Sechs Lieder (Six songs), Op. 59, is a collection of six

part song A part song, part-song or partsong is a form of choral music that consists of a song to a secular or non-liturgical sacred text, written or arranged for several vocal parts. Part songs are commonly sung by an SATB choir, but sometimes for an all ...

s for four voices

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sy ...

. He composed the songs between 1837 and 1843, setting six poems in German. They are subtitled "Im Freien zu singen" ("To be sung outdoors"), and focus on nature. They were published after his death as part of his complete works. One of the songs, "O Täler weit, o Höhen" became so popular that it is also regarded as

Volkslied Volkslied (literally: folk song) is a genre of popular songs in German which are traditionally sung. While many of them were first passed orally, several collections were published from the late 18th century. Later, some popular songs were also ...

History

When Mendelssohn studied in Berlin with

Carl Friedrich Zelter Carl Friedrich Zelter (11 December 1758 15 May 1832)Grove/Fuller-Datei:Carl-Friedrich-Zelter.jpegMaitland, 1910. The Zelter entry takes up parts of pages 593-595 of Volume V. was a German composer, conductor and teacher of music. Working in his ...

, he was introduced to the

lied In Western classical music tradition, (, plural ; , plural , ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music to create a piece of polyphonic music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German, but among English and French s ...

er of Zelter, Ludwig Berger,

Johann Friedrich Reichardt Johann Friedrich Reichardt (25 November 1752 – 27 June 1814) was a German composer, writer and music critic. Early life Reichardt was born in Königsberg, East Prussia, to lutenist and ''Stadtmusiker'' Johann Reichardt (1720–1780). Johann Fr ...

and

Bernhard Klein Bernhard Joseph Klein (6 March 1793 – 9 September 1832) was a German composer. Life Klein was born in Cologne. He married Lili Parthey (1800–1829) who was the sister of Gustav Parthey (1798–1872) and the granddaughter of Friedrich Nicolai ...

, who have become known to musicologists as the ''Zweite Berliner Liederschule'' ("Second Berlin Song School"). Their concepts included simple strophic form and singable melodies, trying to convey the characteristic moods of the poems which they set. Mendelssohn followed these ideas, which were also promoted by Goethe, in his songs. Mendelssohn composed his songs for four mixed voices during the summer months which he spent with his family in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

or on his uncle's winery in Horchheim. He composed three sets "lm Freien zu singen" of six songs each, Op. 41 in 1834, Op. 48 in 1839, and Op. 59 in 1837 to 1843. Ten further songs were published as Op. 88 and Op. 100. All appeared as part of his complete works by

Breitkopf & Härtel Breitkopf & Härtel is the world's oldest music publishing house. The firm was founded in 1719 in Leipzig by Bernhard Christoph Breitkopf. The catalogue currently contains over 1,000 composers, 8,000 works and 15,000 music editions or books on ...

in 1882–84. The third of the songs, ''Abschied vom Walde'' (''Farewell to the Forest''), beginning "O Täler weit, o Höhen" (O valleys wide, o height) became especially popular, and has been regarded as a

Structure

The titles of the six songs, Op. 59 are: # Im Grünen (in the Green) # Frühzeitiger Frühling (Early Spring) # Abschied vom Walde (Farewell to the forest) # Die Nachtigall (The nightingale) # Ruhetal (Restful valley) # Jagdlied (Chase song) The poems were written by

Helmina von Chézy Helmina von Chézy (26 January 178328 January 1856), née Wilhelmine Christiane von Klencke, was a German journalist, poet and playwright. She is known for writing the libretto for Carl Maria von Weber's opera ''Euryanthe'' (1823) and the play ' ...

(1),

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as trea ...

(2, 4),

Joseph von Eichendorff Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff (10 March 178826 November 1857) was a German poet, novelist, playwright, literary critic, translator, and anthologist. Eichendorff was one of the major writers and critics of Romanticism.Cf. J. A. Cuddon: ' ...

(3, 6), and

Ludwig Uhland Johann Ludwig Uhland (26 April 1787 – 13 November 1862) was a German poet, philologist and literary historian. Biography He was born in Tübingen, Württemberg, and studied jurisprudence at the university there, but also took an interest in ...

(5), treated with freedom at times. Their themes are often Spring and Nature. Mendelssohn expanded some songs by a

coda Coda or CODA may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * Movie coda, a post-credits scene * ''Coda'' (1987 film), an Australian horror film about a serial killer, made for television *''Coda'', a 2017 American experimental film from Na ...

, others are

through-composed In music theory of musical form, through-composed music is a continuous, non- sectional, and non- repetitive piece of music. The term is typically used to describe songs, but can also apply to instrumental music. While most musical forms such as t ...

. No. 3, "Abschied vom Walde", is in simple strophic form but uses imitation of the voices in the third line.

Recordings

In 2010, the title ''Abschied vom Walde'' of the third song, was taken for a recording of part-songs by Mendelssohn and his sister

Fanny Hensel Fanny Mendelssohn (14 November 1805 – 14 May 1847) was a German composer and pianist of the early Romantic era who was also known as Fanny (Cäcilie) Mendelssohn Bartholdy and, after her marriage, Fanny Hensel (as well as Fanny Mendelssohn He ...

, performed by the Vocal Concert Dresden. All Mendelssohn's songs ''Im Freien zu singen'' were recorded in 2017 by the Kammerchor Stuttgart, conducted by

Frieder Bernius Frieder is both a surname and a masculine given name, a variant of Friedrich. People with the name include: Surname: * Armin Frieder (1911–1946), Slovak Neolog rabbi *Bill Frieder (1942), former basketball coach * Katalin Frieder (1915–1991), ...

, awarded the

Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik The Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik ("German Record Critics' Award") was established in Germany in 1963 by publisher Richard Kaselowsky with the aim of setting the "most rigorous standards for supreme achievement and quality" in the field ...

Notes

References

External links

* *
Lieder / Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
(in German)

Edition Peters Edition Peters is a classical music publisher founded in Leipzig, Germany in 1800. History The company came into being on 1 December 1800 when the Viennese composer Franz Anton Hoffmeister (1754–1812) and the local organist Ambrosius Kühnel ...

O Täler weit, o Höhen · Abschied vom Walde
liederprojekt.org {{authority control Part songs Compositions by Felix Mendelssohn 1843 compositions Musical settings of poems by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Adaptations of works by Joseph von Eichendorff Adaptations of works by Ludwig Uhland