Bundestag dances

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The Bundestag Dances , Op. 6, are a two-part piano cycle by Robert Schumann , each consisting of nine character pieces . The work is dedicated to Walther Wolfgang von Goethe .

expenditure

First edition: Published in January 1838 by AR Friese, Leipzig.

Second edition (revised edition): Issue 1 published in September, Issue 2 in December 1850 by J. Schuberth & Co., Hamburg, Leipzig and New York.

History of origin

Robert Schumann wrote 19 pieces, the last of which remained incomplete. The work was written in the two months after his engagement to Clara Wieck on August 14, 1837. In the first piece he quotes in the motto of CW , a motif from Mazurka No. 5 from her Soirées musicales op. 6. He speaks to her of wedding thoughts that he has processed into the pieces. But to his friend Carl Montag about "death dances, Vitus dances , graces and goblin dances". These opposites can also be found in the first edition. The musical text is preceded by the following poem:

Old saying:

In all and every time
pleasure and suffering are linked:
Remain pious in pleasure and be ready for
suffering with courage

Schumann's pseudonyms Florestan and Eusebius also play an important role in this edition. The two characters symbolize his dual role in the fictional Davidic League , which is also the namesake for this cycle. In it Florestan is the "roaring, exuberant storm-runner". Eusebius forms the opposite pole as “the gentle young man who always remains modest in the background”. In the first edition the pieces are headed either with “Florestan and Eusebius” or with just one of the two names. In the revised edition, the pseudonyms as well as the "old saying" and the dance term have been deleted.

Performances

Schumann himself played the Davidsbündlertänze in the spring of 1838. The first documented public performance of the complete cycle took place on March 15, 1869 in Budapest. There Johannes Brahms played the pieces at a concert by the singer Julius Stockhausen .

Piece names

The individual untitled pieces have the following tempo indications, keys and attributions (in the first edition):

  1. Lively (Vivace), G major, Florestan and Eusebius;
  2. Heartfelt (Con intimo sentimento), B minor, Eusebius;
  3. Something hahnbüchen (Un poco impetuoso) (1st arrangement), With Humor (Con umore) (2nd arrangement), G major, Florestan;
  4. Impatient (Con impazienza), B minor, Florestan;
  5. Easy (Semplice), D major, Eusebius;
  6. Very quickly and inwardly (Molto vivo, con intimo fervore) (1st version), Very quickly (Molto vivo) (2nd version), D minor, Florestan;
  7. Not fast with extremely strong sensation (Non presto profondamente espressivo) (1st arrangement), Not fast (Non presto) (2nd arrangement), G minor, Eusebius
  8. Frisch (Con freschezza), C minor, Florestan;
  9. No tempo indication (tempo indication 1/4 = 126) (1st arrangement), Lively (Vivace) (2nd arrangement), C major, Florestan;
  10. Ballad-like very quickly (Alla ballata molto vivo) (1st arrangement), ("Very" and "Molto" are capitalized in the 2nd arrangement), D minor (ends in major), Florestan
  11. Simple (Semplice), B minor - D major, Eusebius;
  12. With humor (Con umore), B minor - E minor and E major, Florestan;
  13. Wild and Funny (Selvaggio e gaio), B minor and B major, Florestan and Eusebius;
  14. Tender and singing (Dolce e cantando), E flat major, Eusebius;
  15. Frisch (Con freschezza), B flat major - a little more agitated (poco piu mosso), E flat major (the return to the opening sequence is optional), Florestan and Eusebius;
  16. With good humor (Con buon umore) (in the 2nd arrangement, "Con umore"), G major - a little slower (Un poco più lento), B minor; goes into without a break
  17. As if from afar (Come da lontano), B major and B minor (contains a complete repetition of No. 2), Florestan and Eusebius;
  18. Not fast (Non presto), C major, Eusebius.

swell

  • David Ewen, Encyclopedia of Concert Music . New York; Hill and Wang, 1959.
  • Robert Schumann, Complete Piano Works, Volume I, edited by Clara Schumann, originally published by Breitkopf & Härtel.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Margit McCorkle: Robert Schumann - Thematic-Bibliographical Catalog of Works. G. Henle Verlag, Munich 2003, pp. 24-27.
  2. ^ Letter of October 20, 1837. In: Letters NF. 1904, p. 102.
  3. ^ Robert Schumann: Davidsbündlertänze. 1st edition. Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig 1887, p. 2.
  4. ↑ Friedrich Gustav Jansen: The Davidsbündler. Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig 1883, reprinted by Dr. Martin Sendet oHG., Wallauf near Wiesbaden 1973, p. 19.
  5. ↑ Hans Joachim Köhler: Davidsbündlertänze, 18 character pieces for piano op. 6. In: Helmut Loos (Ed.): Robert Schumann - interpretations of his works. Laaber, Laaber 2005, pp. 32-41 (volume 1).
  6. ^ Margit McCorkle: Robert Schumann - Thematic-Bibliographical Catalog of Works. Henle, Munich 2003, p. 24.

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