Schumann: Dichterliebe, Op. 48 - Im wunderschönen Monat Mai

Schumann: Dichterliebe, Op. 48 - Im wunderschönen Monat Mai

This one song that starts the song cycle Dichterliebe is very unique not for the form, or name, but the emotional vision given off by it. The translation for the text is:

In the marvelous month of May
when all the buds were bursting,
then in my heart did
love arise.
In the marvelous month of May
when all the birds were singing,
then did I reveal to her
my yearning and longing.

You would imagine that the song would be full of beautiful melodic line in the voice and piano parts because of how he is speaking of this love and his yearning and longing for this girl. The music is actually very simple, kind of a dark and lonely sound making you think something bad might have happened because of this love he has. I think Schumann is using this as a form of foreshadowing in this cycle.