Milestones of Musical Romanticism 2
M. Zachary Johnson
March 23, 2005
-Schubert's Songs-
After Beethoven's revolutionary expansion of the expressive scope of music, the next major development in the history of musical romanticism was brought about by Franz Schubert. Schubert's work is outstanding for one reason: melody.
In the works of Bach and other composers of the Baroque period (roughly 1600-1750), melody came in the form of a continuously spun-out string of notes, usually without many breaks or stops to divide the melody into phrases. These melodic strings were woven together into a complicated fabric in which multiple melodies occur simultaneously, weaving around each other, with melodies overlapping. This type of music is "polyphonic," which means simply "many voices."
In the subsequent Classical period, composers explicitly rejected this complicated style and created music that featured a single, prominent, simple melody with clearly separated phrases. The segmentation of melody in the Classical period is often so extreme that one gets the impression of a series of short, rather separate melodic motifs rather than a long, complete tune.
Schubert adopted some characteristics of the Classical period: a single prominent melody, and an articulated phrase structure. But he introduced a more consistent and pronounced melodic *lyricism*--a flowing, continuous, singing quality of melody. Schubert's "Ave Maria," the best known of his songs, exemplifies this quality. Lyricism of melody would become an important distinctive characteristic of romantic music.
In his short life of 31 years, Schubert wrote more than 600 German songs (lieder), fifteen operas, and a large amount of instrumental music, including twenty-two piano sonatas and eight symphonies (the Eighth is the famous "Unfinished Symphony"). In the year 1815 alone, he wrote 115 songs. "I work every morning." Schubert said, "When I have finished one piece I begin another."
The outstanding characteristic of all his music, vocal and instrumental, is the prominence of melody.
"It is no accident that this man, to whom melody came more easily than speech, to whom, indeed, it was literally as natural as singing is to birds, should have excelled in the writing of songs. For a song, more than any other musical form, can be set down in one lyrical inspiration. Schubert looked at any poem, good, bad, or indifferent, and instantly a melody came into his head. And nothing could stop a melody when it was on its way." (Brockway & Weinstock, *Men of Music*)
Schubert's song "Gretchen am Spinnrade" (Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel), which he wrote at the age of 17, exhibits a total mastery of the medium and profound psychological insight:
"Taken from Goethe's Faust, [Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel] is the soliloquy of an innocent girl who, as she sits spinning, proclaims her love for the worldly man who has seduced her. The melody is keening, with a mounting intensity as it wanders restlessly from key to key; equally remarkable is the piano accompaniment, a flowing pattern that is both the hum of the spinning wheel and the surging emotions of the girl." (Swafford, *The Vintage Guide to Classical Music*)
Dawn Upshaw's album "Goethe Lieder" contains a beautifully sung group of Schubert songs that includes "Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel." There are also songs by Schumann and Wolf, which show Schubert's influence.
Dawn Upshaw's singing is pure and sincere. She in no way exemplifies the stereotypically heavy, over-sung, artificial "operatic" quality that today's listeners hate so much. Her singing is clear and direct, expressive, refined, and intimately personal.
When Beethoven first encountered Schubert's songs in 1827, he declared "Certainly Schubert has the divine spark!" When Beethoven died in that same year, Schubert was chosen to be a torch-bearer in the funeral procession. The public could not completely have missed the symbolism: "By then many understood that Schubert was the likeliest man to carry on the torch of the Viennese tradition."
To purchase this recording and to see other recommendations in the "Milestones of Musical Romanticism" series visit:
http://www.tiadaily.com/php-bin/news/showArticle.php?id=995
After Beethoven's revolutionary expansion of the expressive scope of music, the next major development in the history of musical romanticism was brought about by Franz Schubert. Schubert's work is outstanding for one reason: melody.
In the works of Bach and other composers of the Baroque period (roughly 1600-1750), melody came in the form of a continuously spun-out string of notes, usually without many breaks or stops to divide the melody into phrases. These melodic strings were woven together into a complicated fabric in which multiple melodies occur simultaneously, weaving around each other, with melodies overlapping. This type of music is "polyphonic," which means simply "many voices."
In the subsequent Classical period, composers explicitly rejected this complicated style and created music that featured a single, prominent, simple melody with clearly separated phrases. The segmentation of melody in the Classical period is often so extreme that one gets the impression of a series of short, rather separate melodic motifs rather than a long, complete tune.
Schubert adopted some characteristics of the Classical period: a single prominent melody, and an articulated phrase structure. But he introduced a more consistent and pronounced melodic *lyricism*--a flowing, continuous, singing quality of melody. Schubert's "Ave Maria," the best known of his songs, exemplifies this quality. Lyricism of melody would become an important distinctive characteristic of romantic music.
In his short life of 31 years, Schubert wrote more than 600 German songs (lieder), fifteen operas, and a large amount of instrumental music, including twenty-two piano sonatas and eight symphonies (the Eighth is the famous "Unfinished Symphony"). In the year 1815 alone, he wrote 115 songs. "I work every morning." Schubert said, "When I have finished one piece I begin another."
The outstanding characteristic of all his music, vocal and instrumental, is the prominence of melody.
"It is no accident that this man, to whom melody came more easily than speech, to whom, indeed, it was literally as natural as singing is to birds, should have excelled in the writing of songs. For a song, more than any other musical form, can be set down in one lyrical inspiration. Schubert looked at any poem, good, bad, or indifferent, and instantly a melody came into his head. And nothing could stop a melody when it was on its way." (Brockway & Weinstock, *Men of Music*)
Schubert's song "Gretchen am Spinnrade" (Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel), which he wrote at the age of 17, exhibits a total mastery of the medium and profound psychological insight:
"Taken from Goethe's Faust, [Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel] is the soliloquy of an innocent girl who, as she sits spinning, proclaims her love for the worldly man who has seduced her. The melody is keening, with a mounting intensity as it wanders restlessly from key to key; equally remarkable is the piano accompaniment, a flowing pattern that is both the hum of the spinning wheel and the surging emotions of the girl." (Swafford, *The Vintage Guide to Classical Music*)
Dawn Upshaw's album "Goethe Lieder" contains a beautifully sung group of Schubert songs that includes "Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel." There are also songs by Schumann and Wolf, which show Schubert's influence.
Dawn Upshaw's singing is pure and sincere. She in no way exemplifies the stereotypically heavy, over-sung, artificial "operatic" quality that today's listeners hate so much. Her singing is clear and direct, expressive, refined, and intimately personal.
When Beethoven first encountered Schubert's songs in 1827, he declared "Certainly Schubert has the divine spark!" When Beethoven died in that same year, Schubert was chosen to be a torch-bearer in the funeral procession. The public could not completely have missed the symbolism: "By then many understood that Schubert was the likeliest man to carry on the torch of the Viennese tradition."
To purchase this recording and to see other recommendations in the "Milestones of Musical Romanticism" series visit:
http://www.tiadaily.com/php-bin/news/showArticle.php?id=995