Schumann wrote many of his first songs to Kerner's poetry when he was just 17, and in May 1840, his most prolific year, he began to think about writing settings for other Kerner texts, writing this cycle in November and December.

Even though written during a happy time in his life, its dominant emotions are longing and grief rather than contentedness. The fifth song, Sehnsucht nach der Waldgegend, (Longing for the forests) expresses an almost aching yearning with its arching vocal phrases, which rise in longing and fall back dejected and unappeased, and with the quiet resignation of the piano chords as the vocal lines become more earth-bound, murmuring rather than exclaiming. (This song was one of Clara's favorites.) The tenth, Stille Traneni, (Silent weeping) is one of his most passionate expressions, with its outbursts of grief shared between voice and piano. However, in the sixth song, Auf das Trinkglas eines verstorbenen Freundes, (To the drinking glass of a dead friend) the loss is sublimated in mystical thoughts, expressed with a sonority reminiscent of Mozart's Masonic music, and the seventh, Wanderung, is one of his most effectively jubilant pieces, comparable to An meinem Herzen from Frauenliebe und Leben, with an easy melodiousness that shows no signs of forcing, and where there are no hints of impending grief.

In the second song, when the woman prays with the words of the title Sterb, Lieb' und Freund (Die, love and joy), the music uses a refrain from the final chorale from St. John Passion, an allusion to Schumann's attendence at a performance of Bach's work earlier in the year. The first song, Lust der Sturmnacht, (The joy of a stormy night), is noteworthy for the masterful way that it maintains a musical consistency while remaining faithful to the text. It opens with pounding chords from the piano and an equally turbulent vocal line, vividly painting the image of the storm. When the text's mood changes to describe the joy of being indoors with a loved one, the music becomes softer and the key changes suddenly, but the rhythm continues the pounding effect. This way, the effect of the storm is maintained, emphasizing the sense of the poem. However, a similar textual transition in the third song, Wanderlied, is less successfully carried out; the change is as sudden as that in the first song, but here it jars somewhat.

Another point of interest is in the concluding two songs, Wer machte dic so krank? and Alte Laute (Who made you so ill? and Old sounds), in which he uses the exact same melody for two different poems. This presents a challenge to performers, who must provide two different interpretations of the same music, to fit the different texts and moods.

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3.Wanderlied ('Wohlauf! noch getrunken den funkelnden Wein!')

Also known as "Wanderlust" in some of Robert Schumann's editions, "Wanderlied," Op. 35/3 (Song of Travel), of Zwölf Gedichte, Op. 35, is a spirited and vigorous "Florestan" song for men's voices. Based on one of Kerner's best-known poems, it expresses an appreciation of the social atmosphere that precede farewells. The poetic focus was on the protagonist's love for and acceptance of the frontier, but in the song Schumann created a heavy attachment to home by repeating the farewell (he allowed this eight-bar theme to dominate nearly half the song). Filled with dynamic variation, the "sehr lebhaft" (very lively) work contains notes that are brisk with energetic support and enthusiasm. It opens with a fanfare; moves to an intriguing, mellow D flat middle section, which contains recollections of the protagonist's homeland and Schubert's Wanderer Fantasy, Op. 15 (1822); and closes with a light conclusion and playful postlude. This song and "Erstes Grün," Op. 35/4, were at one time considered the most popular selections of the cycle.

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4.Erstes Grün ('Du junges Grün, du frisches Gras!')

Like so many of Robert Schumann's songs of 1840, "Erstes Grün," Op. 35/4 (First Green), is best known for its piano part, most specifically for its characteristic preludes that contrast both Kerner's text and the minor mode of the vocal stanzas. Originally named "Frühlingskur" (Taking the Spring Cure), Schumann chose to create a less medicinal title for his setting. This delicate and sustained song of longing and celebration welcomes the arrival of spring greens that heal a heart made ill by humankind and the barren winter. It simultaneously reveals both the poet and composer's deep love of nature. Marked "Einfach" (simply), its third verse of the vocal line is a slight variation of the first two, which are melodically identical. The song contains ritardando markings and a humble G minor melody, reminiscent of Schubert. This work and its succeeding song, "Sehnsucht nach der Waldgegend," Op. 35/5, stretch the technical expertise of the pianist in much the same way. "Erstes Grün" is frequently recorded with all of its accompanying songs of Zwölf Gedichte, Op. 35.

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5.Sehnsucht nach der Waldgegend

Written in 1841, although the transcript is dated 1840, Robert Schumann's "Sehnsucht nach der Waldgegend" (Longing for the Woods), from Zwölf Gedichte, Op. 35, tells of a poet who erupts with a touching nostalgic song when overtaken by the inspiration he receives from nature. Based on a poem by Kerner, many of the phrases of this "Innig, phantastisch" (tender, imaginative) song were similar to those found in Brahms' compositions. Schumann musically created a picture of the text; the sound of the stream is implied by the piano's rolling sixteenth notes that extend across both staves, and the separation between the protagonist and nature is implied by the fading final measures. Because the intangible harmonies evade the work's basic tonality, it is important that the vocalist's short notes are held a bit longer than written to guarantee accuracy of mood. One of the work's weaknesses is its clumsily accented words, an effect of the arioso vocal line. The key and the vocal melody of the first two measures reappeared in Brahms' "Alte Liebe," Op. 72/1 (1876 - 1877).

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9.Frage

With a penetratingly mysterious charisma, "Frage," Op. 35/9 (Question), shares the key of E flat major and many melodic characteristics with the song it follows in Zwölf Gedichte, Op. 35, "Stille Liëbe," Op. 35/8. Showing that poetic equivalents could be expressed in music, Robert Schumann used the dominant chord to depict interrogation. The slow and sustained setting of Kerner's verse has a lively vocal line that jumps buoyantly in large intervals through the treble clef, while showing appreciation for the healing qualities of the evening sky, woodland greens, and birdsong. In the first 12 measures, the last bar of each four-measure grouping concludes with a crescendo, and in the last 13, with a ritardando. Essentially, the piano part alternates the same two-bar rhythm until it reaches the final five bars, where it changes to assist the vocalist in expressing the song's most profound emotions. Schumann revised the work on several occasions and made a new copy of it as a gift for Pauline Viardot-Garcia in 1847.

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10.Stille Tränen

Considered one of Robert Schumann's most interesting and lyrical works, "Stille Tränen," Op. 35/10 (Quiet Tears), is considered a "singer's song." Meant to be performed with strong emotion, this expansive work places high demands on the breath and the high voice of the soprano, who is given greater power than the piano. Even though the work is based on only one motif, the soaring melodies and portamento offer the vocalist great interpretive opportunities. The composer wrote "sehr langsam" (very slow) to assure a proper performance of Kerner's text, which explains that the sorrow of men is released through their tears at night and depicts one wanderer's longing for union with nature. In the Romantic weaving of themes at the end, the vocal line's final melodic cadence is elided by a deceptive cadence in the piano. Portions of the closing were recalled in "Meine Rose," Op. 90/2, and used to supplement Schumann's other works. For its euphoric emotion and many highlights, "Stille Tränen" is considered the climax of Zwölf Gedichte, Op. 35.

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11.Wer machte dich so krank? ('Dass du so krank geworden')

In 1840, Robert Schumann did something unheard-of when he wrote two songs that were, with the exception of their lyrics, nearly identical. The songs, "Wer machte dich so krank?" Op. 35/11 (Who Made You So Ill), and "Alte Laute," Op. 35/12, were the last two works of the Zwölf Gedichte, Op. 35, cycle and formed a "double song." Written for baritone, the latter work expresses Kerner's own assertion that it is not the generosity of nature that causes man's ills, but rather, interactions with fellow men. These 28 slow, soft measures contain a vocal melody that moves in small steps and becomes slower at the words "Kein Schlummern und kein Traümen" (It was no slumber and no dreaming). Its elongated suspensions, insistent crescendos, and nervous harmonies imply alarm and create a desire for well being. In "Alte Laute" the protagonist divulges that the absence of a friend has caused her ailment, confirming the statement of the prior song. "Wer machte dich so krank?" is not often recorded apart from the other songs of Zwölf Gedichte.

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12.Alte Laute ('Hörst du den Vogel singen?')

Although dialogues within Schumann's songs are common, they rarely occur between them, as heard in the final two songs of Zwölf Gedichte, Op. 35. In these works, Schumann made a single two-verse song by repeating almost the entire piano part and reusing the same basic vocal melody of "Wer machte dich so krank?" Op. 35/11, to create "Alte Laute," Op. 35/12 (Sounds from the Past). The vocalist of Op. 35/11 inquires about the cause of one's suffering, assured that nature bears no blame; the protagonist of Op. 35/12 confirms that memories of the past create an imprisoning mental fog. Singing birds in the prelude open the latter work and nearly all of the musical techniques (suspensions, crescendos, etc.) that follow contribute to its overwhelmingly poignant and melancholic mood. Slower and softer, the song is one bar shorter than the work it follows and is supported by the same smoothly connected simple chords. Indicated adagio, the closing section of the voice part of "Alte Laute" lacks the "postlude" of "Wer machte dich so krank?" which was used to connect the two works.

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