The Formal, Tonal, and Harmonic Logic of L. Van Beethoven’s An Die Ferne Geliebte (To the Distant Beloved) (Op. 98) Song Cycle

Abstract

"This paper is an analysis of Beethoven's song cycle An die ferne Geliebte (To the Distant Beloved), op. 98, formally, tonally and harmonically. After a brief introduction, the author takes the songs in order, describing them analytically, placing the interesting and idiosyncratic arrangements in the light of the lyrics. She draws dramaturgical parallels between the text and the musical arrangements. Finally, she illustrates her analysis with formal and tonal summary tables and graphs, thus helping to understand and summarise the songs. Keywords: Beethoven, An die ferne Geliebte, To the Distant Beloved, op. 98, harmony, musical forms, tonal logic "