Zärtliche Liebe

History#

Though Alexander Thayer put the date of composition to be 1797–98 in Thayer’s Life of Beethoven, recent research has found that "" was probably composed in 1795. Commentator John Palmer offers historical background on the work: The year 1795 was an important turning point in Beethoven’s career. He had lived in Vienna for over two years, studied with Haydn and others, and, most importantly, had insinuated himself into the homes and hearts of the nobility. He had become something of a “hot commodity” among Viennese aristocrats, and his music was becoming popular, as evinced in the publication of his Trios, op. 1 in 1795.

Text#

The lyrics are from a poem by (1754–1821), a German pastor and writer. In the poem, the narrator expresses love for another, saying how their love lets them share sorrow and comfort.

Music#

The song, in G major, is set for a solo singer and piano. The range reaches the F natural at the top of the treble staff, and so the song is most likely to be sung by a tenor or soprano voice. As is the norm with lieder, the song may also be sung by lower voices in transposition; for instance the baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau sang the work transposed down one full tone to F major. The musical setting follows the structure of Herrosee’s poem: the opening phrase is in the tonic key and covers the first stanza; the second stanza modulates to the dominant key (D major); and the third stanza returns to the tonic. Just before the tonic return there is a dominant chord with fermata in the piano part, inviting the singer to provide an improvised cadenza. The tempo marking is andante. This is interpreted by different singers rather differently, with fervent performances approaching adagio on one hand and lighthearted performances approaching allegretto on the other. Hence the time taken to sing the work varies greatly, from under two minutes to well over three.

Reception#

The song would be considered a minor work for Beethoven, who is not primarily famous as a composer of lieder. Among the songs it is fairly prominent and is often included in recorded compilations.

External links#

• Poem, translation, and short biography of Karl Friedrich Wilhelm Herrosee, bachlund.org
• , Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Jörg Demus