Ex. 4-6: Sie liebten sich beide

No. 2 from Clara Schumann's "6 Lieder" (Op. 13). First drafted in 1842 as a birthday gift for her husband Robert, then substantially revised for publication by Breitkopf & Härtel in 1844. The poem is from Heine's "Buch der Lieder" (Book of Songs).

Two people love each other deeply, but both are too proud to say so. They look at each other like enemies, then go their separate ways, and meet again only in dreams. In the end they have both died, hardly aware of it themselves. The piano keeps a quiet 6/8 rhythm throughout. Clara was a famous virtuoso pianist, but here she keeps the piano part simple rather than showing off. She later quoted this melody in the finale of her Piano Trio in G minor (Op. 17, 1846).

Track 2 from the album Robert & Clara Schumann: Lieder - Frauenliebe und Leben by Barbara Bonney and Vladimir Ashkenazy (1997)
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