (1842–45)

  1. Andante un poco agitato (E minor)
  2. Adagio (D major)
  3. Presto (C major)
  4. Un poco agitato, ma andante (G minor)
  5. Allegro vivace (A major)
  6. Andante (C major)

Related works

A piece in D major for cello and piano, written by Mendelssohn around 1845 for cellist Lisa Cristiani, was published for the first time after his death. It was designated Opus 109 and entitled Song Without Words. It is not related to any of the piano pieces.[6] Cellist Carlos Prieto called the piece "an exquisite composition, worthy of the finest pieces Mendelssohn ever composed for this genre."[7]

A piece for piano in E minor by Mendelssohn was published after his death under Op. 117, entitled Albumblatt ("Album Leaf");[8] a further piece for piano by Mendelssohn was published after his death, without opus number, listed as WoO 10, titled Gondellied ("Gondola Song").[9] Some historians believe these to have been intended for another set of Songs Without Words.

Arrangements

Mendelssohn made piano duet arrangements of a number of the songs, namely those that became Book 5 and the first song of Book 6, which he presented to Queen Victoria in 1844.[10] Mendelssohn was also aware of arrangements of some of the earlier Lieder for piano duet by Carl Czerny.[11] Many others have made various arrangements of individual songs, including for orchestra, chamber ensemble, or solo instrument with piano accompaniment. One such example is the arrangement of 22 of the songs by Mendelssohn's student, the German violist Friedrich Hermann (1828–1907), for violin and piano.[12]

In 1834, Franz Liszt wrote his Grosses Konzertstück über Mendelssohns Lieder ohne Worte (Grand Concert Piece on Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words) for 2 pianos. This was based on songs 1–3 of Book I, Op. 19b.[13] Liszt and a student, Mlle. Vial, started to play it in Paris on 9 April 1835[14] but Liszt became ill during the performance. Ferruccio Busoni planned to play it in London with Egon Petri, but died before the plan could be realised. It was finally first performed in full by Richard and John Contiguglia at the 1984 Holland Liszt Festival in Utrecht.[15]

There are also examples of recordings of transcriptions, for solo instrument and piano accompaniment, of Mendelssohn lieder written for the voice, which have been entitled "Songs Without Words", for instance by Mischa Maisky. No such arrangements were however made, or so titled, by Mendelssohn himself.

By other composers

Fanny Mendelssohn's early collections of piano works opp. 2,6, and 8 are titled Lieder für das Pianoforte (Songs for the piano).

Other composers who were inspired to produce similar sets of pieces of their own included Charles-Valentin Alkan (the five sets of Chants, each ending with a barcarolle), Anton Rubinstein, Ignaz Moscheles and Edvard Grieg (his 66 Lyric Pieces). Two Songs Without Words (Op. 10) for piano were also written by Mykola Lysenko.

Both Alkan and Rubinstein frequently included items from Mendelssohn's Songs in their recitals. Ferruccio Busoni, who considered Mendelssohn "a master of undisputed greatness", turned to the Songs Without Words in the last year of his life for a projected series of recitals in London.

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Andrew Porter, Liner notes from Walter Gieseking recording, Angel 35428
  2. ^ Mendelssohn, (1864): letter to Marc-André Souchay of 15 October 1842 (pp. 271–272)
  3. ^ Some of these have now been published in the Urtext edition of Könemann Music (ISBN 3833113413)
  4. ^ see Todd (2003), 648.
  5. ^ a b Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed., 1954, Vol. V, p. 703, Felix Mendelssohn: Catalogue of Works
  6. ^ Stratton, Stephen Samuel (1910). Mendelssohn. J.M. Dent
  7. ^ Prieto, Carlos, Álvaro Mutis (translated by Elena C. Murray) (2011). The Adventures of a Cello: Revised Edition, with a New Epilogue. University of Texas Press, ISBN 9780292723931
  8. ^ Albumblatt, op. 117: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
  9. ^ Gondellied, WoO 10: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
  10. ^ Todd (2003), 474
  11. ^ Todd, (2003), 355
  12. ^ Strings Magazine on Hermann 2010-04-04 at the Wayback Machine, Naxos catalogue for a recording of the arrangements
  13. ^ Liszt Society Newsletter No. 70, June 1999[permanent dead link]
  14. ^ Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed, 1954, Vol. V, p. 286, Franz Liszt: Catalogue of Works
  15. ^ Richard and John Contiguglia, Duo-Pianists

References

  • Felix Mendelssohn, Letters, Philadelphia, 1864
  • R. Larry Todd, Mendelssohn: A Life in Music, Oxford, 2003.

External links

February 08, 2023
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Not to be confused with Moonchild Songs Without Words Songs Without Words Lieder ohne Worte is a series of short lyrical piano works by the Romantic composer Felix Mendelssohn written between 1829 and 1845 His sister Fanny Mendelssohn and other composers also wrote pieces in the same genre Contents 1 Music 1 1 Songs 1 1 1 Book 1 Op 19b 1829 30 1 1 2 Book 2 Op 30 1833 34 1 1 3 Book 3 Op 38 1836 37 1 1 4 Book 4 Op 53 1839 41 1 1 5 Book 5 Op 62 1842 44 1 1 6 Book 6 Op 67 1843 45 1 1 7 Book 7 Op 85 1843 45 1 1 8 Book 8 Op 102 1842 45 1 2 Related works 2 Arrangements 3 By other composers 4 Notes 5 References 6 External linksMusic EditThe eight volumes of Songs Without Words each consisting of six songs Lieder were written at various points throughout Mendelssohn s life and published separately The piano became increasingly popular in Europe during the early nineteenth century when it became a standard item in many middle class households The pieces are within the grasp of pianists of various abilities and this undoubtedly contributed to their popularity This great popularity has caused many critics to under rate their musical value citation needed The first volume was published by Novello in London 1832 as Original Melodies for the Pianoforte but the later volumes used the title Songs Without Words 1 The works were part of the Romantic tradition of writing short lyrical pieces for the piano although the specific concept of Songs Without Words was new Mendelssohn s sister Fanny wrote a number of similar pieces though not so entitled and according to some music historians she may have helped inspire the concept The title Song Without Words seems to have been Felix Mendelssohn s own invention In 1828 Fanny wrote in a letter My birthday was celebrated very nicely Felix has given me a song without words for my album he has lately written several beautiful ones 1 Mendelssohn himself resisted attempts to interpret the songs too literally and objected when his friend Marc Andre Souchay sought to put words to them to make them literal What the music I love expresses to me is not thought too indefinite to put into words but on the contrary too definite Mendelssohn s own italics 2 Mendelssohn also wrote other Songs Without Words not collected in volumes and published only in recent years Furthermore original drafts exist for many of the Songs many of which differ quite substantially from the eventually published versions 3 In 2008 the Italian pianist Roberto Prosseda recorded a collection of Mendelssohn s Songs Without Words for Decca Records totalling 56 Lieder some of them never recorded before Songs Edit The titles attributed to some of the songs below were given by Mendelssohn himself 4 Other fanciful titles were given to certain of them by later publishers but have no authority and do not reflect any intention of the composer Book 1 Op 19b 1829 30 Edit Andante con moto E major Andante espressivo A minor Molto allegro e vivace A major Moderato A major Poco agitato F minor Andante sostenuto Venetianisches Gondellied Venetian Boat Song G minor Book 2 Op 30 1833 34 Edit Book 2 No 6 Venetian Boat Song No 2 source source Problems playing this file See media help Andante espressivo E major Allegro di molto B minor Adagio non troppo E major Agitato e con fuoco B minor Andante grazioso D major Allegretto tranquillo Venetianisches Gondellied Venetian Boat Song F minor Book 2 was dedicated to Elisa von Woringen 5 Song number 2 was written for his sister Fanny to celebrate the birth of her son in 1830 1 Book 3 Op 38 1836 37 Edit Book 3 No 6 Duetto source source Problems playing this file See media help Con moto E major Allegro non troppo C minor Presto e molto vivace E major Andante A major Agitato A minor Andante con moto Duetto Duet A major Song number 6 was given the title Duetto by Mendelssohn since two melodies were written to represent two singers It was composed in Frankfurt in June 1836 soon after he had met his future wife 1 Book 3 was dedicated to Rosa von Woringen 5 Book 4 Op 53 1839 41 Edit Irving Berlin s ragtime take on Op 62 No 6 Andante con moto A major Allegro non troppo E major Presto agitato G minor Adagio F major Allegro con fuoco Volkslied Folksong A minor Molto allegro vivace A major Book 4 was dedicated to Sophia Horsley 1 Book 5 Op 62 1842 44 Edit Book 5 No 3 Funeral March source source Book 5 No 4 Morning Song source source Book 6 No 4 Spinner s Song source source Performed by Randolph Hokanson Problems playing these files See media help Andante espressivo G major Allegro con fuoco B major Andante maestoso Trauermarsch Funeral march E minor Allegro con anima G major Andante con moto Venetianisches Gondellied Venetian Boat Song A minor Allegretto grazioso Fruhlingslied Spring Song A major Song No 6 Spring Song was also sometimes known in England as Camberwell Green being the place in London where Mendelssohn composed it while staying with the Benneckes relatives of his wife 1 Book 5 was dedicated to Clara Schumann 1 Book 6 Op 67 1843 45 Edit Andante E major Allegro leggiero F minor Andante tranquillo B major Presto Spinnerlied Spinner s Song C major Moderato B minor Allegro non troppo E major The Spinnerlied has also been given the nickname the Bee s Wedding since the busy accompaniment to the melody resembles the buzzing of bees Book 6 was dedicated to Sophie Rosen 1 Book 7 Op 85 1843 45 Edit Andante espressivo F major Allegro agitato A minor Presto E major Andante sostenuto D major Allegretto A major Allegretto con moto B major This book and Book 8 were published posthumously Book 8 Op 102 1842 45 Edit Andante un poco agitato E minor Adagio D major Presto C major Un poco agitato ma andante G minor Allegro vivace A major Andante C major Related works Edit A piece in D major for cello and piano written by Mendelssohn around 1845 for cellist Lisa Cristiani was published for the first time after his death It was designated Opus 109 and entitled Song Without Words It is not related to any of the piano pieces 6 Cellist Carlos Prieto called the piece an exquisite composition worthy of the finest pieces Mendelssohn ever composed for this genre 7 A piece for piano in E minor by Mendelssohn was published after his death under Op 117 entitled Albumblatt Album Leaf 8 a further piece for piano by Mendelssohn was published after his death without opus number listed as WoO 10 titled Gondellied Gondola Song 9 Some historians believe these to have been intended for another set of Songs Without Words Arrangements EditMendelssohn made piano duet arrangements of a number of the songs namely those that became Book 5 and the first song of Book 6 which he presented to Queen Victoria in 1844 10 Mendelssohn was also aware of arrangements of some of the earlier Lieder for piano duet by Carl Czerny 11 Many others have made various arrangements of individual songs including for orchestra chamber ensemble or solo instrument with piano accompaniment One such example is the arrangement of 22 of the songs by Mendelssohn s student the German violist Friedrich Hermann 1828 1907 for violin and piano 12 In 1834 Franz Liszt wrote his Grosses Konzertstuck uber Mendelssohns Lieder ohne Worte Grand Concert Piece on Mendelssohn s Songs Without Words for 2 pianos This was based on songs 1 3 of Book I Op 19b 13 Liszt and a student Mlle Vial started to play it in Paris on 9 April 1835 14 but Liszt became ill during the performance Ferruccio Busoni planned to play it in London with Egon Petri but died before the plan could be realised It was finally first performed in full by Richard and John Contiguglia at the 1984 Holland Liszt Festival in Utrecht 15 There are also examples of recordings of transcriptions for solo instrument and piano accompaniment of Mendelssohn lieder written for the voice which have been entitled Songs Without Words for instance by Mischa Maisky No such arrangements were however made or so titled by Mendelssohn himself By other composers EditFanny Mendelssohn s early collections of piano works opp 2 6 and 8 are titled Lieder fur das Pianoforte Songs for the piano Other composers who were inspired to produce similar sets of pieces of their own included Charles Valentin Alkan the five sets of Chants each ending with a barcarolle Anton Rubinstein Ignaz Moscheles and Edvard Grieg his 66 Lyric Pieces Two Songs Without Words Op 10 for piano were also written by Mykola Lysenko Both Alkan and Rubinstein frequently included items from Mendelssohn s Songs in their recitals Ferruccio Busoni who considered Mendelssohn a master of undisputed greatness turned to the Songs Without Words in the last year of his life for a projected series of recitals in London Notes Edit a b c d e f g h Andrew Porter Liner notes from Walter Gieseking recording Angel 35428 Mendelssohn 1864 letter to Marc Andre Souchay of 15 October 1842 pp 271 272 Some of these have now been published in the Urtext edition of Konemann Music ISBN 3833113413 see Todd 2003 648 a b Grove s Dictionary of Music and Musicians 5th ed 1954 Vol V p 703 Felix Mendelssohn Catalogue of Works Stratton Stephen Samuel 1910 Mendelssohn J M Dent Prieto Carlos Alvaro Mutis translated by Elena C Murray 2011 The Adventures of a Cello Revised Edition with a New Epilogue University of Texas Press ISBN 9780292723931 Albumblatt op 117 Scores at the International Music Score Library Project Gondellied WoO 10 Scores at the International Music Score Library Project Todd 2003 474 Todd 2003 355 Strings Magazine on Hermann Archived 2010 04 04 at the Wayback Machine Naxos catalogue for a recording of the arrangements Liszt Society Newsletter No 70 June 1999 permanent dead link Grove s Dictionary of Music and Musicians 5th ed 1954 Vol V p 286 Franz Liszt Catalogue of Works Richard and John Contiguglia Duo PianistsReferences EditFelix Mendelssohn Letters Philadelphia 1864 R Larry Todd Mendelssohn A Life in Music Oxford 2003 External links EditLieder ohne Worte Book 1 Op 19b Book 2 Op 30 Book 3 Op 38 Book 4 Op 53 Book 5 Op 62 Book 6 Op 67 Book 7 Op 85 Book 8 Op 102 Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Songs Without Words amp oldid 1118181254 Book 5 2C Op 62 281842 E2 80 931844 29, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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