Description

Henle's new Urtext edition, prepared by Schumann specialist Kazuko Ozawa, now makes the cycle available to singers in a lower register, with the songs transposed for medium and low voice in close collaboration with experienced pianist and Lied accompanist Jan Philip Schulze.

The Kerner Cycle op. 35, written in 1840 during Schumann's "Liederjahr", holds a special place among his song cycles. Composed shortly after his marriage to Clara Wieck, the cycle was completed by the end of the year, with Schumann setting a series of poems to music in November during a "quiet week, which went by with composing and much loving and kissing." The cycle contains a wealth of intimate musical expressions. The 1841 first edition was quickly followed by a second issue, and many of the songs were published individually, with the "Wanderlied" becoming a core repertoire piece.