"Ich will meine Seele tauchen" (I Want to Plunge My Soul) is the fifth song from Robert Schumann's Dichterliebe (A Poet's Love), Op. 48, composed in 1840. The text is by Heinrich Heine from his Lyrisches Intermezzo.
This exquisite miniature in B minor is one of the shortest songs in the cycle, yet it is filled with intense longing. The poet wishes to immerse his soul in the cup of a lily, and the flower will breathe a song — the song that his beloved once sang. The imagery merges nature, love, and music into a single poetic vision of almost mystical intimacy.
The piano part is particularly notable, with its delicate, arpeggiated figuration suggesting the trembling of flower petals or the shimmering surface of water. The vocal line floats above in a dreamlike, almost improvisatory manner. Schumann's ability to create an entire world of feeling in fewer than thirty seconds demonstrates his mastery of the Romantic miniature form.
Composed in
1840
Opus
Op. 48, No. 5
Source
Public Domain
