Music, Word, and Meaning in the Romantic Lied: an Analysis of Robert Schumann’s Waldesgespräch

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2238-7625.rm.2025.235782

Keywords:

Musical Analysis, Lied, German Romanticism, Robert Schumann

Abstract

This article presents an analysis of the song Waldesgespräch (Op. 39, No. 4), composed by Robert Schumann (1810–1856) based on the poem by Joseph von Eichendorff (1788–1857), with the aim of examining the relationship between music and text in the construction of meaning in the work. The study begins with a consideration of aesthetic issues related to the Lied genre in German Romanticism, as well as Schumann’s own reflections found in his critical writings. Subsequently, various musical aspects—such as harmony, rhythm, dynamics, and texture—are analyzed in light of these reflections, in order to understand how they interact with the meaning conveyed by the poem. The article concludes that, rather than merely reflecting the meaning of the words, the music contributes additional layers of meaning, going beyond what is expressed in the text.

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Author Biographies

  • Beatriz Terreri Stervid, University of São Paulo

    Possui mestrado em Língua e Literatura Alemã, pela USP (2020) e é, atualmente, doutoranda em Musicologia, no Programa de Pós-Graduação em Música da USP. Seus interesses de pesquisa são as relações entre música e literatura no Romantismo Alemão, bem como o pensamento estético na crítica musical romântica.

  • Jonathan da Mota Morais, University of São Paulo

    Graduando em M´úsica pela Universidade de São Paulo.

References

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Published

2025-09-23

Issue

Section

Dossiê Temático - Reverberações do som em outras artes: narrativas permeáveis

How to Cite

Stervid, B. T., & Morais, J. da M. (2025). Music, Word, and Meaning in the Romantic Lied: an Analysis of Robert Schumann’s Waldesgespräch. Revista Música, 25(1), 163-181. https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2238-7625.rm.2025.235782