only after his death. Growing up in Austria as the son of a schoolmaster, Schubert showed

Transcription

1 Max Claycomb Winterreise Analysis, Mut Franz Schubert ( ), became one of the most renowned composers in history, but only after his death. Growing up in Austria as the son of a schoolmaster, Schubert showed remarkable skill in piano, violin, organ, singing, and composition from a very young age. Both his father and older brother encouraged his desire to study music and instructed him to where he was able to sing in the Imperial Court s chapel choir under the instruction of Antonio Salieri. From 1808 until 1813, Schubert worked with the chapel choir, played in the orchestra, and began composing music of his own. However, he left the chapel choir and began working with his father s school after 1813 but continued his pursuit in composition. During his time in which he worked with his father, Schubert composed masses, stage works, and other songs including "Gretchen am Spinnrade" and "Erlkänig", and worked with friends such as Josef von Spaun, Dr. Robert Helvering, Johann Mayrhofer, and Franz von Schober, who helped him in his composing. Later on, Schubert began to write music that was becoming popular in Vienna and his compositions included songs, operas, symphonies, pieces for pianos, string quartets, and more. Unfortunately, with his music growing in maturity and popularity, Schubert started feeling ill and was later believed to have contracted syphilis. Toward the end of his life, Schubert set the text of twenty-four poems by Wilhelm Müller to the second of two song cycles he wrote titled Winterreise. Shortly after the completion of the Winterreise however, Schubert passed away at the age of 31. Winterreise itself translates into Winter Journey, and the song cycle describes, [a] lone traveler [who] trudges slowly but steadily through the cold white landscape of winter (Howell).

2 This character struggles through a love who leaves and rejects him and then decides to travel in solitude until his death. The first half of the Winterreise focus on this idea of the betrayal of his love and the loneliness he faces due to her leaving. Different weather patterns such as rain and wind compare to the different emotions that the protagonist feels and shows such as tears and the pain inside his heart. Moving along throughout the cycle however the audience begins to realize that the theme of rejection and loneliness moves from the connection between the man and his lost love to the man and society in general. Continuing his journey, he goes on alone without any sense of communication with society and to the degree that even the animals reject him. With the continuing rejection, the overall tone of the cycle grows darker to where the protagonist s goal becomes death, which can be seen when desiring a room in the metaphorical inn, which was the graveyard. Right after though, the man gains heart in Mut, and though the journey has been difficult through stormy weather and rejection, he will continue where nothing will stop him gods on earth or not. Mut!, the twenty-second song, uses the text translated: If the snow flies in my face, I shake it off again. When my heart speaks in my breast, I sing loudly and gaily. I don t hear what it says to me, I have no ears to listen; I don t feel when it laments, Complaining is for fools. Happy through the world along Facing wind and weather! If there s no God upon the earth, Then we ourselves are Gods! ( Celia Sgroi). To begin, this song follows the form of a Closed Binary with a distinct A section which includes no modulation at the end, proving the closed part, and then includes a B section with no return to the A section of the piece. Like the rest of the song cycle, the song is set for a male voice accompanied by a piano. The piano introduces the original key as A minor, and the first phrase follows suit and ends with a half cadence. Directly after, Schubert begins using modal

3 mixture to introduce the idea of A major and the singer follows suit as well with the addition C and F sharp. The second phrase then ends with a perfect authentic cadence in A major with a key change as well, showing a modulation from A minor to the parallel major. Setting the lyrics to the music so well, Schubert uses the lyrics in the A section involving the strife that the protagonist encounters with the musical line ending on major dominant chords to create a need for resolution as the hardships cannot be the end. Then, the text, I sing loudly and gaily and Complaining is for fools lines up with the arpeggio of the vocal line which outlines a cadential pattern leading into the second phrase s perfect authentic cadence. The text and music connect to create the idea that the character tries to exclaim how such little things such as snow and laments cannot stop him, and how he will continue in his journey with strength. The chord progression within the A section of the song starts with a minor tonic, a minor subdominant, followed by another minor tonic, then a major dominant, and finally ends with a minor tonic chord again. With the entrance of the singer, the progression starts with a minor tonic until the upbeat of measure six, which uses diminished supertonic. In measure seven, Schubert uses a second inversion major dominant chord into a minor supertonic seventh chord, then follows with a major dominant chord into a major supertonic seventh chord, and ends with major dominant chords to lead into the new phrase. The second phrase follows a similar pattern in musical content; however, Schubert uses a secondary dominant, a diminished leading tone chord of the dominant rather than the diminished supertonic chord used earlier. Also, the use of C sharp because more consistently used rather than being used as modal mixture from A major in measure eight, signifying the change from A minor into the parallel major. Schubert follows this change into A major with a cadential pattern into a major tonic chord that results in a perfect

4 authentic cadence to end the A section, which can be considered a double symmetrical parallel period, as the musical content repeats itself with different text. The B section follows with new melodic content in both the singer s line and the piano though the text will repeat. Schubert starts with the new section with the dominant chord of A major and constantly revolves back to this dominant chord until the end of the second phrase. The constant use of the dominant function chord serves a similar purpose as it occurs in the A section where the desire or longing for tonic and resolution emerges. Schubert starts with a dominant chord then moves to a tonic chord followed by dominant again until the second beat of measure twenty-one in which Schubert uses a secondary dominant chord, dominant seven of dominant, to then arrive at a half cadence in A major, and repeats the cadence again in the piano before moving to the next phrase. This first phrase in the B section lines up well with the text as we require resolution in both poetry and music as the protagonist faces tough weather in winds and most like very tough precipitation of sort, with the weather represented by the constant return of dominant function chords. Then in the second phrase, we see resolution where Schubert begins reusing the tonic function chord as he starts with the dominant chord, which resolves to the tonic, returning to the dominant and then resolving the phrase with a cadential pattern resulting in a perfect authentic cadence in A major which again Schubert repeats in the piano. Schubert again fits the text well as the protagonist gains the courage with the arrival of the perfect authentic cadence and return to tonic while exclaiming that if the God has abandoned the people on Earth, then the people themselves have become Gods, creating a sense of strength and confidence within the protagonist. Following this symmetric contrasting period, or the B section, Schubert changes the harmonic content in a way that earlier music is not used to. The music begins in A major; however, both the singer and piano use C naturals to bring back the original

5 tonic of a minor, but then quickly switches into the relative major of C and uses C major tonic and dominant function chords back to back for four measures. This new function in the music, called chromatic third relationship, allows the composer to change keys between two keys that do not closely relate, however by changing into a key that the two different keys share, one can transition cleanly into the desired key. This change in key also creates a sense of strength within the protagonist and the listener as the modulation into C major sounds very powerful within the music as the tone of the singer changes from determined, to having a sense of courage with a new sense of strength. Following this modulation into C major, A major returns as tonic shown by the dominant function E major chord which resolves immediately to tonic in measure thirtyeight on beat one. Then continuing on with a dominant chord on beat two, then ending the phrase again with a cadential pattern of a second inversion dominant function chord resolving to a root position dominant seventh chord and finally resulting in a perfect authentic cadence in A major and ending with a symmetrical contrasting period. Interestingly though, Schubert then continues the music and ends the piece in the original tonic of a minor, which continues the story as the protagonist must continue trudging alone in his harsh journey of trial and rejection. With this song cycle written at the end of Schubert s time, one can see the parallels of the harmonic structure to how he experience the end of his time dying of illness. Schubert lived a very depressing last couple of years and the sadness and pain felt in this piece can relate to that of which Schubert himself experienced. Mut in a way defies such sadness as the song for the most part has strength, determination, and courage engrained within the music where the protagonist feels as though he himself can be a God. God s live forever, and in a sense, Schubert may have understood this in the sense that though he would not, that his music could.

6 Works Cited "Franz Peter Schubert." The Biography.com website. Apr Hampson, Thomas, and Carla M. Verdino-Süllwold. "Franz Schubert: WINTERREISE." Winterreise «. N.p., 19 Jan Web. 28 Apr < Hopewell, Corey. "Schubert's Winterreise Song Cycle." Academia.edu. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr < "Schubert, Franz (Peter)." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 28 Apr < "Winterreise (Op. 89, D 911)." Gopera. N.p., n.d. Web. <