152
T
he composer Franz
Schubert is most often
linked to the German art
song (or Lied; plural, Lieder). He did
not invent the genre. Several major
composers had written songs
before him, such as Beethoven,
Mozart, and Haydn, as well as
lesser-known figures. It is not
even true to say that Schubert
produced the first “song cycle,”
the term used later for a set of
songs with an overarching
narrative or theme. Beethoven’s
An die ferne Geliebte, composed
in 1816, was the first important
work to fit such a description.
Schubert, however, transformed
the genre. Before Schubert, Lieder
were predominantly naïve or
straightforwardly lyrical. The form
tended to be strophic, the same
melody repeated for each verse
of the poem; the music engaged
with the text only as far as
capturing its general mood, and
the keyboard accompaniment
was often formulaic, functional,
and without expression. Haydn andBeethoven were introduced to the
medium when commissioned to
produce arrangements of folk songs,
while the songs of Mozart, who
reserved his most sophisticated
word setting for opera, are small-
scale and modest in their scope.
Writing songs was a sideline rather
than a central part of any of these
composers’ activities.Piano and song
Schubert came of age in a world
of increased poetic sensibility, of
emphasis on subjective experience.
The piano, still a relatively recent
invention, had grown both in
technical capacity and availability.
Domestic performances were on
the rise, especially in Vienna,
whose middle class, held back in
many ways by a strictly controlled
society, sought private outletsLIEDER AND SONG CYCLES
Schubert’s art songs, or Lieder, were
usually played in the private homes of
his friends. Large-scale public concerts
were typically reserved for more
sweeping orchestral works.IN CONTEXT
FOCUS
Lieder and song cyclesBEFORE
1816 Beethoven composes
An die ferne Geliebte (“To the
distant beloved”), considered
to be the first song cycle.1821 Wilhelm Müller
publishes his poems of Die
schöne Müllerin (including
six not set by Schubert) as
part of an anthology.AFTER
1840 Robert Schumann
composes several major song
cycles, including Frauenliebe
und Leben and Dichterliebe.1856 Baritone Julius
Stockhausen gives the first
complete public performance
of Die schöne Müllerin
in Vienna.US_150-155_Schubert_1.indd 152 26/03/18 1:00 PM