Ich wandelte unter den Bäumen, JWV 106

Josef Rheinberger's Ich wandelte unter den Bäumen is a secular German partsong for SATB choir. The text describes a solitary walk in the woods, where old dreams and sorrow enter the heart. The speaker addresses small birds, asking how they learned to sing a word that causes such pain when heard. The birds reply that a maiden sang it constantly, and they captured the 'pretty, golden word.' The speaker then rebukes the birds, accusing them of trying to steal their sorrow and declaring a lack of trust. The music captures the melancholic reflection of the text, typical of the Romantic part-song tradition.