"Lieder ohne Worte" - Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words

Today on Accu Radio, I listened to a short lyrical piano piece. This piece of music is one of Felix Mendelssohn’s (1809-1847) lieder, which is a German miniature song that was used often in the Romantic Era of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries. The lieder are often short, only performed by the piano, and should express the emotions of the performer. These songs were meant to be performed in a small, intimate setting, such as in someone’s home.

Mendelssohn composed what is called “Songs Without Words,” or, “Lieder ohne Worte.” These are lieder without words. The expression is found in the music itself. The particular lied that I listened to was from Op. 85, No. 1 in F Major (1834-1845).

This short piece features the pianist, Daniel Barenbolm, who plays this melodious song beautifully. For the most part, the left hand plays arpeggio chords, mostly made up of seven notes ascending and descending, as the right hands plays a long sequence of notes that seem to make up a kind of melody. The ever-changing dynamics of this lied gives great expression and feeling to the listener. As the lied moves, somewhat swiftly, between major and minor modes, the left hand sustains the meter as the smooth transition is made between modes. A climax in the music is reached as the tempo picks up and the mode changes to a triumphant major mode. The lied ends with a sequence of pitches played higher and higher in the right hand until the trickling fades away in a pianissimo chord.

This lied exhibits emotions through the style and dynamics of the music, rather than words. Mendelssohn was an accomplished Romantic composer who left modernity with beautiful and expressive music.