Von fremden Ländern und Menschen
There are pieces of music which, despite their simplicity, contain an entire world within them. One of these is Von fremden Ländern und Menschen (“Of Foreign Lands and Peoples”), by Robert Schumann, from his famous cycle Kinderszenen (Scenes from Childhood).
Its serene and transparent melody evokes the purity of childhood, a fearless curiosity towards the unknown, the calm of a world that has not yet learnt to hate.
I seem to recall that we used to play this piece at the conservatoire in the very first years of piano — perhaps in the first or second year — and I was always struck by how such a short piece of music could convey so much peace.
Children, when they are born, have no prejudices: for them, what is foreign is not a threat but simply something new. “Distant lands, strange people” mean not danger, but wonder, openness and play.
Today, however, we are surrounded by messages of hatred towards what is different, towards what is foreign, towards the migrant. Acquired culture, repeated discourse, social media… all too often plant in many the bitter seed of rejection.
That is why listening again to this piece is almost an act of resistance: to return for a moment to the child’s clear gaze, to trust in diversity, to the tranquillity of a melody which invites us to breathe deeply and to remember that, in all humanity, the foreign is also part of ourselves.
🎧 You can listen to it here (free version):
👉 Schumann – Von fremden Ländern und Menschen (YouTube)
or Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/4pfkZUqRCYG5If39QHFpbQ
Close your eyes for two minutes and let yourself be carried by the simplicity of this music. Perhaps, when it ends, the world will seem a little less hostile and a little more open.