Beethoven’s WoO 146 song “Sehnsucht” (Longing) is his sixth (and final) song with that title (counting the four of WoO 134), and his seventh (and final) song to a text by Christian Ludwig Reissig, a wounded veteran of the Napoleonic Wars who solicited composers to set his poems.
Reissig’s poem “Sehnsucht” skillfully evokes a still night: “A mysterious silence reposes upon the flowery meadows.” The poet cannot sleep but wishes for a “blissful dream” or “an image of the lovely girl who flees from me.” He begs “let your smile bring me hope.” Paul Reid writes:
His pathetic, self-conscious ‘longing’ is not for physical reunion, but for illusion and false hopes. Beethoven, himself unlucky in love, clearly responds to the poet’s sentiment and devotes extraordinary care to the setting of this text.
Beethoven’s setting of “Sehnsucht” is in a “variierte Strophenlied” form, usually called “modified strophic” in English. The vocal line remains nearly the same for the three stanzas, but the piano accompaniment undergoes considerable variations.
Peculiarly in “Sehnsucht,” Beethoven runs together each pair of couplets, allowing only two vocal pauses per stanza. Despite the stillness evoked by the words and mood, the poet’s mind is fraught with nervous anxiety mirrored by the varied agitation of the piano accompaniment.
#Beethoven250 Day 292
“Sehnsucht” (WoO 146), 1816
It’s a shame there aren’t any live performances on YouTube of this beautiful and heartfelt song, but Peter Schreier captures the mood quite well in a studio recording.