Short but remarkably vivid, "Die beiden Grenadiere," Op. 49/1 (The Two Grenadiers), from Romanzen und Balladen II, Op. 49, is one of Robert Schumann's most famous songs. Its text is derived from Heine's Die Grenadiere, which details his witness in Düsseldorf to the return of the French prisoners of war from Russia. It is a narrative account of a grenadier's confession of dedication to his captured Emperor. After Schumann's "Taucher" and "Einsamkeit" were criticized for containing too many characters, a complicated plot, and, like "Belsatzar," an abundance of musical motifs, the composer chose to limit himself to a single theme in "Die beiden Grenadiere." This decision, paired with the song's rich musical expression, gave it an uncommon edge. Its form is through-composed and its patterns are lyrically developed, strophic and marchlike. Schumann was fond of the "Marseillaise," the French national anthem, and included it near the end of the song to invoke a sense of victory. However, after a recollection of the grenadier's promise to offer defense beyond the grave, the piano postlude somberly closes the work. Even though Wagner's setting of the French version of the same poem won him royal accolade, his use of the "Marseillaise," also in the finale, was not nearly as distinguished as Schumann's.

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2.Die feindlichen Brüder

Written in April 1840 and placed in Romanzen und Balladen, Vol. II, Op. 49, Die feindlichen Brüder, Op. 49/2 (The Fighting Brothers), is a simple setting of Heine's sarcastic poem about two men who compete to the death for the hand of the lovely Countess Laura. Plummeting to its lowest range, the piano foreshadows the tragic fate of both swordsmen in a one-bar flourish before the voice enters. The vocal line pulsates as it enters, as though nervously supplied with adrenaline. After an intense description of the scene, a long fermata creates a gentle transition to the delicately quiet second verse. This, the work's first legato section (a contrast to the agitated staccatos of the preceding verse), helps illustrate the maiden's demure character and explains why the two men are dueling. The third verse loudly recalls the first as it details the pitiful double killing; the fourth and last verse is a whisper-like description of the eerie feeling that saturates the haunted valley at midnight. Past the grave, hatred lives in the brothers' hearts; the violent clashing of their swords continues to be heard in the chords and crescendo of the forte postlude.

© Meredith Gailey, All Music Guide