Mörike-Lieder

Wolf composed all 53 of these settings of Eduard Mörike's poetry in a concentrated burst of work in 1888, completing the collection in under a year. The songs are packed with rapidly shifting harmonies, chords that sidestep the expected resolution and land somewhere unexpected, pushing the piano far beyond accompaniment into an equal partner with the voice. Individual songs range from short comic sketches of a few bars to extended lyrical pieces, so a listener can start with just two or three and already hear how Wolf's harmonic language differs sharply from Schubert or Schumann.

What to listen for

In 'Verborgenheit' (No. 7), the piano opens with a quiet, steady chorale texture that stays almost static while the baritone line moves above it; then roughly halfway through, the harmony suddenly brightens into the major key for a few bars before pulling back, which Wolf achieves by shifting just one or two notes in the chord. In 'Abschied' (No. 53), the piano takes on a relentlessly energetic staccato figure throughout, giving the song a sardonic, almost theatrical drive that contrasts with the vocal line's mock-dignity, the two parts work against each other deliberately.

Recommended rendition

The 1973 Deutsche Grammophon recording by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau with Sviatoslav Richter, made live in Innsbruck, has been frequently cited as a benchmark collaboration for this repertoire.

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