The ninteenth-century reflection of gender in selected songs from Frauenliebe und Leben and Dichterliebe by Robert Schumann
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Abstract
This paper focuses on six of the sixteen songs in Dichterliebe (A Poet’s Love) to demonstrate how Schumann has used gender and sexuality to provide a masculine perspective. As a comparative work I used examples from Schumann’s Frauenliebe und Leben (A Woman’s Love and Life) to convey the feminine perspective of love. The discussion shows musicological aspects of gender and how composers use certain techniques and structural effects to achieve and illustrate certain genders. The following movements are discussed from the Dichterliebe cycle: Im wunderschönen Monat Mai; Aus meinen Tränen spriessen; Die Rose, die Lilie, die Taube, die Sonne; Ein Jüngling liebt ein Mädchen; Am leuchtenden Sommermorgen; and Die alten, bösen Lieder. As a comparison I used the following songs from Frauenliebe und Leben: Seit ich ihn gesehen; Er, der Herrlichste von allen; Ich kann’s nicht fassen, nicht glauben; Helft mir, ihr Schwestern; and Nun hast du mir den ersten Schmerz getan. My analysis includes theoretical studies, text painting, overall form and any other musical aspect that may relate to illustrating how gender is presented in these two works.