A Musical Courtship: Clara Schumann's Six Lieder, Opus 13

In this thesis, I analyze the first, second, and final songs of Clara Schumann's Six Lieder, Opus 13. In each one, special attention is paid to two aspects of Clara's composition. First, I use my research on Clara and Robert's correspondence to attempt to demonstrate ways in which she may have drawn from events during their courtship as inspiration for her compositional choices and techniques in these songs. Second, I interpret a motive that spans the set, the notes of which could be a cipher representative of her and Robert, to construct a narrative across the cycle informed by her and Robert's relationship. My analysis expands in part on questions David Lewin has raised about the first song, "Ich stand in dunkeln Träumen." I hope that these analyses can shed more light on Clara's first set of lieder published independently from Robert's. Further research could be done to see if there are clear similarities between the third, fourth, and fifth songs of this cycle and significant events in Clara and Robert's courtship.