*This post is part of a series on a cycle of short piano works by Felix Mendelssohn. Feel free to read the other posts, linked below!*
Lieder ohne Worte (Book 2), Op.30
Lieder ohne Worte (Book 2), Op.30
1. Andante espressivo (E♭) (post)
2. Allegro di molto (b♭) (post)
3. Adagio non troppo (E) (post)
4. Agitato e con fuoco (b) (post)
5. Andante grazioso (D) (post)
To finish off his second cycle of Lieder ohne Worte, Mendelssohn wrote a swaying barcarolle (or 'barcarole') in f# minor entitled Venetianisches Gondellied or "Venetian Gondola Song." The swaying feeling arises from the juxtaposition of offbeat rhythmic accents and the musical structure of a bar of 6/8, the time signature of the piece.
Typically, a measure of 6/8 has accents on beats 1 and 4. However, Mendelssohn puts two pitches together on beats 3 and 5, creating the feeling of 3/4. While the rhythmic accents fall on beats 1, 3, and 5, the contour of the left hand line produces natural accents on the usual beats 1 and 4 in 6/8.
Accompaniment figure with implied accents (m. 1)
The result is a figure which blurs the two time signatures, which opens the piece at a comfortable Allegretto tranquillo.
A singing melody (aptly marked cantabile, It. "as if singing") rings over the accompaniment, beginning in m. 7 with pickups (m. [6]). The melody occurs in two eight-bar phrases, the second of which reappears in the repeated section. Each phrase is given its own system of music below:
The second eight-bar phrase actually stretches over the repeat sign and into the middle section of the piece, which contains an eight-bar phrase, two bars of accompaniment, and a four-bar phrase in b minor.
The eight-bar phrase beginning at the pickups to m. 23 through m. 30 gets me every time, starting melancholy and growing brighter. The dynamic push towards the ff at m. 29 (and, critically, the marking of più f in m. 26-27 [in the original score, it is spread over both bars]) makes the emotion even more potent.
After Mendelssohn modulates from b minor back to f# minor, he writes the same melody as the second phrase of the first section (highlighted). However, it does not feel like an eight-bar phrase.
Rather, it feels like two bars of accompaniment (mm. 37-38) and a four-bar phrase, due to the bass note being C# rather than F#, leading to a perfect authentic cadence (i64—V—i) that creates the closure felt in m. 39 (rather than where the returning melody starts at m. 37). The top of the repeat sounds again like it begins just with two bars of accompaniment before the eight-bar phrase picks up at m. 23.
The end of the repeat bleeds right into the heart-rending coda. The change in the rhythm of the accompaniment figure, and the fact that it plays an essential role in the melody (which is really just a series of chords) changes the mood of the piece entirely.
The downward linear motion initiated by the melody, followed by the bass, and the dynamic arc reaching its height at the lowest point in the bass line (marked with crescendos both times, adding sfz the second time) makes the coda the emotional epicenter of the piece. Considering it is the last of the cycle, it is a pretty powerful musical device for a piece that starts so plainly (just by visually comparing this analysis to the other pieces, it's harmonically much more straightforward).
After the twice-repeated descent, a simple ending with a tonic f# minor arpeggio (m. 51) over the opening accompaniment figure brings the piece full circle as the accompaniment slows to a stop and the melody evaporates into silence.
Thanks for following this series of posts on Mendelssohn's Lieder ohne Worte, Op.30! Share the posts and leave your thoughts in the comments below.
All score excerpts taken from the Breitkopf & Härtel edition (Leipzig) via IMSLP.org.
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