Robert Schumann - Vom Pagen und der Königstochter, Op. 140 (1852)

Robert Schumann (8 June 1810 – 29 July 1856) was a German composer and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career as a virtuoso pianist. He had been assured by his teacher Friedrich Wieck that he could become the finest pianist in Europe, but a hand injury ended this dream. Schumann then focused his musical energies on composing.

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Vom Pagen und der Königstochter, Op. 140 (1852)
Librettist: Emanuel Geibel (1815–1884)

I. "Der alte König zog...", (0:00)
II. "Zwei Reiter ritten…" (8:40)
III. "Den Runenstein in der Sommernacht…" (14:28)
IV. "Die Säle funkeln…" (21:25)

Carolyn Sampson, soprano
Ülle Tuisk, soprano
Benno Schachtner, counter tenor
Werner Güra, tenor
Cornelius Uhle, baritone
Jonathan Sells, baritone
Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir & Helsinki Baroque Orchestra conducted by Aapo Häkkinen

Although Schumann was on the verge of a nervous breakdown during the creative period in which Vom Pagen was also written, he conducted the premiere in Düsseldorf on 2 December 1852. In 1887, Clara Schumann realized the publication of Vom Pagen und der Königstochter after Schumann's death against the advice of Johannes Brahms and Joseph Joachim (Verlag Breitkopf & Härtel in Series X of the critical edition of Robert Schumann's works: "Larger Vocal Works with Orchestra or Several Instruments"). The work requires the following instrumentation: "Two flutes, a piccolo, two oboes, two clarinets in A, two bassoons, two valve horns, two valve trumpets, three trombones, timpani, a harp, vocal soloists, mixed choir, and strings".

The choir is rarely used. Even in the big scenes, he appears only cautiously. In the first ballad, only male voices are used, framing the action for 44 bars at the beginning and for 9 bars at the end (a total of 53 of 189 bars). The male voices of the choir serve to represent a hunting party of the king. In the second ballad, the choir is not used at all. The dramatic course here is shaped solely by dialogue. In the third ballad, only the female voices of the choir are used (a total of 60 of 123 bars). Here, the choral voices are integrated much more into the overall musical event than was the case in the first ballad. Only in the fourth and last ballad is the entire choir used (a total of 115 of 251 bars). Schumann uses the chorus as an accessory to serve the drama (similar to what was the tradition in opera practice at the time). The passages involving the choir make up only 32% of the total work. In addition, the choral passages are kept extremely simple. There is no strong counterpoint in the entire score. The choral setting is often limited to individual lines. The changes between solo voices and unison choral voices often appear to be only a simple change of characters in the course of the drama. The choral passages, which are titled Alle zusammen, are almost always purely homophonic.

The harmonic architecture of the work is clearly and simply built on the keys of E minor and E major. Even the first ballad moves quite quickly from E minor to E major. Schumann uses modal ratios for the development to the median parallel keys of C major and G major. It must also be noted that Schumann's harmonic language is not particularly characterized by chromaticism. The second ballad begins in C sharp minor but ends in C sharp major. The third ballad remains in E major after an introduction in A major. Later, Schumann modulates to F sharp minor and, just as in the first ballad, uses modal shifts to reach F sharp major. The fourth ballad begins in B major, which gives the previous third ballad a dominant character. The B major of the beginning of the last ballad then consistently leads back to E major. Schumann uses the material from the beginning of the first ballad as a palindrome. There is an orthographic circumstance that seems worth mentioning. The score contains 98 pages and consists of a total of 709 bars. Although Schumann dispenses with complex chromaticism, it is interesting to note that there is almost no Be flat for the alteration of a tone in the composition. Even the voices for horn and trumpet hardly show a B-flat. Even though Schumann deliberately refrains from complex modulations or harmonic ornamentation, it is nevertheless remarkable that the score uses only sharps in an almost fanatical way. Apart from the special notation of the harp part, there are only 48 bars in the entire score that contain one or more flats. Schumann uses these mainly for enharmonic reinterpretations. At the same time, however, Schumann uses the rather impractical double cross (e.g. Gisis) to a large extent. The princess and the page have apparently lost not only their lives through their love, but also the Be. It may well be that this circumstance arises from Schumann's personal humor.

Tom Zelle, Chicago 2006