German Art Songs about Spring and How to Sing Them

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Can you believe that it’s already March? This means spring is just around the corner. Yes, that’s right. The official first day of spring is March 20th.  As spring draws near, many of you are probably planning recitals, either for a school requirement or to add to your summer performance schedule. When planning a recital, it’s usually a good idea to plan your program around a theme, such as German art songs about spring! ​

Okay, okay… you might not get that specific. However, we’ve created a list of great German art songs about spring, just in case you want to sing them! Keep in mind with this list that sometimes multiple voice types may sing an art song. These are examples of past performances.

• Die Mainacht by Brahms (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9QoFhGopg4)
• Andres Maienlied by Mendelssohn (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5RLvekBqMs)
• Das erste Veilchen by Mendelssohn (https://youtu.be/GRE6_bs4rok)
• Komm, lieber Mai und mache by Mozart (https://youtu.be/M_j1il65RY0)
• Wohl tauscht ihr Vögelein by Mozart (https://youtu.be/AMb2lhV-gWs)
• Im Frühlingsanfang by Mozart (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvkVGO3JXDY)
• Er ist's by Schumann (https://youtu.be/Ws-XQ3-fbdE)
• Jasminenstrauch by Schumann (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJi6kKDAxaI)
• Im Frühling (Hier lieg ich auf dem Fruehlingshügel) by Wolf (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Qly2MRzM14)
• Morgentau by Wolf (https://youtu.be/IMDzIXMf2Ug)
• Er ist's (Frühling lässt sein blaues Band) by Wolf (https://youtu.be/ZimfNfhhboQ) (https://youtu.be/_s1v1L1tBb8)
• Im wunderschönen Monat Mai by Franz (https://youtu.be/-jDbbVLb_Ro)
• Frühzeitiger Frühling by Josephine Lang (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnNqfrsaTCQ)
• Frühling by Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOVea5QIthM)
• Frühlingsmorgen by Mahler (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjE-k37GP2I)
• Am Bach im Frühling by Schubert (https://youtu.be/nYl-i6QqOeA)
• Es hat die Rose sich beklagt (Op. 42, No. 5) by Franz (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W50jo7vzGUQ)
• Frühlingsglaube by Schubert (https://youtu.be/CrUZLtKj4J8)
• Frühlingsgruß (Hoffmann von Fallersleben) by Schumann (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGRpK2q8P0U)
• Im wunderschönen Monat May (Dichterliebe) by Schumann (https://youtu.be/cGO6wyHFClo)
• Schneeglöckchen by Korngold (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddl7bl4l5yk)
• Gruss by Mendelssohn (https://youtu.be/0bMhIy-7pEA)
• Das Lied im Grünen by Schubert (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKYzE4O13IA)
• Sei mir gegrüsst D 741 by Schubert (https://youtu.be/4FEteqQox4Q)
• Frühlingsnacht by R. Schumann (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJc4AGNB5Xo)
• Erstes Grün by R. Schumann (https://youtu.be/9b0UKfOOK6c)
• Frühling übers Jahr by Wolf (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRF7ofkHWUk)
• Zitronenfalter im April by Wolf (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCJvnx7AvjA)
• Frühlingslied (Der Frühling kehret wieder) by R. Schumann (https://youtu.be/xHivi4_X-2M)​

How to start working on a new song
If you are planning on picking up some new art songs for your upcoming recital, it can be helpful to strategize learning them so that you can learn them quickly and correctly. Here are some helpful steps to learning new music:
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1. Read through the text and make sure you know how to pronounce each word. If you have questions about a word, look up the IPA.
2. Write down the text on loose paper or a journal as you are memorizing. Physically writing out the words will help them stick in your brain much better. No - typing does not work the same way!
3. Speak your words at a slower tempo in rhythm. You can even use movements such as marching or waltzing to the beat. The extra movements will help work the text into your muscle memory.
4. NOW you are ready to learn the melody and insert the words with the melody.

Recurring Words
As you may have noticed, several of these pieces have recurring words. It may be beneficial to you to memorize these common spring song words so that the next time you see them, you’ll immediately recognize them. Here are some of the words that seem to appear over and over again, along with their IPA and English translation:

• der Monat [mo:nat] - the month
• April [aprɪl] - April
• Mai [mae] - May
• das Lied [li:t] - the song
• die Musik [muzi:k] - the music
• die Blume [blu:mə] - the flower
• die Rose [ro:zə] - the rose
• der Vogel [fo:gəl] - the bird
• die Luft [lʊft] - the air
• Grün [gry:n] - Green
• der Frühling [fry:lɪŋ] - the spring
• der Morgen [mɔrgən] - the morning
• Liebe [li:bə] - love
• Blühen [bly:ən] - flourish

Let’s take a closer look at two words on this list - der Frühling and blühen. The umlaut u (ü) is a tricky vowel. Some umlauts are short, some long. For a lot of students, it is difficult to distinguish these two sounds. They think they are already singing a long vowel, but in fact, they are singing a short vowel. But if you know the rules and develop your ear through practice and good feedback (if possible with a native German speaker), it will be easy for you.

Here’s an easy way to distinguish which is which!

• Find umlaut u words in your score or write them on a sheet of paper.
  
• Underline the consonants following the ü.
  

The vowel is long, if it is

1. followed by a single consonant,
2. followed by a silent h,
3. or a double vowel.

The vowel is short, if

1. more than one consonant follows (which includes double consonants, ck, tz)
2. it is a schwa at the end of the word.

For example:

Frühling- spring (long - silent h),
blühen - bloom (long - silent h),
füllen -fill (short- followed by two consonants)
Seele - soul (long- double vowel)


Recurring Themes
As you may have guessed from looking at the recurring words, there are also recurring themes. Songs about spring tend to wax on about the beauty of the world, the birds in the sky, and the flowers among fields of green grass. Or, they may talk about love, seeing your love again, feeling love for your partner, looking forward to finding the person you love… you get the picture. These songs tend to be quite descriptive, painting a visual scene.


Now, you are ready for your spring/summer recital! What other German spring songs would you suggest? Or, do you have a favorite spring song cycle? Let us know in the comments! For more tips on singing in German, be sure to join our email list on the side of this page. ​​