Singing Schumann

Singing Schumann is likely to become the standard introduction to some of the best-loved songs in the singer's repertoire. Written by a distinguished performer and internationally known teacher, the book offers astute, practical advice for bringing Robert Schumann's Lieder to life in performance. Richard Miller guides the reader through the interpretation of all of Schumann's solo and duet songs, drawing thoroughly on Schumann's compositional style and its historical background. In addition to covering the "familiar forty"--the much-performed songs Schumann composed in and around 1840 while trying to win the hand of Clara Wieck--Miller takes an in-depth look at the lesser known early and later songs. In particular, he focuses on the rich and varied repertoire of Schumann's later years, challenging the conventional view that these works reflect a decline in the composer's creative powers. Singing Schumann begins with an overview of Schumann as a song composer and then proceeds to survey the entire repertoire, song by song. It features the well-known cycles, including the Eichendorff Liederkreis, Frauenliebe und -leben, and Dichterliebe, as well as the Liederalbum für die Jugend and settings of texts by Goethe, Burns, Rückert, and Kulmann. Using numerous musical examples, Miller uncovers Schumann's characteristic compositional devices and describes his novel and experimental approaches to the interpretation of texts, often achieved through exceptionally colorful keyboard accompaniments. Musically sensitive and eminently readable, Singing Schumann is an invaluable guide for teachers, coaches, pianists, and singers.

Offering practical suggestions for the interpretation of all Schumann's solo and duet songs, this text provides for singers and pianists perspectives which can be used to bring to life the work of the German composer.

The complete songs of Schumann rendered into IPA and word-for-word English translations.

(Amadeus). Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, one of today's great interpreters of vocal music, examines Schumann's life in relation to his entire vocal oeuvre. The songs, his only opera, Genoveva , his secular oratorios, the Scenes from Goethe's Faust, Manfred , and the Mass and Requiem are all given careful consideration, with suggestions for interpretation. HARDCOVER.

Arguably no other 19th-century German composer was as literate or as finely attuned to setting verse as Robert Schumann. Finson challenges assumptions about Schumann’s Lieder, engaging traditionally held interpretations. Arranged in part thematically, rather than by strict compositional chronology, this book speaks to the heart of Schumann’s music.