Children of Robert and Clara Schumann, photo in Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Template:PD-US
First Loss was in the Grade 3 ABRSM syllabus in 1944 and in the Grade 4 syllabus in 2009 - 2010.
First Loss commemorates the death of the Schumann children’s little bird. According to sources on the internet, Schumann fed the bird a semolina dumpling and the following day the bird died. Apparently the bird was a greenfinch.
One source states “ít is a child’s first encounter with mortality which is painful and brittle. It’s descending minor lines fall like a child’s tears. There is a resistance to the reality of the death in the middle section and at the end there is an outburst of angry disbelief”.
In Jane Magrath’s excellent book ‘The Pianist’s Guide to Standard Teaching and Performance Literature’, Alfred Publishing Co, 1994 she states “a lyrical, melancholy work with interesting motivic interplay between the hands. The double-note passages in the B section will need attention to the voicing and phrasing. One of the most accessible movements in the set and one of the most popular”.
The footnotes of the piece in the 2021 - 2022 Grade 4 exam book state “First Loss is essentially a lyrical piece with the melody in the right hand, but the sense of loss is intensified in bars 21 - 5, where the opening of the theme enters in stretto (overlapping entries).
The ABRSM Teaching notes for the 2009 - 2010 syllabus states “taken from one of the greatest sets of teaching pieces, The Album for the Young, this is an ideal piece for the artistic child. It expressively depicts the grief of one’s first loss and needs a beautiful cantabile, an unhurried and spacious approach to the phrasing and an ability to b alance the hands carefully”.
And, the ABRSM Teaching notes for the 2021 - 2022 syllabus states “this sad little piece, No 16 from The Album for the Young, will appeal to the more sensitive among your students - those with the ability to enter into the world of early childhood when the loss of a favourite toy seemed like a major tragedy. Students might think of a past misfortune to help them establish an internal mood”.
Marie Schumann, Marie-Louise (Loucky) Vonder Mühll, Eugenie Schumann und Clara Schumann in Basel (c. 1895). Creator unknown, Source Schumann Museum, License Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International
Character/story of the piece - there is much information available as to the background of this piece. Encourage the player to construct some words to the music, treating the upper voice as the person whi is displaying the sadness and anger and the lower part as a person who is being sympathetic and understanding.
Form - binary form with each section being of equal length. The material in the second section uses some aspects from the first section however new material is added in this section as well as the use of stretto in bars 19 - 25. The first section remains in the key of E minor throughout. The second section commences in the key of C major however the music swiftly returns to the key of E minor. There is a touch of A minor in bar 29 and the piece finishes in E minor.
Main part of the music - this should occur in bar 29; these chords come out of the blue to a certain extent and provide the music with a sudden outburst of anger. Schumann has emphasised this point by adding accent marks to the chords in this bar. These unexpected chords need to be played with a sudden change of dynamics as suggested by Schumann.
Tempo, time signature and rhythmic patterns - clearly the choice of tempo for this piece is crucial, if played to slowly it will drag and lack vitality especially in the second section and if played too fast it will become flippant and lack pathos and despair. The suggested tempo of 721 crotchet beats per minute is suitable and should be observed. Even though the music is written in duple time it often feels as if there piece. There are no particularly complex rhythmic patterns in this piece, however the player must successfully navigate the playing of quavers between the hands.
Touch/Articulation - a cantabile touch is necessary in some areas of this piece and this can be coupled with a slightly intense touch in other areas as the contrast between the use of these two touchare fewer bar lines present than the ones that are shown. Apart from the last few bars, all phrases and melodic fragments commence on an upbeat quaver and the player needs to consider how this use of the upbeat contributes to the character of the music. Regarding the last few bars, the duple time signature is more apparent than it has been throughout the rest of the es will highlight the changes of emotion. The player should commence with a cantabile touch in the RH with the LH entering with lightness but also using resonance on the crotchet notes. However, at bars 5 and 6 an intense touch should be employed with a return of the cantabile touch at the end of the phrase. Again this approach can be used in the second section however this time starting with an intense touch in bars 17 and 18 and returned to a cantabile touch in bar 19. The chordal sections in bars 29 and the first beat of bar 30 should be played with energy and some shoulder weight. All articulation marks must be observed in this piece; some of the lifts could be considered as someone sighing or sobbing.
Balance between the hands - there are may occasions in this piece of music where the balance should be to the RH. Nevertheless, the LH has a very important role to play too. It becomes a melodic partner in bars 7 and 8 for example. The hands should be equal in balance in the stretto section as well as the chords in bars 29 and 30 before the upper notes of the RH gaining prominence in the final two bars. There are some instances where the RH’s upper notes require highlighting such as bar 20.
Music room from Robert Schumann in Zwickau (house of Robert Schumann Museum, Hauptmarkt 5). Creator Jens K. Muller, Source own work of Jens K. Muller, License Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 German
Dynamics - a large range of dynamics should be used in this piece although any use of forte should be limited to a few places. The dynamics should feel restrained with a sense of frustration and anger festering below the surface. The use of fp at the start of the phrases in the first section should interpreted as a ‘lean’ on these notes, play these notes from the shoulder and allow a little of the sound to die away before playing the following notes. This piece is a lesson in controlling dynamics and being very aware of tone-matching.
Rubato - there are some notes on rubato on this website. As I state, ‘less is more’ in relation to rubato. Allow the listener to know the beat of the music before applying any rubato. And, it is important that any rubato applied does not become predictable. The player must observe the etwas langsamer that Schumann has added in bars 19 and 20 however the a tempo be strictly observed. There should be no rubato used in bars 29 and 30 however a slight ritardando in the final two bars is appropriate.
Pedal - subtle application of the pedal is appropriate and in many cases the use of flutter pedal is advantageous. The player will need to employ a number of pedaling techniques. At the start the player should not depress the pedal too far to sustain the held note in the LH as there should not be a sudden ‘surge’ in the sound at this point.
Considerations when playing this piece
· The play can employ a number of gestures when playing this piece.
· There is a danger that some notes, such as the LH Es in bars 1 - 3 are not held for long enough.
· The first note (and this occurs again) is extremely important as it sets the scene for the entire piece, it must portray longing, pain and intensity.
· It is quite awkward to play the RH in bars 24 and 25, especially those with a smaller hand.
· At the end the player should notice that the RH lifts prior to the LH.
· There should be a clean break at the end of the first phrase in bar 8 and this will help provide contrast with the stretto section where the melody overlaps many times.
· The first section has a thinner texture in contrast with the second section.
· There is an awkward moment in the RH as the LH needs to let go of the F natural so that it is available for the RH to play.
· There is a feeling of acceptance and resignation at the end.