In 1840 Schumann composed no fewer than 137 songs. While most of these are for solo voice and piano, a few are for two voices. Among these are the Vier Duette für Sopran und Tenor, Op. 34, published in 1841 by Klemm.

The four duets of Op. 34 feature a cohesive tonal plan in which the key of the first song, A major, seems to resolve onto that of the second song, in D minor. The third song returns to A major and is followed, by a piece not in D minor, but in the relative major of D minor—F major.

"Liebesgarten" (Love Garden), by Robert Reinick concerns a couple in whom, like the rose bush in their garden, blossoms love. Probably because the text contains many repeated words, Schumann elected to cast the song in a slightly varied strophic form. Somewhat old fashioned in tone, the voice parts generally move in thirds or sixths and occasionally one enters before the other.

"Liebhabers Ständchen" (Lover's Serenade) is by Robert Burns (1759-96), in a translation by Gerhard. A man asks a young woman to let him into her house so he may come out of a terrible storm. If he dies from exposure, it will be her fault. The woman does not trust him, thinking he has an ulterior motive, and refuses. The most interesting setting of the Op. 34 set, "Liebhabers Ständchen" features two independent voice part with different texts sounding simultaneously and coming together at dramatic high points. The amusing songs ends with multiple shouts of "nein!" from the woman.

"Unter'm Fenster" (Under the Window), also by Burns, opens with an unusual accent on the second eighth note of the 6/8 measure, disguising the bar line and surprising the listener when the soprano voice finally enters. The poem tells of another type of serenade in which the two voices alternate in a discussion of what will happen if the woman lets the man, waiting below her window, into her room. Forceful, falling motives mark the man's part, as the woman sings more uplifting motives, usually rising because she asks questions. A brief coda is necessary because the song does not end on the tonic, A major.

In "Familien-Gemälde" (Family Portraits), by A. Grun, a grandmother and grandfather, sitting in a garden, act so lovingly toward one another they seem like a much younger couple. Schumann inserts a few illustrative touches into the highly modified strophic song. For instance, at "uns blühten und klangen die Herzen" (our hearts blossom and ring out), the soprano and tenor begin a short canonic segment as their hearts chase after one another. When we are told the couple appear to be much younger than they are, the harmony moves from F major to a more solemn A flat major. Again, the piano has the last word.

© John Palmer, All Music Guide

2.Liebhabers Ständchen

The same year Robert Schumann composed "Liebhabers Ständchen," Op. 34/2 (Lover's Serenade) (1840), he wrote to his loving mate: "Oh, Clara, what bliss to write songs! Too long have I been a stranger to it, I have again composed so much that it sometimes seems quite uncanny." In this note, he humbly understated his production of the song cycles Op. 24, 25, 27, 29-31, 33-37, 39, 40, 42, 43, 45, 48, 49, 53, and 57, that when added with several other miscellaneous songs written that year, totaled over 130. "Liebhabers Ständchen" is the second of four poetic duets that make up the song cycle Vier Duette für Sopran und Tenor, Op. 34, and just one of 34 duets that he composed. This particular song, as well as the one that follows it in the cycle, are based on original poems by Robert Burns, which were freely adapted into German by Wilhelm Gerhard. The titles of the other songs are "Liebesgarten," Op. 34/1, by Robert Reinick, "Unter'm Fenster," Op. 34/3, also by Burns, and "Familien—Gemälde," Op. 34/4, by Grün. Of the two lofty, paramount Burns songs, Op. 34/2 is considered the most powerful, for its striking and independent vocal lines.

"Liebhabers Ständchen" was completed in Leipzig on July 2, 1840, very near to the time that he wed Clara Wieck. The duet was a junction of what Burns had intended to be two separate, but paired poems; O Lassie, Art Thou Sleeping Yet? and Her Answer. The poems were meant to be sung with the tune Let Me in This ae Night; however, Schumann created his own music and accentuated the drama by alternating the verses of the poems, neatly creating a dialogue. Similar to "Unter'm Fenster," the concept of overlapping is used to create a culminating climax by means of superimposing portions of the contrasting parts. "Liebhabers Ständchen" is once more comparable to its Burns counterpart in terms of plot, which is again based upon the male voice pleading to enter the woman's dwelling; in "Unter'm Fenster" she was nearly overtaken by the thought of their potential encounter, and in "Liebhabers Ständchen," she cautiously refuses to give in to his loving, convincing appeals to take shelter from the winter winds inside. "Liebhabers Ständchen" closes with the soprano memorably leaping through octaves as she repeats her earlier message of refusal "Ich öffne nicht!," with "Nein, nein, nein." This idyllically pensive song, with its expressive vocal lines, was not necessarily intended for social use; rather, it was most appropriately performed in the intimacy of a home. Similar to the 12-song cycle "Zwölf Gedichte," Op. 35, "Liebhabers Ständchen" was published in 1841 by Klemm, with the other three pieces that comprise Vier Duette für Sopran und Tenor. Nine years later, Schumann composed an additional group of duets under the same title as Op. 34, which included the poetry of Goethe, Hebbel, Kerner, and Rückert, and made unique use of expressive passing-notes and restless triplet figuration.

© Meredith Gailey, All Music Guide

3.Unter'm Fenster

Robert Schumann's "Unter'm Fenster Op. 34/3" (‘Under the Window') is the third of four poetic duets that make up the song cycle Vier Duette für Sopran und Tenor Op. 34. This particular song, as well as the one it follows, are based on original poems by Robert Burns, which were freely adapted into German by Wilhelm Gerhard. The titles of the other songs are "Liebesgarten Op. 34/1" by Robert Reinick, "Liebhabers Ständchen Op. 34/2" also by Burns and "Familien - Gemälde Op. 34/4" by Grün. "Unter'm Fenster" and its accompanying songs are just a few superb examples of the composer's 130 Lieder from the year 1840. Even though he was previously unsure of the genre's potential for profound expression, he obviously had a drastic change of heart. So powerful was his impact, that he literally rescued the genre from the increasingly common inclination to compose these types of works with triviality of musical invention and sentimentality of tone. With their carefully chosen texts and interpretations, the two Burns' songs are on a slightly higher level than the others, making them the very heart of the cycle. Even though listeners may miss the lilt of the Scottish dialect, Schumann effectively captures the text's meaning and feeling in these two songs.



As previously mentioned, "Unter'm Fenster" was written in 1840, a joyous year for Schumann, as a ban, which had prevented him from marrying Clara Wieck, was finally lifted. The piece was actually composed only days from the time he received the victorious news, thus, critics have wondered if duets, such as this one, which were intended for private, domestic performance, were inspired by the quiet time he and his finance spent discussing music. In the dialogue of "Unter'm Fenster" the tenor persuasively attempts to make his way into the soprano's bower, but she nervously mentions, entering over his cadence at the juncture of stanzas, what might happen if he were inside. His leaps suggest growing anticipation and excitement, which surmount with each crescendo. Schumann captured the humor and youthful passion of the verse in the vocal line, while allowing the piano to firmly carry the rhythm forward. Despite the song's subject matter, it was clearly not written for amateurs, as virtuosity is needed to master the passion of the dialogue. In addition, the vocalists should be skilled at interpretation and able to locate the passages that call for ritardando, as they are unmarked, but implied by the closely following "a tempo" notations.



After completing "Unter'm Fenster" and its accompanying songs, Robert Schumann began to set a group of six poems by Robert Reinick, for the cycle entitled Sechs Gedichte (1840). Of the four songs of Vier Duette für Sopran und Tenor, "Unter'm Fenster" has been one of the most popularly recorded and a 1939 performance by Lotte Lehmann and Lauritz Melchior can be heard on Romophone's label.

© Meredith Gailey, All Music Guide