Schumann, Widmung

Background

Robert Schumann’s song “Widmung” (“Dedication”) is one of the great Romantic love songs, written in 1840 as part of the song collection Myrthen that he gave to Clara Wieck as a wedding present. It sets a poem by Friedrich Rückert in which the singer addresses the beloved as soul, heart, joy, pain, and “better self,” expressing the sense that love transforms and gives life meaning.

The song is essentially in ternary (ABA) form: an opening section of exuberant declaration, a contrasting middle section, and a transformed return.

The song is in A‑flat major, with a sweeping piano accompaniment of flowing arpeggios that supports a soaring vocal line from the very first phrase, “Du meine Seele, du mein Herz” (“You my soul, you my heart”). In the middle, the key shifts to E major, and the accompaniment becomes calmer and more chordal as the text speaks of the beloved as “my peace, my heaven,” giving the impression of stillness and consolation before the passionate opening music returns.

Franz Liszt later transcribed this song into a solo piano piece.

 

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Listening

Widmung

0:04  Stanza 1 – Ab major

Du meine Seele, du mein Herz,
Du meine Wonn’, o du mein Schmerz,
Du meine Welt, in der ich lebe,
Mein Himmel du, darein ich schwebe,
O du mein Grab, in das hinab
Ich ewig meinen Kummer gab!

You my soul, you my heart,
You my rapture, O you my pain,
You my world in which I live,
My heaven you, to which I aspire,
O you my grave, into which
My grief forever I’ve consigned!

0:36  Stanza 2 – E major

Du bist die Ruh, du bist der Frieden,
Du bist vom Himmel mir beschieden.
Dass du mich liebst, macht mich mir wert,
Dein Blick hat mich vor mir verklärt,
Du hebst mich liebend über mich,
Mein guter Geist, mein bess’res Ich!

You are repose, you are peace,
You are bestowed on me from heaven.
Your love for me gives me my worth,
Your eyes transfigure me in mine,
You raise me lovingly above myself,
My guardian angel, my better self!

1:27  Stanza 1 – Ab major (with minor alteration)

1:53  Postlude – Reference to Schubert's Ave Maria