The poetic aspect of Schumann Fantasy, op. 17
In the last three decades, Robert Schumann’s Fantasie in C major, Op.17 was revisited by scholars and many concert pianists. Franz Liszt said,
“I am really proud of the honor you have done me in dedicating to me so grand a composition,” and Alan Walker appraises Op.17 in his article,
“Today the Fantasie stands before us as perhaps Schumann's very greatest keyboard work. The discovery of the Szechenyi manuscript adds an extra dimension to its colourful historical background and will ensure that this masterpiece remains perennially fascinating to scholars and performers alike.”
Despite the praise, however, there remains much controversy among scholars regarding the analysis of this composition because of the form and its allusive aspect. Some, like Richard
Taruskin and R. Larry Todd, try to interpret op.17 as narrative programmatic music, and Charles Rosen even portrayed it as "the death of the classical style.” They interpret Schumann op.17 as a narrative outcome that is associated with Beethoven’s monument, considering it as the legacy of programmatic music. However, Schumann himself considered op.17 as ‘Grand Sonata for Beethoven,’ and he saw himself not as a modern rebel but as guardian of the tradition bequeathed by Beethoven. Scholar John Daverio proved op.17 is the sonata form by analyzing in detail. Moreover, according to J. Barrie Jones,
“Op.17 Fantasie reveals Schumann as a consummate master of both the innig (that is, intimate but with an ardent warmth) and the personal and he describes Schumann’s op.17 as ‘Schumann’s supreme masterpiece that standing alone.’” 7
In addition, Anthony Newcomb asserts that Schumann’s metaphorical compositional style has already been documented by many scholars (Edward Lippman, Leon Plantinga, Tomas Alan Brown, Eric Sams).
“Schumann’s artistic position is that his music is not that describes external objects or to chronicle particular events; rather it embodies the emotions or interior attitudes attendant upon experienced objects or events. That attitude of Schumann is what Schumann himself called Seelenzustiinde.”
Hence, op.17 is not a work that apparently shows Schumann's clear intention, but rather a piece written in poetic and metaphorical inspired composition style. This research paper explores Schumann’s poetic ideals (Seelenzustiinde) within op.17, which he maintained throughout his compositions despite the emergence of new genres such as the symphony poem programme music. To investigate those attitudes in op.17 in more detail, this paper also proposes a possible interpretation of his covert intentions after presenting four profound principles associated with poetic elements. It is a poetic medium, a poetic element, a subject to be written, and a structure of poetry. To be specific, the opening text of German poet Friedrich Schlegel’s “Motto” plays the role of a medium that connects Schumann's intention to the music. Also, the symbolic elements of the “Clara-Theme” and “Ton” are ciphers that connotes Schumann’s concealed emotion— affection for Clara, and admiration of Beethoven. In addition, op.17 has a distinct structure similar to sonata form that contributes to its poetic aesthetic. Finally, this piece is meant to be implicit because of its withdrawn original titles, indicating the composer’s deliberate intentions. Therefore, in this paper, op.17 will be linked with the poem genre and explained through a poetic point of view. This analogical interpretation will be thoroughly investigated with details to give listeners a more fundamental understanding of Schumann’s Fantasie.
The ‘hidden’ titles
The most basic poetic aspect of op.17 is the ‘hidden’ titles. Schumann initially gave titles to each of movements: “Ruinen (Ruins),” “Trophaeen (Triumphal Arch),” and “Palmen
(Constellation).” He seemed to have a significant meaning in the title given the fact that Schumann had edited the title several times with due diligence. However, interestingly enough, he ultimately disregarded all titles at the time of publication. Though the titles were removed, only the music has remained to evoke different personal reactions and understandings in each listener. This suggests that this piece is written more implicitly, a contrast to his earlier programmatic compositions. While the titles of his early compositions clearly specified extra musical associations, his later music, including this piece, only contains tempo indicators.
One example of his early compositions is his Carnaval op.9, an example of his “character piece” compositional style, which has titles. In this piece, the music thoroughly creates the mood of marching in the last movement No. 21, Marche des Davidbundler contre les philistins, in consequence of a series of chords in forte. However, in his later piece, Novelletten op.22, there is no specific title for each movement save for tempo markings and instructions. Even though its title translates to “short novel,” it results in an open-ended interpretation for listeners, who are not provided the plot of the short novel, but rather must conjure the imagery for themselves.
The same situation occurs in the Fantasie. Although the musical atmosphere of its second movement is very similar to that of the last movement of Carnaval, [Ex.1] listeners can only guess the images with musical content because Schumann got rid of the subtitle “Triumphal Arch,” yet combined the three movements under the umbrella name of Fantasie. This gives op.17 an open interpretation, further contributing to its poetic impressionism.
[Ex.1] Similar atmosphere between Carnaval, op.9 ‘Marche des Davidbundler contre les philistins’, and the second movement of Fantasie, op.17
‘Motto’ Poem
One could interpret Schlegel’s poem “Motto,” placed on the first page of the composition, as a medium linking the Fantasie to Clara.
Durch alle Töne tönet Resounding through all the notes
Im bunten Erdentraum In the earth's colorful dream
Ein leiser Ton gezogen There sounds a faint long-drawn note Für den, der heimlich lauschet. For the one who listens in secret
It is without doubt that this poem was meant for her because Schumann already predicted that he would express his feelings for Clara through poetry in his work. In a letter, Schumann asks her,
“Are you really not a ‘Ton’? I believe you are”
thereby confirming that “Ton” is Clara. Thus, the subject “Ton” in this poem refers to Clara in the music. In fact, the note C is a substitute for “Ton,” and “Ton” alludes to Clara because C is the first letter of her name.
Another significant Clara symbol in this piece is the Clara-Theme. According to musicologist Eric Sams, the Clara-Theme is a substitution cipher, pervasive throughout Schumann’s music. The prototype of the Clara-Theme is C-Bb-A-G#-A [Ex.2], and it appears as A-G-F-E-A (mm. 2-5) in op.17 as a prime theme. Also, Ab-G-F-Eb-D (mm. 28-30), D-C-BbA-G (mm. 42-43), and F-E-D-C (mm. 62) [Ex.3] are the transposition appearances. Therefore, op.17 can be interpreted as a letter that Schumann's love for Clara was revealed through ciphers (Clara-Theme, note C), as well as a letter that hints towards his feelings.
[Ex.2] The Prototype of Clara Theme.
[Ex.3] Clara Theme in op.17, as Prime Theme.
Regarding Schumann’s emotion in this piece, throughout the whole first movement, he expresses his emotion in the order of: Clara’s Absence (Separation) - Yearning (Nostalgia) - Presence of Clara (Encounter). To be more specific, in the beginning section, Schumann expresses his pain due to his separation from her. For instance, if C denotes Clara, the whole beginning section is describing an absence of Clara because there is nothing regarding C in the music. The C Major cadence doesn’t appear until later, and neither does the C in the scale of the Clara-Theme (A-GF-E-A). Instead, in the middle section Im legendeton, a plethora of C notes manifest a sorrowful mood, as though that C is a constant intervening reminder of Clara, the cause of his sorrow [Ex.4]. In the ending Coda, an ascending Clara theme indicates the presence of Clara, with the note C reached through ascending scale starting from A (A-B-C-(C)), [Ex.5] and this scale clearly represents Clara since the A-B-C is a mirrored image of the beginning Clara Theme of AG-F-E-A. Not only that, the C major cadences that had been avoided at the beginning are emphasized four times in the Coda section (mm. 299, 301, 304, 310). [Ex.6] Thus, the Coda section represents Schumann’s blissful feelings as he finally reaches out to Clara in his music. However, this piece avoids being an actively explicit love letter, and is rather more like an unspoken autobiographical poem, since Schumann dedicated his op.17 not to Clara, but to Franz Liszt.
[Ex.4] A plethora of C notes in the ‘Im legendeton.’
[Ex.5] Ascending Clara Theme
[Ex.6] Multiple C major cadence in the ending.
Op.17 could also initiate another interpretation based on the same source, “Motto,” since it is not a specific preface, but rather a quotation calling forth indefinite images. Liszt defines the program as a preface that has a clear purpose to guard the listener against an incorrect interpretation and to direct his attention, which is not the case in op.17. “Motto” is not clear enough to guide the listener through strict instruction—instead, it conveys Schumann’s intention circuitously. For this reason, op.17 also can be interpreted as Beethoven as well as Clara. Not so surprisingly, there are already many kinds of research that investigated Beethoven’s influence on op.17, notably that of Taruskin. Due to the fact that Schumann composed this piece for the Beethoven monument ceremony, Op.17 has commonly been interpreted as a sonata for Beethoven. In fact, Schumann genuinely regarded this piece as the composition for Beethoven. Scholars, such as Richard Taruskin, regard op.17 on a narrative perspective associated with Beethoven. For example, Taruskin states:
“the Ruinen suggests ‘the antique aura of veneration…and the idea of the Beethoven monument”; Trophaen implies memorials “erected in commemoration of victory, the most ‘Beethovenian’ of all concepts,” and Palmen also echoes the idea of victory in that these are “ceremonial palm branches awarded at victory celebrations.’ Additionally, the third movement of the Phantasie includes a quotation from Beethoven’s Seventh
Symphony, as noted by Schumann himself.”
Furthermore, Schumann quoted a musical passage of Beethoven’s song cycle An die Ferne Geliebte, which is associated with the text “Accept then these songs [beloved, which I sang for you alone]” (mm. 297-304). Finally, Fredrich Schlegel, the author of the “Motto,” was a spiritual mentor of Beethoven. Also, his Brother August Schlegel was the head of the committee for the building of the Beethoven Monument (Bonner Verein für Beethovens
Monument), thus no doubt the Schlegel brothers strongly connected to Beethoven. For these reasons, many scholars including Taruskin view op.17 as entirely associated with Beethoven. Thus, the interpretations of Schumann op.17 can be summed up as an affectionate letter to Clara, as well as being reminiscent of Beethoven.
SONATA form
However, one more question remains: why is Schumann op.17 an elusive rather than straightforward work, and what gives op.17 an impression of poetic music rather than programmatic music. The answer is its structure of sonata form. Fundamentally, op.17 is written in sonata form, which is not a usual genre that composers choose to tell a story. A story is more likely to have new materials, not such a close repetition or recapitulation. In other words, in order to meet the basic plot structure that makes up the story, five steps are needed that form one curve without repetition: Exposition-Rising Action-Climax-Falling Action-Denouement. [Ex.7]
[Ex.7] Plot structure.
Hence, composers who thoroughly follow the episodic pattern created the new compositional technique often end up abandoning the stricter sonata form. Progressive composers such as Hector Berlioz and Richard Wagner were avid proponents of the idée fixe and leitmotiv, motifs that thematically transformed in a manner to give a sense of unity to an otherwise less structured entire work. For example, in Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, the idée fixe dominates the entire piece, forgoing the development of primary materials customary in sonata form. Wagner exploited the leitmotif for the same purpose. Both composers assigned specific melodies or themes to each persona in their music, by which listeners can distinguish the characters by recognizing melodies and can understand what is happening in the music. Though Schumann did not follow narrative compositional techniques such as leitmotif and idée fixe, he clearly maintains sonata form. op.17 has three clearly defined movements: the first movement has exposition development-recapitulation form [Ex.8], the second movement is in rondo form (A-B-A’-C-B’A”-B”-Coda), and the third movement is in sonatina form (exposition-development recapitulation (Prime theme skipped)).
The recapitulation is especially important in order to explain the piece structure. The first movement has a recapitulation (mm. 119), although in a somewhat extended form. Also, the second movement is a ternary form—the A” section (mm. 193-214) plays a role as the recapitulation. The third movement is interesting because of the two big Codetta with fortissimos (mm. 58, 109). It is significant because Schumann wrote only two fortissimos in the third movement, indicating moments of climax [Ex.9]. However, two climaxes in one movement or piece is quite unusual in plot structure. If the third movement truly had programmatic aspects, the climax should be written only once, not twice, in order to satisfy the narrative of a single episode (Exposition-Rising Action-Climax-Falling Action-Denouement). However, by presenting two climaxes in the third movement, it follows another aesthetic: the superb balance and coordination of harmonic and thematic organization of sonata form.
In his book "Music, the Brain, and Ecstasy: How Music Captures our Imagination," Robert Jourdain also set out to scientifically prove the relationship between harmony progress and the brain. In his view, when the harmony returns to its original key, the right brain feels as if it has returned to its hometown. This means that our brain gets satisfaction when we return to the original key in the sonata form, recapitulation. By summarizing, by adhering to the sonata form, op.17 has an objective, absolute and structural beauty.
Hence, the Fantasie is hard to regard as music with an actual story as in traditional programme music. However, it does possess an aesthetic of structure, which has beauty in common with the poetry genre, and is another reason why this piece gives a poetic impression. According to Stravinsky and Schenker, it is an objectivity that makes music purely beautiful, and in this case the Fantasie’s structure serves as the objectivity. Thus, the structure provides an absolute aesthetic. The poem exhibits formal elements such as meter, rhyme, and stanzaic structure. Schumann op.17 has sonata form, or da capo structure, as the formal elements.
Schumann op.17 is a work that pursues the essence of music without being incompatible with other genres, retaining his distinctive originality even when new genres related to program music became popular in the romantic period. Unlike many of his early character pieces, the direct link between the title and the music is greatly reduced, which lends a more poetic impression to this work. Schumann op.17 was originally titled Poem, then changed to Sonata for Beethoven, and finally published as Fantasie. Through the analysis of music as well as the absence of the title, this paper explores how Schumann's views on Clara and Beethoven are expressed metaphorically. Schumann implicitly expresses his intentions by quoting the poem motto, which gives poetic inspiration to the listener. Also, Schumann stuck to his own aesthetics with a structure such as thematic development, harmony relationship rather than narrative aspect, using sonata form, a traditional music form to best convey his emotion and musicality. This paper studied Schumann's obscured language and compared poetry and song simultaneously in order to show poetic aspects between Schumann op.17 and Poem genres, suggesting a comprehensive interpretation of both performers and listeners.
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