Abstract

Robert Alexander Schumann (1810-1856）was the driving forces of the young Romantic movement in Germany of the Nineteenth Century.He fully developed the spirit of Romanticism into Lieder due to the rich poetry and profound nurture in his character.Schumann was proficient in blending music and poetry with purity and sensitivity, which was absolutely unique in that age.

Schumann composed the eight songs of Frauenliebe und leben ,op.42 in 1840, written by the French poet Adelbert von Chamisso（1781-1838）.This Zyklus depicted a woman's life: her first awakening to love, her subsequent marriage, and the realization that she was pregnant.The cycle ended abruptly with the sudden death of her husband. Schumann expressed the Zyklus with piano postlude, the beautiful melody touched the audience’s heart deeply. However,he omitted Chamisso’s last piece of this poem, which portrayed the female character at her old age in remembrance of the things past before her granddaughter got married.Schumann's gift for music and his poetic sensitivity were firmly intact throughout,which made this Zyklus an appeal to many woman singers.

This research first discusses the origin of German art song. Then it introduces the historic background and song writing process of Schumann and Chamisso.It furthered discusses the influence of the composer on the Lieder.Then it analyses and interprets the contents and structure of this Zyklus.It is our anticipation to propose a valuable reference sources for future discussion in this field.