Pieces › Hugo Wolf

Der Freund

Eichendorff-Lieder · No. 1

Hugo Wolf · 1880–88 · G♯ minor · 34 bars · 56 chords analysed

Hugo Wolf set poems by the Romantic poet Joseph von Eichendorff, picking the ones that let him draw vivid characters: serenaders, students and desperate lovers. A song (in German, a Lied) sets a poem for voice and piano. The piano is a full partner: it paints the scene, the weather and the singer's mood. This score comes from the OpenScore Lieder Corpus, a free collection of 19th-century songs that includes many women composers.

Keys visited: G♯ minor, D minor, B minor, E major.