Felix Mendelssohn - Song Without Words Op 67 No 4 "Spinning Song" in C Major | Library of Music

At the request of Olga Lidia Velazquez Spinning Song in C Major Op 67 No 4 from Songs Without Words by Felix Mendelssohn - difficulty 7/10 It was Goethe, linchpin of the German Romantic literary movement who once declared that "music begins where words end," and it was Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809-47) who was to famously prove the point in his Lieder ohne Worte or Songs without Words. These works, encompassing some eight complete volumes in all (the first came out in print during 1830; five more followed in the years prior to 1845, while the last two were issued after the composer's death) each containing six pieces, were a seminal Germanic response to the world of Romantic miniaturism, and principally, the growing interest amongst composers to distil the rapture of the moment through the medium of the keyboard gem. This Spinnerlied (Spinning Song) from spring 1845 is one of a handful of Songs Without Words that Mendelssohn actually gave a more specific title, and the title fits it well. In constant motion, it is a brief, rapid piece in 6/8 meter and the key of C major. It begins with the right hand playing a sixteenth note figure that winds up and down all the notes contained in the minor third between F and A flat. This figure mimics the constant up and down of the treadle that turns the spinning wheel. It becomes the statement of the rondo-like work, returning between each variant of the "song" and as the coda. The "song" itself is played staccato, darting above rocking sixteenth notes. It briefly turns to the minor in its second appearance, as if the fibers being spun were momentarily full of slubs and are not making a smooth thread. But after a little more winding of the original figure, the irregularities are worked out and an even twist is produced. Due to the darting melody, the drone-like figures, and the overall happy outlook, the piece has also been called "The Bee's Wedding." Description by Patsy Morita