Ex. 5-2: Der Liebende

Composed in the autumn-winter of 1809, to a poem by Christian Ludwig Reissig (1784–1847), who modelled it on Goethe's "Neue Liebe, neues Leben" (New Love, New Life). It was one of five Reissig poems Beethoven set to music that year.

The poem describes a man who has just fallen in love. His heart pounds and he does not know why — a feeling he has never had before: "What a wonderful life, a mixture of pain and joy! Heart, my heart, why this pounding? I have never seen you like this!"

From the album Beethoven: An die ferne Geliebte by Peter Schreier and András Schiff (1996)
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