6 Songs without Words

The title "Songs Without Words", chosen by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy for his famous collection of mainly vocal piano pieces, became extraordinary popular. Soon after its publication it provoked a vogue of arrangements of popular songs. Hundreds of songs for piano solo were composed, claiming to represent famous melodies without additional vocal- oder solo parts.

On the other hand, the different characters of tempers and the inexhaustible richness of melodies in "Songs Without Words" seem to offer an extension of the tonal limitation of the piano by additional instruments.

It became apparent therefore that such works which (a) contained a second voice or (b) an antiphony due to the frequent repetition of phrases, should be assigned to various other instruments. The most popular of these, No. 4 in this publication, in which the dialog between upper and lower voice is entwined by a rich piano part was entitled DUETTO by the composer himself.