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 al ...

s for four voices

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

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

. 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 i ...

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 the Western classical music tradition, ( , ; , ; ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German and Dutch, but among English and French speakers, is often used interchangea ...

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 F ...

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 am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

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 a German Music publisher, music publishing house. Founded in 1719 in Leipzig by Bernhard Christoph Breitkopf, it is the world's oldest music publisher. Overview The catalogue contains over 1,000 composers, 8,000 works ...

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 polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

(2, 4),

Joseph von Eichendorff Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

(3, 6), and

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

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

through-composed In the 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 te ...

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

Kammerchor Stuttgart The Kammerchor Stuttgart is a professional chamber choir based in Stuttgart, founded in 1968 by Frieder Bernius who has remained its leader. The choir performs in changing size, according to the music, from 16-part vocal ensemble to 80 voices in an ...

, conducted by

Frieder Bernius Frieder Bernius (born 22 June 1947) is a German conductor, the founder and director of the chamber choir Kammerchor Stuttgart, founded in 1968. They became leaders for historically informed performances. He founded the Stuttgart festival of Baroq ...

, awarded the

Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik Preis is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Alfred Preis (1911–1993), Austrian architect * Ellen Preis (Ellen Müller-Preis) (1912–2007), German-born Austrian Olympic champion foil fencer * Mary Louise Preis (born 1941), ...

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 Kühn ...

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 Musical settings of poems by Joseph von Eichendorff Adaptations of works by Ludwig Uhland