Abstract
Robert Schumann composed five pieces for cello and piano in folk style, opus 102, in 1849. The focus of this study is not the specific folk origin of the melodies, since the idea of “folk style” at that time is an expression of the purely human and national identy. In 1849, the political situation in Dresden, where Schumann lived, was very unstable. Although Schumann did not actively participate in the May Uprising like Richard Wagner, he was still deeply involved inwardly. By invoking the folk style and using “vanitas vanitatum” as the motto of this opus, Schumann seems to be echoing the sentiment in Goethe’s poem with the same name: there is much vanities in all human endeavors. Schumann only used “humor” as expression mark in first piece, nevertheless, due to the intense influence of Jean Paul, this element can still be found in all the other pieces. Infinite contrast and the character of dual personality are amply displayed. Folk style, vanity and humor are contradictory yet mutually connected: Facing the vanity of revolutions, Schumann tried to sublimate his nationalism in his music, and took humor as a release to the helplessness of reality.
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