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The Italienisches Liederbuch is a collection of songs by Hugo Wolf written between 1890 and
1896. The two-volume book is composed of forty six songs with lyrics taken from a collection of old
anonymous Italian poems translated to German by Paul Heyse in 1860. This paper presents an analyses
of song number VII, Der Mond Hat Eine Schwere Klag 'Erhogen, with a brief discussion about the text,
The Text
Considering the original Italian poem, it becomes clear that Heyse slight altered the text when
translating it into German, which might have affected Wolf's view and interpretation of it, giving it a
much serious treatment.1 However, as it will be shown along this paper, the author believes that Wolf
knew the Italian text, and intentionally used its original meaning to set the mood for the song.
The original Italian text and a free translation2 to English are as follows:
Der Mond hat eine schwere Klag' erhoben The moon has raised a grave complaint
Und vor dem Herrn die Sache kund gemacht; And made the matter known unto the Lord:
Er wolle nicht mehr stehn am Himmel droben, He no longer wants to stay in the heavens,
Du habest ihn um seinen Glanz gebracht. For you have robbed him of his radiance.
Als er zuletzt das Sternenheer gezählt, When he last counted the multitude of stars,
Da hab es an der vollen Zahl gefehlt; Their full number was not complete;
Zwei von den schönsten habest du entwendet: Two of the fairest you have stolen:
Die beiden Augen dort, die mich verblendet. Those two eyes, which have dazzled me.
With no knowledge to the German language, we have to trust the English translator in her
accuracy to capture the real meaning of the text. The main idea of the original poem is to picture the
moon lamenting that in the sky she doesn't want to stay because when counting the stars two were
missing taking all the splendor out of it. The two missing stars are someone's eyes that have gone away.
In the German version, Heyse adds a much more religious reading, as it can be seen in the second and
third lines, and a different ending to the text, in first person, saying that those two eyes that left have
left someone dazzled. The German text is composed by a setting of rhymes that can be split in AA-BB-
CC-DD structure.
It is clear that when comparing the original Italian text with Heyse's version, the second has a
more personal character than the first. This discrepancy can be seen specially in the last phrase, that
gives the poem a deeper love relationship meaning than the Italian version would allow.
The Music
In through-composed form, the song is made of balanced two-bar phrases, with each two bars
corresponding to one line of the text. With slow tempo and harmonic changes, the song is composed
entirely by one gesture of descending chords that repeats without interruption, and a melodic vocal
3 For more information regarding the translation of the text, see The Lieder Net Archive at
http://www.lieder.net/lieder/get_text.html?TextId=18720
material with speech-like texture in eight notes. It begins like it has already started, in the middle of
something, following a smooth progression that represents movement, although cyclical and not really
going anywhere.
In terms of roman numerals and harmonic analysis, the music could be seen through a number
of different perspectives. However, the piano harmony is basically a seamless I/i – VII – VI – V
progression from beginning to end, and we will use this as the basis for the harmonic analysis
presented.4 This progression is a very common line known as ground bass or lament bass from the
Renaissance and Baroque periods, that was often used in minor configuration like i-vii-vi-V.5 As
Brover-Lubovsky explains it, “the lament bass pattern’s innately harmonic character rests on the
consolidation of a descending bass with changing vertical sonorities over each scale step (…), [and]
combines the unity and stability supplied by the inertia of inexorable downward stepwise motion with
With that in mind, we understand the piece starts in Eb minor, which is one of the possibilities
given by the key signature.7 Wolf stays in Eb minor for the first three phrases, until measure 6, then
tonicizes in Gb major (our relative major key), with a PD and D that resolves in the key of F# minor –
enharmonic to Gb, using the Db7 chord as C#7.Then we have two more phrases with the same
progression in F# minor, until measure 12, where Wolf uses again the C#7=Db7 to go straight to Gb
major in measure 13. One more time the lament progression occurs (mm. 14 and15), however in the
very last phrase we have a sequence of dominant and other chromatic passing chords that finishes the
song in Cb major.
progression that doesn't really change the function of the chords. This is one characteristic allowed by
the use of a recurring progression like the lament bass, it creates opportunity for conflicts with the
voice.8
Wolf uses both harmony and rhythm as tools to build the mood of the scene being described in
the poem. The repeating stead progression of descending chords represents the slow and sad cyclical
movement of the moon. Ending the piece in the unexpected key of Cb major, Wolf holds his true
intentions until the very end of the song. This gesture coincides with the final verse of the poem that
only then presents the real meaning of the text – the reason why the moon is complaining. Another
relation found in this gesture is the idea that “the stars that went missing are someone's eyes that have
gone away”, which corresponds with finishing the song away from where it started.
The vocal line, with its own eight note rhythm, with notes that are not part of the piano chords,
creates the feeling of distance between the singer and the accompaniment, but that completes each
Conclusion
When choosing to use a harmonic sequence of descending chords like the one used here as the
basis for the poem in question, Wolf intentionally relates it to the lament bass genre. Used as a tool to
settle the emotional state of the piece, the ostinato bass line brings up the sadness and affect expressed
by the poem. It sends a message that Wolf possibly knew the original Italian text and its lamenting
intention, mixing the themes from both Italian and German texts in one song. At first sight, Der Mond
seems like a simple sad song with an ostinato bass line that holds it from developing further, however
after a deeper analysis it becomes clear that Hug Wolf intentions were much stronger, and he does a
8 Rosand, p. 349.
Bibliography
Brover-Lubovsky, Bella. “Lament Bass”. In Tonal Space in the Music of Antonio Vivaldi. Bloomington:
LiederNet Archive. “Der Mond hat eine schwere Klag' erhoben.” Accessed April 20, 2019.
http://www.lieder.net/lieder/get_text.html?TextId=18720.
Rosand, Ellen. “The Descending Tetrachord: An Emblem of Lament”. The Musical Quarterly 65, No. 3