ose which was
never to fall from her hand.

The principal numbers are the opening song, a joyous hymn to spring, in
canon form, for two sopranos; the dancing choruses of the elves, for two
sopranos and alto; the male chorus, "In the thick Wood," which is very
effective in harmony; the exultant bridal songs, "Why sound the Horns so
gayly?" and "Now at the Miller's;" the duet, "In the smiling Valley, 'mid
the Trees so green;" the Grave Song; the quartet, "Oh, Joy! foretaste of
Heaven's Rest;" and the duet, "I know a blushing Rosebud."

The work as a whole has never attained the popularity of his "Paradise
and the Peri," though detached numbers from it are frequently given with
great success. The inadequacy of the poem has much to do with this; and
it must also be remembered that it was written at a time when Schumann's
powers had begun to weaken under the strain of the mental disorder which
finally proved fatal. Reissmann, in his analysis of the work, says:--

"The man who had hitherto refused to allow even the simplest
composition to flow from any but a distinct idea, who constantly strove
to enter into relations with some distinct movement of the heart or the
imagination, here grasped at a poem utterly destitute of any rational
fundamental idea, and so arbitrary in execution, so tasteless in parts,
that the musical inspiration it offered could never have moved any
other composer to set it to music."

The Minstrel's Curse.

"The Minstrel's Curse," for solo voice, chorus and orchestra, was written
in 1852, and first performed in the same year. Its text is based upon
Uhland's beautiful ballad of the same name, which was adapted for the
composer by Richard Pohl. The libretto shows numerous variations from the
original text. Some of the verses are literally followed, others are
changed, and many new songs and motives are introduced. Several of
Uhland's other ballads are assigned to the minstrel, the youth, and the
queen, among them "Die Drei Lieder," "Entsagung," and "Hohe Liebe," as
well as extracts from "Rudello," "Lied des Deutschen Saengers," "Gesang
und Krieg," and "Das Thal." Instead of the beautiful verse in the
original poem:--

"They sing of spring and love, of happy golden youth,
Of freedom, manly worth, of sanctity and truth.
They sing of all emotions sweet the human breast that move,
They sing of all things high the human heart doth love.
The courtly crow