Requiem for Mignon

composition by Robert Schumann

Requiem for Mignon (German: Requiem für Mignon) is a six part musical composition by Robert Schumann for a choir and orchestra.[1] The work was originally made in 1849 and first played in 1851. The work is 13 minutes long.[2]

Requiem für Mignon
by Robert Schumann
EnglishRequiem for Mignon
KeyC minor
Opus98b
PeriodRomantic
GenreRequiem
Composed1849 (1849)
Movements3
ScoringChorus & Orchestra
Premiere
DateNovember 21, 1851 (1851-11-21)

Development

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Schumann was interested in Goethe's Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre. Schuman was especially interested in a character named Mignon, a young woman created out of incest. The year of the requiem's creation was exactly 100 years after Goethe's birth, and Schumann noted this in several of his writings.[3]

Schumann made the requiem on July 2 and 3, 1849 and completed its orchestration in September of the same year. The requiem was first played in a concert for Düsseldorf Allgemeiner Musikverein on November 21, 1951.[3]

Content

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Requiem for Mignon shows only Mignon's funeral at the end of the book. This is different than other requiems.[4]

Schumann ends the requiem before Mignon's past is found out. [3]

Structure

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The work has of 6 parts that play without stopping:

  1. Langsam - C minor - Chorus
  2. Etwas bewegter - C minor - Soprano and Alto
  3. Lebhaft -C major - Chorus
  4. Feierlich, doch nicht zu langsam - F major - Chorus
  5. Die Viertel wie vorher die Halben - C major - Bass
  6. Lebhaft - C major - Chorus

Notable performances

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Notable performances of the work include:

References

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  1. Papanikolaou, Eftychia (September 2010). "Whose Mourning? Schumann's Die Requiem für Mignon". The Choral Journal. 51 (2): 18–30. JSTOR 23559984.
  2. "Requiem für Mignon, Op.98b (Schumann, Robert) - IMSLP". imslp.org. Retrieved 2024-06-13.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Meconi, Honey. "Robert Schumann—Choral Music: Requiem for Mignon :: The Choral Singer's Companion". thechoralsingerscompanion.com. Retrieved 2024-06-13.
  4. Weeks, Chris (2017-06-19). "Requiem für Mignon". The Art of Listening. Retrieved 2024-06-13.