Heinrich Schenker - Im Rosenbusch der Liebe schlief, Op. 8, No. 2 for Women's SSAA Chorus

Im Rosenbusch der Liebe schlief, Op. 8, No. 2 by Heinrich Schenker

Heinrich Schenker (1868–1935) is widely regarded as one of the foremost musical minds of the twentieth century. His reputation today rests on his theoretical work, in which he developed the most sophisticated conception of common-practice tonal music currently available. In his mature writings, Schenker is known for a pan-Germanic conservatism that proclaimed Brahms "the last great master of German tonal art" and sharply denounced modern musical trends — yet in the compositions of his youth he was very much caught up in the currents of his day and eager to establish himself as a composer. His music brought him into contact with Ferruccio Busoni and Arnold Schoenberg, and the three collaborated on a single work (the so-called "Syrian Dances") as composer, orchestrator, and conductor respectively. Schenker's compositional output for voice numbers some twenty-six solo songs and ten part songs, of which one set of six was published as Op. 3, along with incidental music based on Shakespeare's Hamlet that includes several songs sung by Ophelia.

Im Rosenbusch der Liebe schlief is the second of his Drei Gesänge für Frauenstimmen a cappella, Op. 8. The manuscript, housed in the Oswald Jonas Memorial Collection at the University of California, Riverside (box 22, folder 10), is written in open score in a copyist's hand and includes a piano reduction for each number; it comprises eight conjugate manuscript leaves. A second version of the score, in photocopy, is stamped "Ms. V. 30702, Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Wien."

The text is by August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben (1798–1874), best known as the author of the Deutschlandlied. A professor of German literature at the University of Breslau, he was relieved of his position after his collection Unpolitische Lieder offended the Prussian authorities. An amateur musician, Fallersleben composed melodies for many of his own poems.

The cover image for this edition is taken from the obverse of a medallion of Schenker made by Alfred Rothberger (1873–1932); the portrait upon which it was based resides in the Jonas Collection (box 3, folder 6). The reverse of the medallion bears Schenker's own definition of music — "Musik ist lebendige Bewegung von Tönen im naturgegebenen Raum" ("Music is the living motion of tones in nature-given space") — accompanied by what he termed the Chord of Nature, formed by the first five partials of the harmonic series.

This edition presents the song in a print-ready SSAA a cappella vocal score, ideal for women's choral ensembles and programs exploring the lesser-known byways of the late Romantic choral repertoire.

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