The first of the songs form a _Liederkreis_ (song-cycle), opus 24, words selected from Heine. This is obviously an experimental work, though it contains several fine numbers. _Ich wandelte unter den Bäumen_ delicately maintains its mood. Number 5, _Schöne Wiege meiner Leiden_, is pure melody with a simple accompaniment in Schubert’s style, one of the most affecting of all Schumann’s songs. Sung with a constant and rich legato, and with well-chosen modulations of tone quality, it is immediately effective. Number 9, _Mit Myrthen und Rosen_, is much admired by musicians; it is unlike most of Schumann in giving an unusual lyric freedom to the voice part, but the accompaniment, with its delicate inner voices, suggests what was to come later. The _Myrthen_ of opus 25 include some of Schumann’s finest. The very first, _Widmung_ (‘Dedication’),[24] is one of the great songs of all time. Such passionate ardor a composer has seldom been able to compress into a few notes. The fine legato contrasting melody, introduced by an impressive enharmonic change, is the purest of German lyricism. The accompaniment, while conventional enough in its relation to the voice part, shows the freedom, and especially the wide separation of notes, which was to flower so magnificently in the _Dichterliebe_. The great danger in singing this song is that of making it sound hurried or ‘choppy.’ Here, as so often in song singing, the correct tempo is half the battle. Let the singer aim to avoid ‘choppiness,’ on the one hand, and dragging, on the other, and the correct tempo will come almost automatically, though, of course, no tempo can hold a song together if there is not a firm legato behind it. _Der Nussbaum_ (‘The Almond Tree’) is another immortal melody. In this song the accompaniment enters as a lyric element, as it rarely does in Schubert except in interludes. The half-phrase of the voice with its answering phrase from the piano--this is an effect of striking charm. The supporting part of the accompaniment shows the principle of the simple broken (or ‘harp’) chord used more freely than had been the common custom. In _Die Lotusblume_ (‘The Lotus Flower’) the novelty in the accompaniment is very different--a slow and impressive melody arising out of the lowest bass notes of the harmonic support.