As an important bridge between the classical period and the romantic period, Beethoven was a trend-setter in instrumental music and piano and contributed many famous works, such as symphonies, piano sonatas, and string quartets. However, the vocal music has been relatively rarely discussed. Therefore, the researcher of this current study focuses on the work "To My Lover in the Distance," which is not only the first serial song but also the cornerstone of German art songs and Cycle Songs.
This set of works was completed in 1816. There are six songs in total. The content expresses the yearning and feelings for the distant lover from a male perspective. Although the content of the poems is not coherent, they are given a unified theme after Beethoven composed the music. There are five chapters in this thesis. The first chapter is the introduction, which includes the research motivation and purpose as well as the research scope and method. The second chapter provides an overview of Beethoven's "To the Beloved from Afar," which introduces the Cycle Song, Beethoven's love, the letter collection, and the creation background of "To the Beloved from Afar." The third chapter is a brief introduction to the poet jeitteles. It also gives an analysis of poetry and rhyme. The fourth chapter is musuc analysis and singing interpretation, which analyzes and interprets the six songs. Finally, the conclusion is made in the fifth chapter of this thesis.
