Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809–1847)
6 Lieder ohne Worte for the piano forte: op. 53
London: J.J. Ewer, ca. 1840s
Mendelssohn excelled at the composition of lieder (art songs), a genre which had come to prominence in the work of Viennese Romantic composers such as Franz Schubert, who died in 1828 at thirty-one. But the idea of the song without words was quite original. It implied that short pieces for piano, generally simple in structure, could attain as wide an emotional and dramatic range as a song with a text. Many of the Lieder ohne Worte are built around exquisite melodies, and as a set these unassuming pieces make a powerful claim for the potential of the piano miniature as an important art form.
The set of six Lieder ohne Worte published as opus 53 were completed in 1841. Only one of them bears a title, “Volkslied” (Folk song), and it seems likely that this was a reminiscence or imitation of the lively Scottish folk music that the composer encountered in 1829. There is similar music in the Scottish Symphony (No. 3), completed in 1842.
LENT BY THE IRVING S. GILMORE MUSIC LIBRARY, YALE UNIVERSITY