A flat major in a waltzing three in An Chloen, leads here to E fiat major in a celebratory two in the bar. Courtship has obviously led to marriage. This is hearty music 'im alten Ton', earthy in its German simplicity, the type of marriage that we hear about in Heine's Das ist ein Flöten und Geigen, without the bitter viewpoint of the tortured commentator. There is a strength and security in this deliberate good-hearted directness. Carl Loewe, already writing splendid songs in not so far away Germany, often achieved a style like this in his ballads.

from notes by Graham Johnson © 1990