Schumann, Robert

This manuscript would appear to be part of Schumann’s first draft for one of his greatest song-cycles, celebrated for the Romantic circumstances of its composition.

The early composition drafts for No.5 “Schöne Wiege Meiner Leiden”, no.6 “Warte, warte, wilder Schiffsmann”, no.7 “Berg und Burgen schau’n herunter” and no.9, “Mit Myrthen und Rosen”, the vocal line and the words for the four songs throughout, lacking the last eight bars of the vocal line of the final song, diverging frequently from the final version, with a few sketches for the piano accompaniments on separate systems, notated in brown ink on up to twelve staves per page, with many deletions, revised passages, corrections and alterations throughout, and with a presentation inscription signed by Clara Schumannon the left margin of the first page (“Handschrift Robert Schumanns an Frau Dr Spiess von Clara Schumann, Frkf. a/M Dec: 1882”)



4 pages, oblong 4to, 12-stave paper, uncut, no place or date, [Leipzig, February 1840]

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

In February 1840, Schumann suddenly turned to song-writing after having devoted himself almost exclusively to music for piano solo. It was during the month of February that Schumann composed some of his most famous songs at the rate of about one a day: they include the twenty-six songs of Myrthen Op.25 and the nine setting of Heine in Liederkreis Op.24, which were completed by 24 February. In his letters to Clara Wieck at this time, Schumann wrote about his almost compulsive compositional activity and the great joy he felt. In all, he composed about one hundred and forty songs during 1840. This sudden burst of song-writing was inextricably linked with Schumann’s struggle to secure Clara’s hand in marriage: suddenly the piano no longer seemed enough to express his romantic and musical ideas. On 26 January 1840 Clara’s father Friedrich Wieck had submitted a legal denunciation of Schumann to the court of appeal, which he also published. However, the court’s decisions tended to favour the composer, who issued a refutation of Wieck’s allegations on 13 February and who finally married Clara in September.

The manuscript is remarkable for its evidence that Schumann’s immediate concern was in setting the poetry and not in devising a piano accompaniment. Schumann’s songs are usually noted for the importance of the piano part; indeed his vocal lines have often been criticized for following the top line of the piano part too closely. Here however, the vocal lines for the four songs are notated almost complete, albeit later revised throughout. Moreover, Schumann has almost always written out the words along with the first draft of the vocal line; only in a few revised passages, and at the end of the last song, is the voice notated without the words. Of the piano accompaniments, however, we have here only a recognizable draft of that for “Burg und Burgen” and sketches, later rejected, for ‘Schöne Wieg” and for “Warte, warte, wilder Schiffsman”. There is no accompaniment sketch present for the final song, ‘Mit Myrthen und Rosen”, which lacks the ending of the vocal line. The sketch of these missing eight bars seems to have been continued on a leaf now at the Berlin Staatsbibliothek, Mus. ms. Autogr. Schumann 36 no.4 (see Linda Correll Roesner, ‘Studies in Schumann Manuscripts’, unpublished PhD dissertation, New York University, 1973, p.424).