AN ANALYSIS OF TWO SCHUBERT LIEDER

I recently taught a four-week course on Goethe's Faust at the Osher Institute of Towson University. There was so much to cover in so little time!  I wanted to play recordings  and analyze  two Schubert songs with texts by Goethe, but couldn't, due to time constraints.  This essay, however, will do just that.  It is made available for anyone with an interest in music and in literature.

First Lied: Gretchen am Spinnrade (Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel), by Schubert with a Text by Goethe

Let's begin with a few words about the poem.  Gretchen recites (or sings) the words while she spins fiber into yarn at a spinning wheel.  The intensity of her love for Faust has destroyed her ability to live any longer within the confines she had known all her life.  She is young, inexperienced and has fallen, as they say, madly in love.  She has not yet had sex with Faust; he will soon give her a sleeping potion for her mother, so he can seduce her at home.  (Her mother will never wake up.)

The poem is written in Knittelvers; each pair of two lines has four strong beats, with a varying number of syllables occurring before each beat, usually one, two or three.  The very regular beats throughout the poem suggest the constant spinning of the wheel.

The poem is a masterpiece.  I know of no other poem that depicts sexual obsession as eloquently.  Gretchen's entire world has been reduced to one man; there is room for nothing else.  She is losing her grip on reality and she knows it.

Goethe's original version is followed by my translation:

Meine Ruh' ist hin,
Mein Herz ist schwer,
Ich finde sie nimmer
Und nimmermehr.

Wo ich ihn nicht hab
Ist mir das Grab,
Die ganze Welt
Ist mir vergällt.

Mein armer Kopf
Ist mir verrückt,
Mein armer Sinn 
Ist mir zerstückt.

Meine Ruh' ist hin,
Mein Herz ist schwer,
Ich finde sie nimmer
Und nimmermehr.

Nach ihm nur schau ich
Zum Fenster hinaus,
Nach ihm nur geh ich
Aus dem Haus.

Sein hoher Gang,
Sine edle Gestalt,
Seines Mundes Lächeln,
Seiner Augen Gewalt,

Und seiner Rede
Zauberfluss,
Sein Händedruck,
Und ach! sein Kuss--

Meine Ruh' ist hin,
Mein Herz ist schwer,
Ich finde sie nimmer
Und nimmermehr.

Mein Busen drängt sich
Nach ihm hin,
Ach, dürft ich fassen
Und halten ihn,

Und küssen ihn,
Ganz wie ich wollt,
An seinen Küssen
Vergehen sollt!

Prose translation:

My peace is gone,

My heart is sore,

I'll never have peace,

Again, nevermore.

It's like a grave

When I'm not with him;

The entire world

Is spoiled for me.

My poor head

Is going mad;

My poor mind

Has gone to pieces.

My peace is gone,

My heart is sore,

I'll never have peace

Again, nevermore.

When I look out the window

I'm looking for him;

To find him is the sole reason

I'd leave my house;

His noble gait,

His noble form,

The way he laughs,

The power of his eyes,

And the magical flow

Of his speech--

The touch of his hand,

And ah! his kiss--

My peace is gone,

My heart is sore,

I'll never have peace

Again, nevermore.

My heart is yearning,

Yearning for him--

Oh if I could embrace

And hold onto him

And kiss him

As much as I'd like--

From his kisses

To fade from sight!

Schubert put the poem to music in 1814; it is his Opus 2 and his first successful lied.  He was only sixteen years old at the time!  The song is a miracle.  It depicts Gretchen's distress and sexual obsession brilliantly and poignantly.  What other composer or writer has ever begun his career fully mature at such a young age?  Schubert went on to write many great compositions, some of which equal this one, but none surpassed it.  In comparison, Mozart, the very paradigm of prodigy, only began writing masterpieces in his early twenties.

The accompaniment is ingenious.  Schubert uses a pedal tone and two eighth notes followed by an eighth note rest in the bass to indicate Gretchen's foot on the pedal as it drives the wheel.  The constant spinning of the wheel is beautifully depicted by groups of sixteenth notes, 12 per measure, in the treble.  (The composition, as one might expect, is an a minor key.) The meter is 6/8, which is heard by the ear as two strong beats per measure of 6 sixteenth notes each, thus indicating the monotony of the endless spinning.   

Schubert's music is, however, never monotonous.  He changes the dynamics and the harmony to fit the increasing emotional intensity.  The poem was well suited for the composer.  The constant rhythmic pattern of the piece anchored Schubert's mind, as it were, which had the tendency to float away in any direction his invention decided to take him.  (We will hear an example of this in Prometheus.)

The key very effectively turns--albeit briefly--to major as she thinks of Faust's handsome qualities.  The true touch of genius, however, is the high point of the piece, where Gretchen imagines Faust kissing her.  She is so moved that she takes her foot off the pedal and the spinning stops, to great effect.

After this, the spinning begins with the return of the rondo-like stanza of "My peace is gone."  But it is really gone now--A crescendo begins, evoking increasing emotional distress, which culminates in an almost unbearable intensity with the repetition of "Oh if I could embrace..."

The poem ends at this point, but the music would seem very incomplete if it ended here  Schubert wisely has Gretchen return to her quiet spinning wheel-despair with a repeat of the rondo stanza.

Even if Schubert had been older at the time of this composition, the only proper reaction to this lied is awe

Now let's turn to a recording:

This is a recording of the lied sung by Kiri Te Kanawa, accompanied by Richard Amner on the piano.  I begin with this since it provides the musical notation.  Te Kanawa has a beautiful voice and does indeed sing in a very pleasing manner.  But this text demands a lot more than beautiful singing.  It is a rather bloodless and passionless performance.  The pianist's performance is too perfunctory.  Neither of them understand the text, or at the very least, choose not to understand it.

Now let's turn to another performance of this lied, sung by Renee Fleming accompanied by Christoph Eschenbach:

What a masterful performance by both singer and pianist!  Both performers give a highly emotional rendering--without ever overdoing it--just as the text demands.  You can hear the anxiety in Fleming's voice from the very beginning.  The performance by Eschenbach is every bit as impressive--what a team!  I'm going to emphasize only one thing--the high point of the piece, the G natural above middle C of "Kuss" ("Kiss")  Te Kanawa sings the note beautifully and gently, with an operatic fade in dynamics at the end.  Beautiful, but totally inappropriate, in my opinion.  In contrast, Fleming attacks the G with force, indicating the height of Gretchen's distress--it is quite riveting.  I think Schubert would have loved this performance.

One more recording, Evgeny Kissen playing the Schubert/Liszt piano transcription.  If you want to hear great technique, exquisite phrasing along with intensely emotional playing, Kissen is the pianist for you. His Gretchen begins with a more quiet despair than Fleming's does; the emotion, however, increases and increases--and increases.  He understands the text perfectly; he knows how to build up the emotion until a climax which leaves one almost breathless. What can I say?  This performance makes my hair stand on end, it is that intense.  Kissen performed this when he was about 18!--Now I can understand the sixteen year old Schubert a little better--but only a little!

Note: For those of you who are aficianados of this type of music, I suggest that you listen to Yuja Wang's interpretation of the same piece, the Schubert/Liszt Gretchen am Spinnrade, which is available on YouTube.  In which version does Gretchen's personality become passionately and musically alive?  Although Wang is an accomplished pianist, compared to Kissen, she is just playing notes.

One might want to read my essay,  Wanderers Nachtlied ll (by googling that title and adding Thomasdorsett) in which I compare the Wanderers Nachtlied by Schubert with the lied by Carl Loewe (1796-1869), to the same text, perhaps the most famous of all Goethe's poems.  Although Loewe was much less gifted than Schubert, I contend that he understood this text better and composed a very effective lied.  I also invite you to listen to his Gretchen am Spinnrade, sung by Brigitte Fassbaender, which is available on YouTube.  Notice that Loewe composes "Nach ihm nur geh' ich aus dem Haus" in a major key, as if it were something positive that Gretchen enjoyed doing--the feeling of an all-inclusive obsession is lacking totally. Not so in Schubert's vastly superior version, in which Gretchen's angst is readily apparent.

Second Lied: Prometheus, by Schubert with a Text by Goethe

I have analyzed this poem (google: Thomasdorsett Goethe's Prometheus) and invite readers to refer to it.  Here I will only present the poem and my English translation:

PROMETHEUS

Bedecke deinen Himmel, Zeus,
Mit Wolkendunst
Und übe, dem Knaben gleich,
Der Disteln köpft,
An Eichen dich und Bergeshöhn;
Musst mir meine Erde
Doch lassen stehn
Und meine Hütte, die du nicht gebaut,
Und meinen Herd,
Um dessen Glut
Du mich beneidest.

Ich kenne nichts Ärmeres
Unter der Sonn als euch, Götter!
Ihr nähret kümmerlich
Von Opfersteuern
Und Gebetshauch
Eure Majestät
Und darbtet, wären
Nicht Kinder und Bettler
Hoffnungsvolle Toren.

Da ich ein Kind war,
Nicht wusste, wo aus noch ein,
Kehrt ich mein verirrtes Auge
Zur Sonne, als wenn drüber wär
Ein Ohr, zu hören meine Klage,
Ein Herz wie meins,
Sich des Bedrängten zu erbarmen.

Wer half mir
Wider der Titanen Übermut?
Wer rettete vom Tode mich,
Von Sklaverei?
Hast du nicht alles selbst vollendet,
Heilig glühend Herz?
Und glühtest jung und gut,
Betrogen, Rettungsdank
Dem Schlafenden da droben?

Ich dich ehren? Wofür?
Hast du die Schmerzen gelindert
Je des Beladenen?
Hast du die Tränen gestillet
Je des Geängsteten?
Hat nicht mich zum Manne geschmiedet
Die allmächtige Zeit
Und das ewige Schicksal,
Meine Herrn und deine?

Wähntest du etwa,
Ich sollte das Leben hassen,
In Wüsten fliehen,
Weil nicht alle
Blütenträume reiften?

Hier sitz ich, forme Menschen
Nach meinem Bilde,
Ein Geschlecht, das mir gleich sei,
Zu leiden, zu weinen,
Zu geniessen und zu freuen sich,
Und dein nicht zu achten,
Wie ich!

PROMETHEUS

Conceal your heaven in mist, Zeus,
and practice on oaks and mountaintops
like a little boy who beheads thistles;
my earth, however, you must leave intact,
along with my hut which you didn't build,
and my hearth, the flame of which
provokes your envy.

I know nothing more destitute
under the sun than you gods!
Your majesty wretchedly gets by
with offerings and the breaths of prayer;
you would starve to death
if beggars and children
weren't hopeful fools. 

When I was an ignorant child,
my mistaken eyes turned
to the sun, as if there were
an ear up there to witness
my lament, or a heart like mine
to pity those in distress.

Who helped me when I opposed
the rashness of the Titans?
Who saved me from death and slavery?
Wasn't it you, my holy, fiery heart,
who accomplished it all by yourself?
And once, young and decent, didn't you radiate
thanks of deliverance 
toward Him who sleeps above?

Why should I honor you?
Have you ever 
eased the pain of the troubled?
Have you ever 
stilled the tears of the anguished?
Haven't eternal destiny
--your master and mine--
and all-powerful time
forged the man I've become?

Do you really believe
that I should detest life
and flee to the wilderness
just because many dreams 
bloom and don't survive?

I'm seated here, form human beings
according to my image,
a race that will follow my lead,
to suffer, to cry,
to enjoy, to rejoice,
and to ignore you completely,
just like me.

                 --Translated by Thomas Dorsett

Here is a recording of Schubert's lied, as sung by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, accompanied by Dietrich Henschel:

This is not one of Schubert's most successful lieder. It is a very angry poem, and the expression of anger was not one of Schubert's strong points. (He excelled in portraying--exquisitely--both youthful despair and youthful exuberance. Beethoven expressed anger very well, of which the "Ha, Welch' ein Augenblick" aria from Fidelio is an outstanding example.) Schubert's attempt at anger here--a rather pompous beginning along with subsequent tremulos in the bass--is not very convincing. Notice that he leaves anger behind beginning with "Ich kenne nichts Aermeres.." ("I know nothing more destitute"), although he returns to this emotion briefly later on in the lied.

The real problem for Schubert here is the irregular, changing meter of the poem As mentioned earlier, Schubert loved regular meters in poetry, which "anchored" him and gave him the opportunity to balance the regularity with astonishing melodies and harmonies. Schubert is best, of course, at melodies--he was one of the greatest melodists in the history of music--he was much less inclined toward dramatic declaration. The non-melodic declarative sections of this lied do not work very well. (This is not to say that Schubert lacked a sense of drama--Many of his lieder are replete with dramatic intensity e.g., Gretchen am Spinnrade, but he is best at moving the drama along via melody.

This might be C plus Schubert in comparison with the A plus Schubert of the first lied, but it is still Schubert; Prometheus is not without lovely moments. I think the ending is very beautiful, although the emotion expressed is, I think, very different from the intent of the poem. It is not anger with which the lied terminates, but with a religious solemnity, indicating the grandeur and dignity of mankind standing up on its own without an imagined crutch.

As an addendum, I would like to end with a twentieth-century version of this poem by Hugo Wolf. Here melody is subordinated to dramatic intensity; the accompaniment tells the drama, and has an even more important role than the singer--which almost never occurs with Schubert! A fierce anger informs the entire composition (--perhaps a little too much anger?--I leave that up to you!)  Since melody is not emphasized here, Wolf has no problem with the changes of rhythm of this free verse-like poem. Prometheus's anger is palpable throughout. Wolf's version is much more in accord with the poem--perhaps it is more angry than Goethe's poem, but it is a very valid interpretation. 

I have no objection if you still prefer Schubert's version--Grade C Schubert is still Grade A when compared to most composers! I just wanted to point out why his Prometheus is not among his best lieder.

I would like to summarize by stating the obvious: Goethe's poem Gretchen am Spinnrade is a very great poem. Astonishingly, however, a sixteen year old unknown composer wrote a lied to this text that is every bit as great as the poem. What a combination!

Addendum: Goethe Essays by Thomas Dorsett (They can be accessed on the Internet by googling the title along with Thomasdorsett.)

1. Goethe's Prometheus
2. Wanderers Nachtlied ll
3. Who Never Ate His Bread in Tears
4. Goethe's Wanderers Nachtlied und ein Einfacheres
5. A Fictional NDE-like Experience from Goethe's Faust Part 2
6. An Analysis of Two Schubert/Goethe Lieder