THE STICHVORLAGE OF THE COMPLETE SONG, written for SAATB, notated in brown ink on three systems of varying size per page, with autograph title ("Der traurige Jäger. J. von Eichendorff."), marked up by and for the printer in pencil and red crayon

2 pages, 4to (30.4 x 23cm), no place or date, [Dresden, 1849], splitting to central fold, repaired, a few tiny tears to upper edge, a few small stains, browned

not recorded in: Margit L. McCorkle, Robert Schumann. Thematisch-Bibliographisches Werkverzeichnis (Munich, 2003).

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing where appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

AN UNRECORDED AUTOGRAPH MANUSCRIPT OF A COMPLETE SCHUMANN PARTSONG. Written in March 1849 during a period of great creativity for Schumann, the attractive partsong "Der traurige Jäger" was published in Schumann's second collection of mixed choral partsongs entitled Romanzen und Balladen (Whistling, 1850; a first collection, Op.67, had appeared the previous year; two further volumes were published posthumously in 1860). As a letter of 23 March 1849 to his publisher Whistling reveals, Schumann was full of excitement for these compositions, in what he regarded as a completely new genre: "I have begun to write with real passion a collection of ballads for choir; something which, as I believe, does not yet exist. It seems to me that in this form the ballad character achieves an even more effective form of utterance than through single-voice parts."

The Schumann Werkverzeichnis, which records a copyist Stichvorlage, corrected by Schumann, for the partsongs nos.6,7, 10 and the appendix item 'Jäger Wohlgemuth' of Op.75, presumes the former existence of a copyist Stichvorlage also for nos.8 and 9. The present manuscript would seem to indicate, however, that, at least in the case of no.8, the autograph of the partsong will have served as the Stichvorlage. Schumann's working manuscript of the songs Op.75 nos.6-10, and the appendix song, is preserved in the Heinrich-Heine-Institut, Düsseldorf.