Description

Schumann was the first composer to set an entire cycle of Heinrich Heine's poems to music. Even as a 17-year-old, Schumann had been captivated by Heine's vivid, lightning-like literary style. Yet Schumann did not actually compose his famous song cycle Op. 24 until 1840, during his renowned "year of song", when he chose to set a series of poems from Heine's "Buch der Lieder" collection. As Schumann wrote excitedly to his fiancée Clara, "Ah, Clara, what bliss it is to write for the voice!" - a sentiment reflected in the passionate character of the cycle's nine songs.

At long last, singers with lower vocal ranges can now access Henle's Urtext editions of Schumann's works, including a newly transposed version of the wonderful Op. 24 song cycle on Heine's poems, edited by Schumann expert Kazuko Ozawa. With the support of acclaimed Lieder accompanist Gerold Huber, Henle offers carefully arranged transpositions for medium voice. This Urtext edition also includes an extensive preface on the work's origins and a detailed critical report. The original high voice edition remains available as HN 548.