Liederkreis, Op. 39

Liederkreis
Song cycle by Robert Schumann
The composer in 1839, lithograph by Josef Kriehuber
English	Round of Songs
Catalogue	Op. 39
Text	poems from Joseph Eichendorff's Intermezzo
Language	German
Composed	1840 (1840)
Movements	twelve
Scoring	voice piano

Liederkreis, Op. 39, is a song cycle composed by Robert Schumann. Its poetry is taken from Joseph Eichendorff's collection entitled Intermezzo. Schumann wrote two cycles of this name – the other being his Opus 24, to texts by Heinrich Heine – so this work is also known as the Eichendorff Liederkreis. Of this cycle Schumann said, "The voice alone cannot reproduce everything or produce every effect; together with the expression of the whole the finer details of the poem should also be emphasized; and all is well so long as the vocal line is not sacrificed."Liederkreis, Opus 39, is regarded as one of the great song cycles of the 19th century. Schumann wrote it starting in May 1840, the year in which he wrote such a large number of lieder that it is known as his "year of song" or Liederjahr.

The cycle consists of twelve songs:

The form of "In der Fremde" is ambiguous: there are arguments that it is through-composed and that it is in the A–B–A form.

The evidence that "In der Fremde" is through-composed is found in both the melody and the harmony. The harmonic pattern is inconsistent enough to be through composed: The piece modulates from F♯ minor, to A major, to B minor, then back to F♯ minor. Within each of these keys, the general structure is comparable, but the last significant section (mm 22–28) is strikingly different. With each modulation, the melody changes. The modulations are not directly congruent with the stanza changes, which points to a through-composed piece.

It can be argued that "In der Fremde" takes an A–B–A–C form. Though they are in different keys, the first and third sections (A) have nearly the same melody and comparable harmonic structures. The second section (B) has all new melodic material and is in a major mode which contrasts with the A section. The final section is new material; it "echoes the last line of the first quatrain [and] stands in for a return of the entire quatrain”, but does not constitute a restatement of the A section.