In general, Wolf's songs contain a musical equivalent for the prevailing
mood of a poem, or more than one if the mood changes. Against that
background particular words and phrases are thrown into relief for parti-
cular effect. The total impression is thus one of diversity in unity. This,
admittedly, is the essence of all musical form, and need not have any real
connexion with the poem set.

We occasionally feel, especially in the earlier songs, that the formal
perfection is arbitrarily contrived (e.g. the 1880 Erwartung). But mainly
it is derived directly from the poem. In the Mörike songs for example a
strong central poetic image or idea evokes an iron logic of musical con-
struction ( Auf eine Christblume II, Seufzer, Erstes Liebeslied eines Möd-
chens) while a more diffuse poem, whether reflective or narrative, is
transcribed into a more flexible and developing formal scheme ( Auf eine
Christblume I, Auf einer Wanderung). The structure of the setting thus
reflects that of the poem. Within this general correspondence, there is
much subtle variation of rhythm, melody and harmony, to re-create the
finer details of the text.

Rhythm, in particular, can be expected to have a central part to play,
since it is a factor common to music and poetry. Apart from providing
formal shape and continuity ( In der Frühe, etc.), it can give added mean-
ing. Sometimes this is illustrative, as in the crisp elated rhythm of a
song about the exhilaration of a morning walk ( Fussreise) or the slow
throbbing rhythm of a song about a beating heart ( Alle gingen, Herz, zur
Ruh'). A persistent rhythmic figure can also be used evocatively to con-
vey for example the idea of a single-minded preoccupation ( Nun bin ich
dein, Mühvoll komm' ich und beladen). There is an even more intimate
link with the moods and meanings of the poem in the rhythmic changes
of such songs as Auf eine Christblume I, Agnes or Grenzen der Menschheit.
The possibilities are endless, and Wolf exploits them without ever repeat-
ing them; each song creates and sustains rhythmically its own mood and
its own world.

It is true that most are in duple or quadruple time, set out in regular
two-bar phrases and four-bar sentences, and that this occasionally leads
to squareness and monotony where the musical material is not of the
finest. This very regularity is however one of the factors that enables
Wolf to achieve his superlative perfection of formal construction; and as
a technique of setting words to music it is not only defensible but almost
inevitable. In German, as in English, scansion is by stress of syllable
rather than by length; so the common trochaic foot for example is
most directly translated into equal pulses, thus

♩ rather than

♩ .

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