Often referred to as "the year of the song" in Schumann's life, the year 1840 saw the completion of at least 137 songs, including the famous Op. 39 Liederkreis, Dichterliebe (Op. 48), and Frauenliebe und -leben (A Woman's Love and Life), written to poems of Adalbert von Chamisso. Schumann's impending marriage to Clara Wieck (1819-1896)—hard won after a long legal battle with her father—was largely the inspiration for his burst of creativity; this seems especially clear in the case of Frauenliebe und -leben, which takes as its subject the earnest devotion of a wife and mother.

Schumann arranged the songs to represent something of a story, covering different stages of a woman's life. Seit ich ihn gesehen (Since I First Saw Him) introduces us to the focal point of the song cycle—the man whom the protagonist desires. Without having him, everything around her seems drab and lifeless, and she does not want to mingle even with her sisters. Schumann illustrates the darkness of her world by a descending seventh on "tiefstem" (deepest) near the end of the first verse. Schumann would later quote the final three measures of the song in the slow movement of his Symphony No. 1.

In Er, der Herrlichste von allen (He the most Glorious of All) we learn that the subject of her affections is kind and good, and that the woman feels unworthy of him. Constant eighth note chords, played at a lively tempo, seem to adopt the excited character of a breathless heartbeat. Beginning without introduction, Ich kann's nicht fassen, nicht glauben (I Cannot Grasp or Believe It) reveals that the man has chosen her; Staccato chords punctuate her excitement as the key moves from C minor to C major. By the time the woman sings the next song, Du Ring an meinem Finger (You, Ring on my Finger), she has become more confident and certain of her place in the world. She presses the engagement ring to her lips and, as Schumann directs that the tempo increase, says that she will "serve, him, live for him, belong to him completely."

Helf mir, ihr Schwestern (Help Me, Sisters), depicts wedding-day preparations; after her sisters dress her, the woman bids them farewell. In "Süsser Freund" (Sweet Friend), the woman tries to tell her new husband that she is expecting his child. As the piano conveys her excitement, she finally tells him that one day, his image will look up at her; in An meinem Herzen, an meiner Brust (On my Heart, on my Breast), the new mother rocks her baby to Schumann's rolling accompaniment. As she hugs the child, the arpeggios become chords.

The overwhelmingly positive and hopeful atmosphere of the cycle changes drastically in Nun has du mir den ersten Schmerz getan (Now You Have Hurt Me for the First Time). The D major of the previous song gives way to a somber D minor as the woman looks upon her now-dead husband, the vocal line becoming increasingly lower. The song closes with a solo piano quotation of the first song; however, the return is fittingly incomplete. The abrupt tragedy of this last song leaves the cycle somewhat poetically unbalanced, but this is clearly part of Schumann's conception. The death of her husband is sudden, unforeseen, and without cause; the end of the cycle is equally unprepared.

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2.Er, der Herrlichste von allen

Written in 1840, "Er, der Herrlichste von allein," Op. 42/2 (He, the Most Glorious of All), is the second song in Robert Schumann's cycle Frauenliebe und -leben, Op. 42 (Woman's Love and Life). That cycle is based on Chamisso's Frauenliebe, a tender account of one woman's only romantic relationship. In this particular song the protagonist is still a young girl, reverently praising all of the admirable qualities of a man who has unknowingly captured her attention and fondness. She is in fact much like Schumann's fiancée, Clara Wieck. The work's spirited rhythm and unaffected jubilation stand in strong contrast with the subdued tone of the preceding song, "Seit ich ihn gesehen," Op. 42/1. Furthermore, it is a perfect expression of Romantic fervor with its merry little ornamental turn, pleasant broad melodic sway, and enthusiastic accompaniment. The piano part is so animated that when it takes its own direction, the singer must have good vocal command in order to provide proper balance. Its themes move gently in modest intervals signifying the girl's acquiescence and devotion to the man she secretly adores. While passing through many keys, "Er, der Herrlichste von allein" captures the essential emotions of the entire cycle: adoration and idealization.

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4.Du Ring an meinem Finger

Written in 1840, "Du Ring an meinem Finger Op. 42/4" is the fourth composition in Robert Schumann's Frauenliebe und -leben Op. 42 (‘Woman's Love and Life') and marks a turning point in the development of the cycle's storyline. The mature wording in this song indicates that the girl has grown into a woman and her courtship has developed into an engagement. When Schumann was composing the work, he was able to relate to the protagonist, because he was simultaneously envisioning his life with his future wife, Clara Wieck.



This deeply serious, inward song, marked "inning" by Schumann, passes through three short stages. After the woman surveys what were once only childhood dreams, she returns to her present surroundings to contemplate her ring as a symbol of new life. Moving modestly through the song's melodic sequence, with a stepwise walking motion that marks her transition from adolescence to maturity, she remarks, "You ring on my finger, then you began to teach me, you opened my eyes to the infinite, deep value of life." The pace quickens and the pitch rises to imply a devotional upward glance, as she states, "I want to serve him, live for him, belong to him completely, to sacrifice myself and find myself transfigured." When the climax passes, the first theme is revived and a final cadence of unprecedented satisfaction is heard. Although the text of the song could be perceived as sentimental and elitist, the fact that it was written by Chamisso, a revolutionary whose aims included the rights of women, suggests that it was probably meant to be compassionate and emancipatory. After the woman privately meditates in "Du Ring an meinem Finger", she contrastively seeks the company of her sisters on her wedding day in "Helft mir, ihr Schwestern Op. 42/5".

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6.Süßer Freund, du blickest

The young protagonist of Robert Schumann's cycle Frauenliebe und -leben Op. 42 (‘Woman's Love and Life') is portrayed as an adolescent for the first three songs, then as a maturing woman, and in the sixth tune, "Süßer Freund, du blickest Op. 42/6" (‘Dearest One, You Look at Me'), her character gains an additional dimension when her maternity is revealed. The song was written in 1840, shortly before Schumann married Clara Wieck and approximately one year before the birth of Marie, the first of their eight children. Setting all but one of Chamisso's original verses to music, Schumann used a three-part form to maintain the text's unity. Despite the composition's interpretative challenges, the recitative-like voice line, heard over static harmonies, results in one of his most musical lines. The opening section demands great vocal restraint, because it is with tears of happiness that the woman quietly shares her secret expectation with her husband. To depict the intimacy of their tender, discreet exchange, the voice is silent and the piano plays an eloquent interlude following the words, "I shall whisper all my pleasure in your ear." In the minor key, the passionate second section exposes the scope of the woman's emotions as the tempo becomes more animated and the melody soars into an expressive flight of limitless adoration. A revival of the beginning completes the formal structure of the song, preceding a brief, upbeat piano postlude and the closing words "your likeness!" The couple's relationship deepens when the child appears in the successive song, "An meinem Herzen, an meiner Brust Op. 42/7".

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