Traumes Wirren

Traumes Wirren is german for 'tangled dreams' and is the seventh piece of Robert Schumann's Fantasiestucke. The title is implicative of the struggle between the dreams and the passions within Schumann. In this piece the dreamy quality of Schumann, represented by the character of Eusebius, becomes entangled by the passions of Florestan, who symbolizes Schumann's more emotional side. The piece should be played in an extremely lively fashion, as indicated by the tempo of 'Äußerst lebhaft'. Like the previous piece, Fabel*, this piece departs from the established D-flat major/f minor key signature scheme, as it is written in the key of F major which is also the key of Ende vom Lied, the next piece. The piece is rhythmically intense and a rapid pulse permeates it. [Ewen, David, "The Complete Book of Classical Music", page 474, Prentice-Hall, 1965]

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