Peter Cornelius thought of himself as a ’Poet-Musician’ and almost all his mature compositions were vocal. His early attachment to the New German school of Liszt and Wagner was strong but his songs, almost half of which were written in Weimar, retain a very personal quality. A gifted poet, he set a number of his own lyrics. His songs possess economy, atmosphere, and colourful piano accompaniments and show an interest in cyclical writing. Whether mournful or, in the Rhenish songs, exuberantly outgoing, they reveal his imaginative command of the medium. This is the first volume of his complete lieder.