''Scenes from Goethe's Faust'' (''Szenen aus Goethes Faust'') is a musical-theatrical work by composer

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, 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 a ...

. The work has been described as the height of his accomplishments in the realm of dramatic music.John Daverio: "Schumann, Robert", ''Grove Music Online'' ed. L. Macy (Accessed October 26, 2007), . The work was written between 1844 and 1853 and is scored for SATB chorus, boys' chorus, orchestra, and a number of solo parts which, even with doubling, require seven solo singers, although eight (three sopranos, two mezzos, one tenor, one baritone, and one bass) is the usual number for a performance. Schumann never saw all three parts of the work performed in the same concert, or published together. Eric Sams comments 'There is no coherence in the orchestration, which audibly dates from two different periods (hand-horns in Part III, valve-horns elsewhere)', leading him to conclude that Schumann did not conceive the work as a whole, although late nineteenth-century ideas of performance mean that in the modern era the piece is predominantly heard with all three parts. Schumann's work on what he labeled an

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...

began in 1842. This was just over a decade after the death of

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 ...

, who completed Part Two of the dramatic poem ''

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroads ...

'' in his final year."Goethe, Johann Wolfgang van", ''The Columbia Encyclopedia'', 6th ed. (2001-2005) (Accessed October 26, 2007)

Many contemporary readers of ''Faust'' found Goethe's epic poem daunting and difficult to grasp. Goethe himself declared only Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Mozart fit to write the music for it (though Mozart died in 1791, almost 20 years prior to the completion of Part One of ''Faust''). Schumann explained the weight of the task before him in an 1845 letter to

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 ...

: " y composer would not only be judged by his treatment of one of the seminal and most-widely acclaimed works in German literature, but would also be setting himself up to be compared to Mozart."Ann Feeney: "Scenes from Goethe's Faust", All Media Guide (Accessed October 26, 2007), <>. Yet despite Schumann's expressed reservations about the work, it has been labeled his "magnum opus." Schumann is " eply sensitive to the all-inclusiveness of Goethe's drama From the work's dark and tense overture, to its elegant and tranquil conclusion, Schumann opens wide "a manifold musical world" that coherently draws together elements of "

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 ...

, horror opera, grand opera, oratorio, and church music." Schumann's music suggests the struggle between good and evil at the heart of Goethe's work, as well as Faust's tumultuous search for enlightenment and peace. After the overture, the music depicts Faust's wooing of Gretchen. For Gretchen's story, Schumann employs operatic music, beginning with a love duet, proceeding to Gretchen's passionate and desperate aria, and concluding with a church scene. The second part of the work opens with stark contrast: on the one hand, the lively, fresh music of Ariel and the spirits calls Faust to savor the beauties of nature; on the other hand, in the scene following, Schumann's restless orchestration brings to the fore Faust's delusions upon hearing of a new world being created and its rapturous promise of an everlasting present. The final scenes, drawing the work to its placid yet unsettled conclusion, hold some of Schumann's best choral writing. ''Scenes from Goethe's Faust'' has often been overlooked within Schumann's impressive oeuvre, but has enjoyed a resurgence since the 1970s. The piece has been deemed among Schumann's most moving works, and a pinnacle of his quintessential Romantic concern with the extra-musical (and especially literary) potential of musical expression.Brian Schlotel: "Schumann, Robert (Opera)", ''Grove Music Online'' ed. L. Macy (Accessed October 26, 2007),

Structure

;Overture in D minor ;Part One *Rendezvous in Martha's Garden - ''Du kanntest mich, o kleiner Engel'' (Faust, Gretchen, Mephistopheles) *Gretchen’s Address to the Mater Dolorosa - ''Ach neige, Schmerzenreiche'' (Gretchen) *In the Cathedral - ''Wie anders, Gretchen, war dir’s'' (Gretchen, Evil Spirit) ;Part Two *Sunrise - ''Die ihr dies Haupt umschwebt im luftgen Kreise'' (Ariel, Spirits, Faust) *Midnight - ''Ich heiße der Mangel'' (Want, Guilt, Care, Need, Faust) *Faust's Death - ''Herbei herbei! herein herein!'' (Mephistopheles, Lemurs, Faust) ;Part Three - Faust's Transfiguration *''Waldung, sie schwankt Heran'' (Chorus) *''Ewiger Wonnebrand'' (Pater Ecstaticus) *''Wie Felsenabgrund mir zu Füßen'' (Pater Profundus, Pater Seraphicus, Chorus) *''Gerettet ist das edle Glied'' (Angels, Chorus) *''Hier ist die Aussicht frei'' (Doctor Marianus) *''Dir, der Unberührbaren'' (Doctor Marianus, Magna Peccatrix, Mulier Samaritana, Maria Aegyptiaca, Penitent, Blessed Boys, Gretchen, Mater Gloriosa) *Chorus mysticus - ''Alles Vergängliche ist nur ein Gleichnis'' (Chorus)

References

{{Authority control Music based on Goethe's Faust Compositions by Robert Schumann 1853 compositions Oratorios