Davidsbündler

The ''Davidsbündler'' (League of David) was a music society created by German Romantic composer Robert Schumann in his writings. It was inspired by literary societies, real and imagined ones, such as the ''Serapionsbrüder'' ( The Serapion Brethren) of ETA Hoffmann,Daverio, John. ''Robert Schumann: Herald of a "New Poetic Age"''. Oxford University Press, 1997. however as Richard Taruskin noted, the concept was most realized in Schumann's reviews of his fellow composers and their aesthetic styles. The illusory group was created to defend the cause of contemporary music against its detractors to whom Schumann routinely called philistine.

Make Up

The imagined "league" comprised mainly the warring identities within Schumann, namely Florestan, Raro, and Eusebius, respectively symbolising the extroverted and introspective sides of his personality.Schonberg, Harold C. ''The Lives of the Great Composers'', p. 177. W.W. Norton, 1997. The purpose of this group, however, was expressed in Schumann's words in 1854, "In order to express different views on art, it seems appropriate to invent contrasting artistic characters."

Taruskin corresponds these three aspects in Freudian terminology, namely: id (Florestan), ego (Eusebius), and superego (Raro). However, the characters also revolved around Schumann's aesthetic wrestling with the more exploratory and dramatic elements of the Romantic style, of he routinely disparaged his contemporaries for their philistine traditionality, and the disapproved elements of liberated Romanticism in the case of Franz Liszt and Richard Wagner. Both Wagner and Schumann were avid reviewers during their time and views held by them radiated throughout German cultural life.

Members of the "league" also included wife and composer/pianist Clara Schumann, supportive of Schumann's "league," as well as favored composers Niccolò Paganini and Frederic Chopin. Other members of this group included his piano teacher Friedrich Wieck. The minor composer Franz Otto, brother of choral composer Ernst Otto, was also invited to join the "league." In a quotation from 1888, the purpose of the group is made clear through Schumann's address to Otto,

Appearance

The name "Davidsbündler" already appears in Schumann's first musical essay, "The Davidsbündler" which was published in Karl Herloßsohn’s newspaper "Der Komet" (The Comet) in December 1833. Its narrator finds a paper shred thrown out of a window by a "Swedish head with a crooked nose" bearing the following message on its backside:

The continuation of this "Davidsbündler" fantasizing can be found in the ''Neue Zeitschrift für Musik'', which Schumann founded in April 1834.Geck, Martin. ''Robert Schumann: Mensch und Musiker der Romantik''. Siedler Verlag, 2010. The first essay on the subject was entitled, "The Davidsbündler," published in 1833 with the second one being published the year after. The first republication of the essays occurred in 1883 by Frederich Gustav Jansen, a German organist and musicologist.

In the same year 1834 Schumann composed three pieces carrying the titles "Florestan", "Eusebius" and "Marche des Davidsbündler contre les Philistins" in his Carnaval.

In 1837 Schumann wrote a piano suite, Davidsbündlertänze, Op. 6, named after the Davidsbündler and translated as, "Dances of the members of the League of David." In the first edition, the dances were signed by the different characters and were additionally accompanied with short excerpts on their individual personalities. However, by the second edition such elements were noticeably absent.

It is also significant that in Schumann's 1854 publication, "Collected Writings about Music and Musicians," the "league" is not mentioned and is absent from any type of mentioning yet the core ideas within the framework are evident throughout the works in the word, "Davidsbündlerschaft."

Works

Within Schumann's body of works, certain ones featured the "League of David" and its constituent characters:

* Papillons (Op.2)
* Davidsbündlertänze (Op.6)
* Carnaval (Op.9)
* Fantasiestücke (Op.12)
* Kreisleriana (Op.16)

Notes

References

*David Ewen, ''Encyclopedia of Concert Music''. New York; Hill and Wang, 1959.
*Eisenberg, Evan, "The Recording Angel". Yale University Press; 1987

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Fictional organizations
Robert Schumann