Schumann - Knecht Ruprecht in A Minor - Intermediate by Robert Schumann Chamber Music - Digital Sheet Music

Opus/Catalog Number:

Opus/Catalog Number: Op. 68, No. 12Key/Tone: A minorYear/Date of Composition: 1848Difficulty: Grade 8/12 (Intermediate)Obs.: This energic piece is the twelfth of 43 short piano pieces in Robert Schumann's Album for the Young.Note: in measure 28, many editions have B3 as the last note of the left hand. However, Schumann's autograph shows a B3 that was scratched out and replaced with the D4.The character Knecht Ruprecht is also known as Servant Ruprecht.Ruprecht travels with Santa Claus, carrying with him a rod and a sack. He is sometimes dressed in black rags, bearing a soot-blackened face and unruly black hair.According to the legend, the children are summoned to the door to perform tricks, such as a dance or a song to show Santa and Ruprecht that they were good children throughout the year. Those who performed badly would be beaten soundly by Servant Ruprecht, and those who performed well were given a gift or some treats. Those who preformed very badly or had committed other misdeeds during the year were put into Ruprecht's sack and taken away to Ruprecht’s home in the Black Forest.