Du bist die Ruh Op.59 No.8
The piece is one of the most vocally demanding, where the text is reminiscent of a prayer without explicit religious overtones.
The song is brilliant in its strong emotional expression and represents the romantic style with classy minimalist variations in dynamics and harmonies, which are found in both piano and singing voice. Du bist die Ruh has words by Friedrich Rückert, and was set to music in 1823.
Friedrich Rückert (1788–1866)
was a Bavarian poet, a translator, and a professor of Oriental languages. Composers who set Rückert to music were Robert Schumann, Clara Schumann, Johannes Brahms, Gustav Mahler, Alban Berg, Béla Bartók, Paul Hindemith, Richard Strauss, and others. Engraver Carl Barth was a good friend who Rückert met during his time in Italy. The German saying ”Mein lieber Freund und Kupferstecher” (”My dear friend and engraver”) is a quote by Ruckert.
