Musical Structure and Evocation of Time in Hugo Wolf's "Ein Stündlein wohl vor Tag"

In Hugo Wolf's "Ein Stündlein wohl vor Tag" based on text by poet Eduard Mörike, a symbiotic relationship between literary content and musical form is built upon structural components, which augment and evoke literary ideas inherent in the text. In Wolf's song, the composer's naturalistic tendencies allow him to be induced not by the actual environment that he himself experiences, but rather, by the environment portrayed in the poem, which - in Mörike's text - invites the reader into an introspective world where the distinction between reality and dream is blurred. The song brings together conventional and nonconventional elements, combining traditional voice leading with a progressive approach to harmony and tonality. Wolf's methodology systematically unifies the composition with an airtight formula that is musically cohesive and maintains the literary nuances inherent in the meaning of the text. The sheet music for the song is presented.