How far does the word-setting in Schumann's

Der schwere Abend, Op. 90 No. 6

create a sombre mood?
Der schwere Abend !he sombre e"ening# is a poem written b$ the %erman poet Ni&o'aus (enau.
!he protagonist spea&s of wa'&ing with his 'o"er in a garden on a si'ent, g'oom$, and star'ess night,
which, much 'i&e their 'o"e, was made on'$ for tears. )s he departs and bids his 'o"er goodnight, he
wishes death for them both.
Schumann creates tension through use of numerous t$pes of metrica' dissonance. !he * time
signature ref'ects the iambic metre of the poem, which is perfect'$ regu'ar in rh$thm. Howe"er,
Schumann contracts some phrases, gi"ing irregu'ar 'ength. +or e,amp'e, the opening phrase b. --.#
is a regu'ar / bars, and ref'ects the natura' f'ow of the words. Howe"er, in the ne,t phrase, the te,t
is acce'erated, creating a phrase of on'$ 0 bars. !he opening phrase a'so disp'a$s the use of cross-
rh$thms, with me'odic dup'ets sung against the trip'e metre accompaniment. 1isp'acement
dissonance is emp'o$ed in the piano part b. 2, -2# at the end of the "oca' phrase, emphasising the
words 'schwer' and 'Nacht', as we'' as the centre-point of the "erses. !his comes with an abrupt sf,
depicting an under'$ing impatience and aggra"ation to the piece and announcing a signa' of
dis3uiet. !hese three forms of metrica' dissonance ser"e to emphasise the discord between the
'o"ers.
!he aforementioned contraction of "oca' phrases is contrasted b$ an e,pansion of harmon$, shown
through the s'ow and often static chords of the piano accompaniment. !his gi"es a recitati"e-'i&e
te,ture, bringing into the foreground the specific words of the poem which create a me'ancho'ic
mood4 'dun&'en 5o'&en' dar& c'ouds#, 'bang und schwer' foreboding and hea"$#, and 'stern'os war
die Nacht' star'ess was the night#. !his third e,amp'e emphasises this atmosphere two-fo'd6 the
'star'ess' atmosphere of the piece is shown compositiona''$, through the sparse piano part, as we'' as
te,tua''$, through the words, 'stern'os war die Nacht'.
!he accompaniment is &e$ to creating a sense of tension, somewhat showing a shortcoming in the
abi'it$ of the word-setting a'one to achie"e this. Octa"es in the 'eft hand in the 'ow register that
create an indiscernib'e sense of pitch combine with thic& chords in the right hand, forming a dense
sound and sonorit$, depicting an ab$ss of traged$ and ref'ection. !here are a'so moments where no
accompaniment is offered b. 9-76#, with the si'ence creating a heightened emotion.
!he me'od$ itse'f is s'ow and rh$thmic. 8t begins with a rising perfect /
th
on '1ie dun&'en', which
e,pands to become a rising minor 6
th
, to star&'$ oppose the word 'herab' down#. +or the third "erse,
Schumann modu'ates to the re'ati"e %b ma9or. !his refers to the fact that the two characters are
indeed intended to be 'o"ers, shown when the protagonist bids his be'o"ed goodnight, but the
offering, 'bot', is recei"ed co'd'$, with a return to the origina' :b minor. !he word '!od' acts as a
pi"ota' point and it is reached inconc'usi"e'$ with an interrupted cadence b. .2-.9#, to under'ine
the morose importance of the fina' words 8n m$ sorrowing heart ; 8 sad'$ wished death for us both#.
1espite the fact that it is sung and accompanied piano, immediate'$ after this point the right and 'eft
hands of the piano mo"e apart and the d$namics rise, to a piu forte c'ima,, after the "oice has
finished. 8ts is this fina' moment, in which there is no "oice, that is perhaps the most me'ancho'$ of
the entire piece, with the rh$thmic disp'acement emphasising the discord between the 'o"ers one
fina' time.