Julius Mosen (1803-1867)

In the spring of 1832, Robert Schumann read Mosen’s book Georg Venlost. Eine Novelle mit Arabesken [“Georg Venlost. A Novella with Arabesques”], published in Leipzig in 1831, and personally met the poet of the Andreas Hofer song in April of the same year over a beer. Subsequently, Schumann set to music three poems by Mosen: Der Nussbaum [“The Walnut”] Op. 25/3 (Myrthen [“Myrtles”]), Der träumende See [“The Dreaming Lake”] Op. 33/1 (Sechs Lieder [“Six Songs”]), and Der Zecher als Doktrinär [“The Doctrinaire Reveller”] Op. 33/4 (Sechs Lieder [“Six Songs”]).

(Sigrid Lange, translated by Thomas Henninger)