Grand Valley Review
Volume 20 | Issue 1 Article 11
1-1-1999 Representations of Image and Idea in the Songs of Franz Schubert Lisa Feurzeig Grand Valley State University
Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/gvr
Recommended Citation Feurzeig, Lisa (1999) "Representations of Image and Idea in the Songs of Franz Schubert," Grand Valley Review: Vol. 20: Iss. 1, Article 11. Available at: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/gvr/vol20/iss1/11
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@GVSU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Grand Valley Review by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@GVSU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. by Lisa Feurzeig
Representations of Image and Idea in the Songs of Franz Schubert
he conference on Word & Image for which this essay was first prepared invited par Tticipants to discuss the relationships among the arts, most obviously the literary and the vi sual arts. Coming from the field of music, I turned this question towards song. By combining music and text, notes and words, songs necessarily in habit a world of mixed media. When a song is persuasive, beautiful, or moving, it invites us to investigate how this process can work. What are the various ways by which such different sorts of things may be combined into a satisfying whole? I decided to approach this issue through a com poser particularly associated with song, one who Lisa Feurzeig, Assistant Profes has been credited with having single-handedly He did this by transgr sor of Music, joined the GVSU transformed the genre of the German-language previously considered ar faculty in 1998. This essay pre song (Lied), giving it new depth and subtlety and is a list of a few of the rna sents one of the central points in raising it to the level of great art. That composer made. her dissertation, Idea in Song: is Franz Schubert. (1) His piano parts w~ Schubert's Settings of Friedrich As the standard view of Schubert's contribu ing than those of his p1 Schlegel. tions to song-which one can learn by taking a became an equal partneJ music appreciation course or by reading the liner (2) His songs had mu notes that come with recordings-is a good place complex harmonies thar to start, I will begin with a summary of that view. (3) His musical struct Schubert (1797-1828) wrote over 600 songs in his plex; along with strophic short life. In this oeuvre, he shaped the genre, which which the music is repe< had been a very simple one designed for accessibility to different sets of words, < all and for home use, into a complex and sophisticated many through-composed sc art form. Even in some of his earliest songs, he was repeat in a regular fashi1 exploring a musical expressivity far beyond that ofcon- , tails of the texts. temporary songs. Thus, while he did have some musical (4) His phrases were n models, Schubert deserves the credit for making song order to match poetic rh into a significant genre. (5) He used a wide var ranging from the traditic lads to discursive poe scenes. Franz Schubert and Song
1nd
r Image for which 1ared invited par ationships among :erary and the vi of music, I turned combining music gs necessarily in . When a song is tg, it invites us to n work. What are L different sorts of [3s satisfying whole? e through a com Figure 1.]ohn Constable, Wivenhoe Park. Essex. lth song, one who ; single-handedly He did this by transgressing many boundaries The development of these :;erman-language previously considered appropriate for song. Here new techniques, and their inte and subtlety and is a list of a few of the most significant changes he gration into songs that are ·t. That composer made. expressive and complex works of (1) His piano parts were much more demand music and poetry, are the foun mbert' s contribu ing than those of his predecessors; the pianist dation of Schubert's position as learn by taking a became an equal partner to the singer. a recognized master of the art of reading the liner (2) His songs had much more interesting and song. •-is a good place complex harmonies than their predecessors. Before we explore some par nary of that view. (3) His musical structures became more com ticular examples to consider how ~r 600 songs in his plex; along with strophic songs-that is, songs in Schubert did this so persua d the genre, which which the music is repeated over and over with sively, some of the problems l for accessibility to different sets of words, as in a hymn-he wrote with the standard view must be :r and sophisticated many through-composed songs whose music did not pointed out. Along with what is 'iest songs, he was repeat in a regular fashion, but followed the de summarized above, it also in beyond that ofcon tails of the texts. cludes some other ideas, more or ' have some musical (4) His phrases were more variable in length in less as follows. Schubert was a it for making song order to match poetic rhythm and nuance. natural composer who produced (5) He used a wide variety of texts for his songs, music effortlessly and without really ranging from the traditional lyric poetry and bal thinking about it. Although he of lads to discursive poems and even dramatic ten chose trivial and uninteresting scenes. Lisa Feurzeig
poetry, his musical gifts enabled him representing wateJ to rise above the inherent emptiness nineteenth century t ofhis texts, creating gorgeous songs John Constable (1 that take the listener into a world of known for landscap eternal, carefree youth. 1 (1775-1851) made ~ This picture oversimplifies main themes. Figur and trivializes Schubert's accom is tic and notably dil plishments, not to mention the can be beautifully c; fact that he faced serious and real As these three p problems in his life.2 1t turns him nating because it c into an idiot savant-one of those same substance caJ bizarre people psychologists find deadly. Then, of cc every once in a while who can properties, it has 2 multiply ten-digit numbers in Painters often pres( their heads but have none of the treme conditions: V( most basic practical or social painting still water, skills we expect from normal ties of reflection, people-while it diminishes the details of the surr meaning of his compositions, swatches of cloud, giving us permission as listeners ing stormy water, t to enjoy the surface without even enormous waves a trying to understand what lies one thing that they beneath. is to show water in 1 In fact, the standard view de ocean if\lplies the " nies that there is much to think Figure 2.].M. W: Turner; Campo Santo, Venice (detaiV. unstable scene-tr about; it classifies Schubert as a composer of beautiful, beguiling ing these songs, we will discover that even when surfaces without depths beneath them. (This connects ironically Schubert appears to be illustrating the physical scenes described, he is also doing something well to my discussion of water more: using musical language to move deeper into paintings below.) For that rea the implications of the poems he sets. My final son, the proponents of the example in this essay concerns a song in which standard view tend to emphasize Schubert does something very different from il Schubert's abilities as an illustra lustrating an image; instead, he invents a musical tor of visual or aural images in equivalent for the poem's central idea. While in poetry. My purpose here is to some ways his musical solution to the puzzle is argue against this idea; I think still pictorial, the picture has moved to a higher that Schubert's central concerns level; it now illustrates an abstract thought rather as a songwriter were not about than a particular sight or sound. illustration, but about some very different things, and that his un Water Images deniable gifts as an illustrator were applied to these other ends. Scenes involving moving water seem to have at The first three songs I will con tracted Schubert; his songs are particularly famous sider all describe scenes taking for their portrayals of water. Like Schubert, many place on the water. By examin- painters have been intrigued by the challenge of Franz Schubert and Song
representing water. Two English artists of the of life experience, that the foamy nineteenth century offer some beautiful examples. wave must crash down in the John Constable (1776-1837) was particularly next moment after the painting known for landscape painting, and J. M. W. Turner ends-but it cannot show a se (1775-1851) made water, still or stormy, one of his quence of events. There is no main themes. Figures 1-3 present some character way, in a single painting, to istic and notably different examples of how water show that after one wave ends, can be beautifully approximated on canvas. another will follow, and an As these three paintings show, water is fasci other, and another. This, I nating because it can take so many forms. The believe, is the reason that it is same substance can be still or wild, tranquil or much more difficult to find deadly. Then, of course, because of its reflective paintings of gently moving wa properties, it has a marvelous relation to light. ter, of rippling or swelling, than Painters often present water in one of its two ex of water at the two extremes. treme conditions: very calm or very stormy. When Paintings can capture character painting still water, they can play with its proper istic moments. Music, on the ties of reflection, showing how it duplicates other hand, exists in time by its details of the surrounding landscape or huge very nature. This helps to ex swatches of cloud, sunset, and sky. When paint plain Schubert's interest in water ing stormy water, they can stress the violence of poetry; he was able to represent I enormous waves and tempest-tossed ships. But the ways that water moves. 3 7 one thing that they cannot do, literally speaking, The first three songs dis is to show water in motion. A painting of a stormy cussed here demonstrate several ocean implies the water's motion by showing an things: how Schubert portrays Venice (detail!. unstable scene-the viewer knows, from years the motion of water that he por-
figure 3.].M. W.Tumer, Shipwreck. r that even when :ing the physical oing something move deeper into 1e sets. My final a song in which iifferent from il nvents a musical al idea. While in to the puzzle is oved to a higher ct thought rather
seem to have at rticularly famous ~ Schubert, many the challenge of Lisa Feurzeig
trays many different kinds of kind of waves that pleasantly rock boats with op. 72 Auf dem motion that the musical scores out causing any alarm or discomfort. Both in its Friedrich Leopold Graf Zl sometimes create visual images appearance on the page and in the way it sounds, D 774 similar to those in the poems Schubert's piano part represents just that sort of and, finally, that in each song the wave. depiction of water, however In the poem, the moving water is more than a MaBig gesch;• beautiful or powerful it may be, pretty scenic backdrop; it turns out to be quite ultimately serves the greater pur central. The poet compares a gently rocking boat pose of conveying the poetry's with a soul drifting on waves of joy that are in central ideas. spired by the beauty of sunset. The second stanza In the opening of the first (not included here) then describes the light of sun song, "Auf dem Wasser zu set, continuing to emphasize images of singen" (see Example 1), the con evanescence and change. These two descrip PP--== tour of the right hand part seems tive stanzas set up the poem's main point: since b to be drawing a picture of time passes and everything is constantly in flux, waves-but what kind of the poet both welcomes and prepares for his own waves? Each musical bar begins eventual disappearance from this earth. with a large upward leap fol In the poem, then, the softly moving water of lowed by a slow descent in the opening stanza carries symbolic and spiritual J which every note is played meaning, and Schubert's music affirms this idea. (l twice. While the distances be The musical fabric conveys a feeling of constant tween the lowest and highest motion that is reassuring and lovely, not fearsome note are rather large, the effect or threatening. The music helps us to imagine the of that amplitude is muted feeling of being a soul that is buoyed up and em (l through the dynamics (pp means braced by the abstract waves of joy, just as the "very quiet") and through the boat is carried by the waves of water. The poet, slow downward motion. So the entranced by the beauty of the natural scene, is effect is not that of a violent happy to be part of nature's flux, even to the point storm at sea, but of gentle swells of accepting the necessity of his own death. The on a smaller body of water, the composer, taking the challenge, created a musi t..- cal representation of that transitory beauty that is sufficiently seductive to make us understand the poet's choice.3
he next example, "Eifersucht und Stolz" Tfrom the song cycle Die schone Mullerin, pre sents water in a much more violent form. A song cycle is a connected set of songs that tell a story, usually from the perspective of a single charac ter. In this one, the main character is a young man who takes a job at a mill and soon falls in love with the miller's daughter. Through all the joys and sorrows of his love, the stream that originally led him to this mill is his trusted friend. Through out the cycle, the piano often represents the Franz Schubert and Song asantly rock boats with ~r discomfort. Both in its op. 72 Auf dem Wasser zu singen and in the way it sounds, Friedrich Leopold Graf zu Stolberg-Stolberg D774 ~presents just that sort of ring water is more than a 1523 MaBig geschwind : it turns out to be quite (\ res a gently rocking boat waves of joy that are in jtJ :unset. The second stanza describes the light of sun (\
~mphasize images of ""--" ge. These two descrip 'PP-==== --· )Oem' s main point: since b.- .. -&:__ ~ .. ~.. 1 ...... 1- ling is constantly in flux, t· and prepares for his own ..J __.,I from this earth. - e softly moving water of ~s symbolic and spiritual ; music affirms this idea. eys a feeling of constant and lovely, not fearsome -v c helps us to imagine the 139 .at is buoyed up and em (\ I I - - vaves of joy, just as the ,. -.-? aves of water. The poet, t) ------· of the natural scene, is - - e' s flux, even to the point ~ .,._ !'- .,._ .L ~ 1- .,.. .,.. .,._ ~t ...... -t y of his own death. The ...... J :::;r allenge, created a musi r- L-- r- - transitory beauty that is make us understand the
Eifersucht und Stolz" Die schone Miillerin, pre t) )re violent form. A song (}l._~ ,f songs that tell a story, (\ ~ ,., ....,..__ ...... _ .-.-.. ,--. ,.... L > :tive of a single charac >-- I ~P*-' / :haracter is a young man Iv fp 1 and soon falls in love b.r- '&" ...... b. -t &- s- bt .. -f/1:' .. .. ~ er. Through all the joys : 1e stream that originally t 'i I .J ::...J rusted friend. Through L ...J t__ _... I..- ) often represents the Example r Lisa Feurzeig
XV. Eife
Ges <
so
..... , ,...... !. P ' H* '
10
Figure 4. Ferdinand Georg Waldmi.iller; Mill at the Outlet of the K6nigssee. stream, and the miller interprets the right hand again, where (as the singer en its bubbling, rippling, or rush ters) it moves regularly up and down, but in a ing figures as commentary on his very small melodic range. All in all, this turbu personal situation. lent opening suggests frustration or even In the opening of this song obsession. The wave patterns seem to depict wa (see Example 2), Schubert com ter whose path is blocked by rocks, so that it must 15 poses the motion of water very constantly find its way around barriers. This im differently than in "Auf dem I age is similar to that in Figure 4, a painting of a schilt erst d Wasser zu singen." The music is mill by Schubert's Austrian contemporary louder (mf means "medium Ferdinand Georg Waldmiiller. loud") and the notes significantly It is no surprise to notice that the title of the lower-pitched than in the previ poem means "Jealousy and Pride." At this point ous song. Once again, the right in the story, the miller is coming to realize that he hand seems to draw a picture of has a serious rival, a hunter who is quite attrac waves, but these waves are re tive to the miller maid. Like any normal Romantic petitive; they don't seem to get hero, he then assumes that nature, in the shape anywhere until the melodic line of the stream, feels just as he does. "Where are Example 2 suddenly descends deep into you going so quickly, so tangled and wild, my the left hand. It then rises into dear stream? are you chasing in fury after that Franz Schubert and Song
XV. Eifersucht und Stolz
Geschwi nd ., (l;._t 1ry,.:" 1; 2~
~ tJ \\.,- fi I ... tJ _;,., ...... " .. _,-,; ¥7i...... 1i .. .,., mf _, - . = ~ 1:1~---~~-
5 (, I I. L-
11 (r_,,_ TT i tJ hin so schnell, so knus und wlld,rnein lie ber B.>eh' cilst du voll
(;
L_.L -~ ;l.;. .i ~ 1T="J~···
141 10 r-- . I . tJ r e. fre - chen fru-der Jii- ger !'.:\ch' KEhr u~, kehr um l:t:d (I I - Nhere (as the singer en tJ . ~'*'li*~ .· :t*:i.*~ q• .,~ ...... ·~ ....!-;;--.-'llf • I I .... .;. ,;:~-;.. :1 ' up and down, but in a I ge. All in all, this turbu I " . . \ ts frustration or even y ~ tterns seem to depict wa IS d by rocks, so that it must (, :1round barriers. This im 7 '? Figure 4, a painting of a IV schilt erst del- ne ?-.IUl - • lc- - rin fUr ih- - re:n leich - tt·n. ustrian contemporary fl niiller. ' ' --: otice that the title of the IV ~~;JJ~J~~~-j~J·•Ji;,~J· ... .,;~.,-~.':;;. ·-.H~~·;;·~ and Pride." At this point ... 0 .. coming to realize that he -, lnter who is quite attrac ~ ike any normal Romantic :hat nature, in the shape as he does. "Where are Example 2 :o tangled and wild, my hasing in fury after that Lisa Feurzeig
Auf dem Wasser zu singen To Be Sung on th
(Friedrich Leopold Graf zu Stolberg) Amid t Mitten im Schimmer der spiegelnden Wellen Glides, Gleitet, wie Schwane, der wankende Kahn; Ah, on Ach, auf der Freude sanft schimmernden Wellen Glides Gleitet die Seele dahin wie der Kahn; For do' Denn von dem Himmel herab auf die Wellen Dance' Tanzet das Abendrot rund urn den Kahn. Ah, va1 Ach, es entschwindet mit tauigem Fhigel On era< Mir auf den wiegenden Wellen die Zeit. Tom on Morgen entschwinde mit schimmerndem Fhigel just as Wieder wie gestern und heute die Zeit, Until I Bis ich auf hoheren, strahlendem Fhigel Myself Seiber entschwinde der wechselnden Zeit.
Die Sterne (Friedrich Schlegel) The Stars
Du staunest, o Mensch, was heilig wir strahlen? You m; 0 folgtest du nur den himmlischen Winken, 0, ifyc Vernahmest du besser, was freundlich wir blinken, You we Wie waren verschwunden die irdischen Qualen! Howe Dann flosse die Liebe aus ewigen Schalen, Then 1 Es atmeten aile in reinen Azuren, All wo Das lichtblaue Meer umschwebte die Fluren, The li§ Es funkelten Stern' auf den heimischen Talen. Stars v
Aus gottlicher Quelle sind aile genommen, From a Ist jegliches We sen nicht Eines im Chore? Is ever Nun sind ja geoffnet die himmlischen Tore, Nowtl Was soil denn das bange Verzagen noch frommen? whati 0 waret ihr schon zur Tiefe geklommen, 0, if 01 So sahet das Haupt ihr von Stemen umflogen Youw< Und spielend urns Herz die kindlichen Wogen, And pi Zu denen die Stlirme des Lebens nicht kommen. Towhi Franz Schubert and Song
To Be Sung on the Water
Amid the shimmering, mirroring waves ·llen Glides, like swans, the rocking boat; n; Ah, on joy's gently shimmering waves 1 Wellen Glides the soul, like the boat; For down from heaven onto the waves lien Dances the sunset around the boat,
Ah, vanishing from me on dewy wings On cradling waves, is time. Tomorrow, may you vanish on shimmering wings, 1 Flugel Just as did yesterday's and today's time, Until I, on higher radiant wings, Myself shall vanish from changing time. t,
The Stars 143 ahlen? You marvel, o Man, at how holy we shine? en, 0, if you would but follow the heavenly beckoning, r blinken, You would better understand our friendly twinkling, }ualen! How earthly cares would vanish! I, Then love would flow from eternal vessels, All would breathe in the pure azure, en, The light-blue sea would surround the meadows, alen. Stars would sparkle in the valleys of home. l, From a godly source are all derived, Is every being not one in the chorus? ·e, Now the heavenly gates are open, ·ommen? what is the use of fearful hesitation? 0, if only you had already climbed to the depths, Jgen You would see your head orbited by stars, ::>gen, And playing about your heart, the childlike waves mmen. To which the storms of life do not come. Lisa Feurzeig
insolent hunter?" he as1 14. Des Fischers Liebesgliick Schubert projects the mi Karl Gottfried von Leitner into the music of the stn D 933 It is important to poin sical scores as though thE always work as well as Ziemlich lang sam •l !'\overnber 1827 (\ often true of Schubert in I of the reasons he is so de tJ idea that music can repn - - - - )...... ----... () - - I ur last example of w tJ .,.,. .... ----;__ - r: r: r I t I -I ~----- ·---r~6! Oclosely tied to paintJ p > fp> -~fp> l'P ing its surroundings. "D ,_ t-.. I I tells of a young fisherma ~--·-·· his sweetheart, which t< I l Tl ...___...- ! ~ boat in the middle of a 1 The opening vocal m{ 4 quite a crucial element in ('I = This melody subtly con, tJ r v peacefulness of the pia blin - k
: ...:..~ Tempobu.eichnung in dcr 1. Fassung: Langsam. for the property mirrors ••) T.!kt 4, 25,1. Fassung,allc Systeme: keine Fermat en; Kl!!der, beide SysH::i\C'r die lea ten .-\kkordt.• p~,.:r.bicrt, kcinc Achtelp~user.. sent a certain introspecti' connection was particulc Romanticism, when mar ing on ways of looking the notion that a central c: Example 3 Franz Schubert and Song
insolent hunter?" he asks.4 Like his protagonist, ence is that of encountering in Schubert projects the miller's anger and jealousy finite self-referential spirals. We into the music of the stream. find such ideas in Hegel's phi It is important to point out that looking at mu losophy and also in the sical scores as though they were pictures does not fragments of Friedrich Schlegel, l'\ovember 1827 always work as well as it does here. That this is Navalis, and their literary often true of Schubert in particular is probably one friends. 5 So it isn't surprising to of the reasons he is so closely associated with the find poetry from this time in idea that music can represent words. which reflection plays a signifi "'"...... ---.... cant part. ur last example of water music is a song very This song differs formally - ." ~ ...... -..___.,11>"-...._ ---- Oclosely tied to paintings of still water reflect from its poetic model, because fp> pp ing its surroundings. "Des Fischers Liebesgliick" Schubert has changed the poetic tells of a young fisherman's secret love tryst with form to suit his musical needs.
II-____.- his sweetheart, which takes place on a rocking The first musical strophe in boat in the middle of a lake at night. cludes three of Leitner's eleven The opening vocal melody (see Example 3) is poetic stanzas, as do the second quite a crucial element in Schubert's success here. and third. But then there are only This melody subtly conveys three qualities: the two poetic stanzas left over, v· ? ~- :: :~ I peacefulness of the place, the intensity of the obliging Schubert to repeat the ket ein Schir.: o r.:er blaJl o couple's feelings, and even the reflective property text of stanza 11 for the final sec ge
~I ..,. Romanticism, when many thinkers were work tryst, which is so intense that it l I ing on ways of looking at the world based on causes apparently conflicting the notion that a central aspect of human experi- emotions. They cry, they laugh, Lisa Feurzeig
preparations that accus1 jj p (\ I ... =:::; terns of the song-whic ~ == the other verses-but" v ...... =- nal stanza, suddenly · Hor. chern IUnl Trotz. - == = ' = Stcr. ne_ ein .. melodic shape become: (\ her. L'nd ,..,·ei - nen u.nd u: . cheln, ur.d mci- r..en, er.t . ho . ben der as listeners, participate i: v ing back on our earlier P1' pp .~ . . ! I and reinterpreting then ~ .... ,j 1. ~ I.\ I I I J I 1." words. Like the other two " -I - F· ined, "Des Fischers Liel motion, the motion of t ri=:=! ings and thoughts of 1 ouia, i' j ·II .;o $a Through musical motio (\ ... ~ (.\ = things: they illustrate tl v :::::; ;::::::: - - and in the process, the . =.. = Er . de, schon 0 ben schon ben 1U Water, for Schubert, pr fl_ 1 drii • sein of motion to use as m1
(., which to play out hum ences. ~ I ~ I J J " I I. " I I. 1\ I J. - : It is important to nc 1 46 J_ ' .._:C. ~ .._ .., ... .._ Fischers Liebesgliick" is • :;;>: :;.: I I ~. I r i' r and less about the phys 41 than either of the other (\ (.\ . property, for example, tl v" mirrors itself while mm
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ' points, does not represer (\ ,... ;;;;;;;;f.\ tion. It operates in th< construct (the mirror id tJ r r r r r ·-.:___ _.... ~r'----""bf .. r >T fp> t tensity). By trying t p ,____ .~p> pp (.\ .. """' I I I Liebesgliick" as a song tl ·-· ·-· ·,; start to understand tha I L l J ____... rr ..__...... beyond illustration. •) Takt 43 ·46, in der 1. FaHung kein Nachspiel, vgl. Quellen und Luarten. Song as Idea Example 4 In the last song to be d physical picture to pres~ and-inspired by the sight of the stars twinkling below the boat-they imagine them Here we can observe tl selves to be already in heaven. The reflection of the sky in the water carries a song as a picture of a thi symbolic meaning of heaven on earth. For the couple gently rocking in the boat, the an idea. "Die Sterne" is bliss they find in this moment is a foretaste, or perhaps an actual experience, of the mantic critic Friedrich joys of heaven. (We have to remember that Victorian morals were a phenomenon speaking characters are 1 of the late nineteenth century; Schubert's contemporaries were quite aware of the mankind to overcome it joy of sex.) sacred radiance and to n The arrival of the word "oben" on that octave leap is just too perfect to be a is needed to create a bri' coincidence, and I am convinced that Schubert planned the whole song with this final occurrence of the octave in mind. We can think of the earlier strophes, then, as Franz Schubert and Song
preparations that accustom us to the musical pat earth, they assert, is this simple terns of the song-which work not too badly for act of will. They then describe . t1 Cit !1 .': ~ ~ the other verses-but when we arrive at this fi the harmonious world that will -- nal stanza, suddenly the real meaning of the result once this step has been i- nen, er.~ . ho • ben der melodic shape becomes clear to us. So we, too, taken, a world in which the as listeners, participate in an act of reflection, look qualities of heaven and earth are ing back on our earlier hearings of this melody melded. Lines like "all would ~ and reinterpreting them in the light of these last breathe in the pure azure" and words. "you would see your head or Like the other two water songs we've exam bited by stars" convey this idea ~ -:--f F· ined, "Des Fischers Liebesgliick" is a song about of a mixed realm of heavenly J motion, the motion of the water and of the feel and earthly things. "'§ ings and thoughts of the speaking characters. One astonishing line from the ~~ (.\ Through musical motion, all three songs do two second stanza particularly car- :fj»j; § things: they illustrate the poems they're setting, ries this message: "0, if only you ~ and in the process, they move us, the listeners. had already climbed to the Water, for Schubert, provided exactly the kinds depths." This line seems contra of motion to use as musical backdrops against dictory because climbing is which to play out human emotions and experi usually a verb implying upward (.\ ences. motion to the heights, not the
It is important to notice, though, that "Des depths. By deliberately reversing 1 4 7 Fischers Liebesgliick" is more about abstract ideas, the meaning of the verb, Schlegel and less about the physical motion of the water, is implicitly telling us that the than either of the other songs. The palindromic upside-down world of reflection property, for example, through which the melody is the relevant one here. Just as mirrors itself while moving to higher and higher the stars were under the boat in points, does not represent the water's physical mo "Des Fischers Liebesgliick," here tion. It operates in the realms of intellectual climbing can be done in the re construct (the mirror idea) and emotion (the in verse direction. In other words, tensity). By trying to read "Des Fisc hers all the normal ideas about direc Liebesgliick" as a song that illustrates a poem, we tionality have been neutralized; start to understand that Schubert's music goes in this ideal unified world, up beyond illustration. and down are no longer distinct. I believe that Schubert ex Song as Idea tended the idea that Schlegel In the last song to be discussed, there is no real implies in this verse to create his physical picture to present, only an abstract one. own visual image of how >at-they imagine them Here we can observe the subtle transition from Schlegel's ideal world might be , in the water carries a song as a picture of a thing to song as an image of reached, and that he then in rocking in the boat, the an idea. "Die Sterne" is a poem by the early Ro vented an aural equivalent for 1ctual experience, of the mantic critic Friedrich Schlegel in which the this image. I'm suggesting, to 1ls were a phenomenon speaking characters are the stars. They exhort hu put it bluntly, that he went be vere quite aware of the mankind to overcome its fearful wonder at their yond Schlegel's words, sacred radiance and to reach out to them. All that developing in his own mind an just too perfect to be a is needed to create a bridge between heaven and idea at which Schlegel had only e whole song with this ·arlier strophes, then, as Lisa Feurzeig
Des Fischers liebesghick The Fisherman's luck (Carl Gottfried Ritter von Leitner) in love Und tauschen Dort winket There beckons Wir Ktisse, so rauschen Durch Weiden und blinket Through meadows and twinkles Ein Schimmer A shimmer, Die Wellen, Im Sinken und Schwellen Blassstrahlig vom Zimmer White-rayed from the room Den Horchem zum Trotz. Der Holden mir zu. Of the precious one to me.
Es gaukelt It wavers NurSteme Wie Irrlicht und schaukelt Like a will-o-the-wisp and rocks Belauschen uns feme Und baden Sich leise Gently, Sein Abglanz im Kreise Its reflection in the circle Tief unter den Pfaden Des gleitenden Kahns. Des schwankenden Sees. Of the swelling lake. So schweben lch schaue I look Mit Sehnen ins Blaue Longingly into the blue Wir selig, umgeben Der Wellen Of the waves Yom Dunkel, Hoch tiberm Gefunkel Und gri.isse den hellen, And greet the bright Der Sterne einher. Gespiegelten Strahl. Mirrored ray.
Und springe And I spring Und weinen Und liicheln und meinen, Zum Ruder und schwinge To the oar and steer Den Nachen The skiff, En tho ben Der Erde, schon oben, Dahin auf dem flachen Following the broad Schon dri.iben zu sein. Kristallenen Weg. Crystalline path.
Feinliebchen My fine love Schleicht traulich vom Sttibchen Sneaks faithfully from her little room hinted, in order to creatE Herunter Down The word that best desc Und sputet sich munter And hurries merrily sions the ideal blended ' Zu mir in das Boot. To me in the boat. between heaven and ear We hear this exchang{ Gelinde Sweetly The sense of peace arises Dann treiben die Winde Then the winds Uns wieder Drive us again nant, which is centered Seeeinwarts vom Flieder Lakewards, away almost always create a 1 Des Ufers hindann. From the lilacs on shore. Schubert is portraying th divine realms. This secti Die blassen The pale again representing the I Nachtnebel umfassen Night mists cast within this stillness, thet Mit Htillen A cloak, In music, the most ob' Vor Spiihem den stillen, Concealing from spies through higher and low• Unschuldigen Scherz. The calm innocent game. sen ted by soprano voices some techniques too im locating the human worl that we'll focus on, he tl between high and low n Franz Schubert and Song nan's Luck
Und tauschen And as we exchange vs and twinkles Wir Ktisse, so rauschen Kisses, so rustle Die Wellen, The waves, n the room lm Sinken und Schwellen Sinking and swelling me to me. Den Horchem zum Trotz. To thwart listeners. NurSteme Only stars -wisp and rocks Belauschen uns feme Watch from afar Und baden And bathe he circle Tief unter den Pfaden Deep below the path ake. Des gleitenden Kahns. Of the gliding boat. -- So schweben So we hover 1e blue Wir selig, umgeben Blissfully, surrounded Yom Dunkel, By darkness, ght Hoch tiberm Gefunkel High above the glitter Der Sterne einher. Of the stars. Und weinen And weep 149 eer Und Hicheln und meinen, And smile, and believe ourselves Enthoben Uplifted oad Der Erde, schon oben, From earth, already up there, Schon drtiben zu sein. Already beyond. from her little room hinted, in order to create an image for which a musical pattern would make sense. The word that best describes this image Schubert created is "exchange." He envi ily sions the ideal blended world as one in which humans and stars can easily move t. between heaven and earth, crossing the bridge they themselves have created. We hear this exchange most clearly in the song's middle section (see Example 5). The sense of peace arises partly from the key of this section, known as the subdomi nant, which is centered a fourth above the main key of the song. Subdominants almost always create a release of tension, which is most appropriate here, where n shore. Schubert is portraying the world without the usual separation between human and divine realms. This section is also harmonically static; it plays out a single chord, again representing the perfect peace and stillness of a harmonious universe. But within this stillness, there is a very significant kind of motion. In music, the most obvious way to represent high and low, or heaven and earth, is spies through higher and lower notes. For that reason, heavenly images are often repre 1tgame. sented by soprano voices in Renaissance music. In the first section of this song, through some techniques too involved to explain here, Schubert sets up this equivalence, locating the human world in a lower range of pitches than the stars. In the B section that we'll focus on, he then erases that distinction by demonstrating that exchange between high and low notes is easy and natural. Lisa Feurzeig
In the other three could be argued that h ticular images as a me.: the poetry. But Schlege e wi.gen not present Schubert wi Tic Jr /lC- kind, so he had to derivr of his compositional Schubert did here (hm know) was to extract an tral idea and then to ima representation of it -tl and low-that he could bols. This procedure, ~ from the standard vie~ I • -r Scha co; al me - ten in of the details of a text, i k/,nn . mrlt, .~o .~d Ito d(f.t """!""' \'nil plex and sophisticated t view acknowledges or When criticism beco sion, as in the standard have overstepped their 1 interpreters. The exper so in Schubert's gorgeous an interpreter to go de« Even if the final result cc f-8 mented, the process of da< wul in this way creates a d« 7) r 1 l standing of works of ar
. . .,. ., Notes 1 A classic example of tl book Schubert's Songs, fin - ---- widely read despite its ~ Example 5 chapter opens as folio· composer's pages is cha In measures 13 and 14, the scends and the piano ascends. Yet a third type of at Schubert suggests a r the side of the rippling a. voice ascends from E-flat to A exchange occurs in the the intervening measures ing of a window-the ai flat to C while the right hand of 15 and 16, where the piano part is a palindrome; avoidingthethoughtofn the piano descends through the finally, that palindrome is turned inside out in time of the year-in conn same pitches, from C to A-flat to measures 19 and 20. In every possible dimension was another musician so E-flat. The middle pitches are of the voice part and top line of piano part, that matter everything youth." (3rd ed. Landor the same while the outer ones Schubert presents to us the idea of a free ex exchange, creating a kind of X change between worlds. The sense of ease and 2 Schubert knew in 1823 shape. In the second phrase, mea peacefulness grows out of the combined musical ease that was incura sures 17 and 18, these two factors of the subdominant key, the static har mid-twenties, he was fc gradual deterioration anc melodic figures themselves are mony, and this open and free exchange of chords constraint on intimate n exchanged, as the singer de- and melodies. this diagnosis was very n Franz Schubert and Song
In the other three songs we considered, it could be argued that he used illustration of par ticular images as a means to convey the ideas in t58Htm the poetry. But Schlegel's poem "Die Sterne" did wi.gen not present Schubert with definite pictures of that fr /IC. kind, so he had to derive them himself. If my view of his compositional process is correct, what Schubert did here (how consciously we do not know) was to extract and develop the poem's cen tral idea and then to imagine an appropriate visual representation of it -the exchange between high = and low-that he could replicate in musical sym bols. This procedure, while not entirely different d. I. from the standard view of Schubert as illustrator k in of the details of a text, is considerably more com iln ••nn plex and sophisticated than anything the standard view acknowledges or deals with. When criticism becomes a form of condescen sion, as in the standard Schubert picture, scholars have overstepped their roles as commentators and interpreters. The experience of seeking meaning lsr == in Schubert's gorgeous tapestries of sound forces an interpreter to go deep into music and poetry. F-J Even if the final result cannot be proved and docu d:t.< mented, the process of learning poetry and song uml in this way creates a deep and respectful under standing of works of art. ~
Notes 1 A classic example of this view is Richard Capell's book Schubert's Songs, first published in 1928 and still widely read despite its serious flaws. Capell's first = chapter opens as follows: "The mere look of a composer's pages is characteristic. The first glance ~nds. Yet a third type of at Schubert suggests a rippling movement, and by e intervening measures the side of the rippling a flowering. Or is it the open ing of a window-the air is stirred .... There is no to part is a palindrome; avoiding the thought of nature-nature at the spring is turned inside out in time of the year-in connexion with Schubert. Never ery possible dimension was another musician so young. All his songs, as for JP line of piano part, that matter everything he wrote, are the song of the idea of a free ex- youth." (3rd ed. London: Pan Books Ltd., 1957, p.3) The sense of ease and 2 Schubert knew in 1823 that he had syphilis, a dis f the combined musical ease that was incurable in his time. In his mt key, the static har mid-twenties, he was faced with the likelihood of free exchange of chords gradual deterioration and death, and also with a huge constraint on intimate relationships. In these ways, this diagnosis was very much like that of AIDS in the Lisa Feurzeig
late twentieth century. That this situation troubled him is quite clear from his letters and from anecdotes about Six Poems him, and is reflected in some of his most serious mu sic, particularly the song cycle Winterreise (1826). When late Schubert is transparently beautiful, we need to hear this as transcendent, not naively carefree. 3 This song, as it happens, has been a victim of the type of commentary that characterizes the standard Apo1 Schubert view. In a standard textbook used in courses on Romantic music, we read: "The poem is jingly dog gerel, three stanzas worth, in absolutely regular dactylic tetrameter.... All this repetition, we might II think, would be unendurable. But the song is a de Brea lightful thing, a clear success, and the repetitions seem of little consequence. For here, the text is submerged in music to the extent that the listener is scarcely aware of any poetic infelicities." (Leon Plantinga, Romantic III Music: A History ofMusical Style in Nineteenth-Century No p Europe (New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1984, pp. 122- 23.) This is an unfair response both to Stolberg's poem and to Schubert's treatment of it. As the final verse IV reveals, this is not just a happy nature poem, but a The reflection on the evanescent nature of existence. At the end, the poet expresses his wish to be united with the cosmos. A critic may consider this a juvenile thought, or may think that the poet hasn't said it very well-but criticism needs to operate at the level of what the poem is actually saying, rather than dismissing it out of hand. 4 "Kraus," the word I'm translating as "tangled," is VI also the adjective used to describe curly hair. So Sl Schubert's piano part, as I've just pointed out, is no tably indirect, which suggests to me that this particular word was a key one in his mind as he composed this song. 5 One of Schlegel's most famous, and longest, frag ments, is his characterization of romantic poetry. He writes, in part: "And it can also-more than any other form-hover at the midpoint between the portrayed and the portrayer ... on the wings of poetic reflec tion, and can raise that reflection again and again to a higher power, can multiply it in an endless succes sion of mirrors. It is capable of the highest and most variegated refinement, not only from within out wards, but also from without inwards; capable in that it organizes-for everything that seeks a wholeness in its effects-the parts along similar lines, so that it opens up a perspective upon an infinitely increasing classicism." Friedrich Schlegel's Lucinde and the Frag ments, trans. Peter Firchow (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1971), p. 175.