schubert at the “final barrier”

SCHUBERT AT THE “FINAL BARRIER” Blake Howe [bhowe@lsu.edu] Louisiana State University Music Finished and Unfinished: A Symposium in Honor of Richard Kramer CUNY Graduate Center – 18 May 2012 1. Schubert’s choral triptych (1826): three works for male chorus, setting the poetry of J. G. Seidl. “Widerspruch” (D. 865) “Grab und Mond” (D. 893) “Nachthelle” (D. 892) -­‐‑ male chorus + piano -­‐‑ male chorus (a cappella) -­‐‑ male chorus + tenor solo + piano -­‐‑ autograph dated 1826 -­‐‑ autograph dated September 1826 -­‐‑ autograph dated September 1826 -­‐‑ poem from vol. 1, p. 191 of Seidl’s -­‐‑ poem from vol. 2, p. 35 of Seidl’s -­‐‑ from vol. 2, p. 41 of Seidl’s Dichtungen (1826) Dichtungen (1826) Dichtungen (1826) -­‐‑ poem ends with sunset -­‐‑ poem takes place at night -­‐‑ poem takes place at night -­‐‑ tonic: D major -­‐‑ tonic: A major/minor -­‐‑ tonic: B-­‐‑flat major excerpts from poem: excerpt from poem: excerpt from poem: “Outdoors, my heart longs for “Moonlight sinks into the grave. “In me it is so wondrously bright, infinity.” “…But how restricted I so full and overfull. In the house of Moon, tell me, does light or feel in the outdoor air…; my heart darkness dwell in the grave? The my heart, I cannot contain all of instead longs to be indoors.” this rich light. It wants out, it must moon is silent, [but the grave responds]: come and see!” out—the final barrier breaks.” 2. J. G. Seidl, “Widerspruch” (“Contradiction”), with abbreviated second stanza. Wenn ich durch Busch und Zweig Brech auf beschränktem Steig, Wird mir so weit, so frei, Will mir das Herz entzwei. Rings dann im Waldeshaus Rücken die Wänd’ hinaus, Wölbt sich das Laubgemach Hoch mir zum Schwindeldach, Webt sich der Blätter schier Jedes zur Schwinge mir, Dass sich mein Herz, so weit, Sehnt nach Unendlichkeit. […] Ach! wie beschränkt, wie eng Wird mir’s im Luftgedräng; […] Und in ein Kämmerlein Sehnt sich mein Herz hinein! When I break through bush and branch on the constrictive path, I become so expansive, so free, my heart wants to break. Then, in the forest house, the walls all around recede, the chamber of foliage arches up high above me, forming a vertiginous roof. Nearly every leaf weaves itself into a wing for me, so that my expansive heart longs for infinity. […] But oh, how restricted, how cramped I become in the thick outdoor air. […] [Instead,] my heart longs to be inside a little room. Howe / “Schubert at the ‘Final Barrier’” / 2 3. Schubert, “Widerspruch” (D. 865), mm. 9–54: breaking past confinement into infinity. I m. 18 V m. 26
IV bVI Howe / “Schubert at the ‘Final Barrier’” / 3 chromatic-mediant shift
“confines” ⇒ “infinity”
m. 35 (bVI) ⇒ I (V 6/4) m. 43 (restriction ⇒ release) Howe / “Schubert at the ‘Final Barrier’” / 4 4. J. G. Seidl, “Nachthelle” (“Night Brightness”), as found in Seidl’s Dichtungen (1826). (Note the altered final line in Schubert’s song.) Die Nacht ist heiter und ist rein, The night is bright and clear Im allerhellsten Glanz: in the most brilliant luminousness. Die Häuser schaun verwundert drein, The houses look astonished, Stehn übersilbert ganz. covered completely in silver. In mir ist’s hell so wunderbar, In me it is so wondrously bright, So voll und übervoll, so full and overfull, Und waltet drinnen frei und klar, and inside it prevails freely and clearly, Ganz ohne Leid und Groll. entirely without sorrow or spite. Ich fass’ in meinem Herzenshaus In the house of my heart, I cannot contain Nicht all das reiche Licht: all of this rich light. Es will hinaus, es muss hinaus, It wants out, it must out— Ich halt’ es länger nicht! * I cannot hold it any longer! * * in Schubert’s song, the final line reads: “Die letzte Schranke bricht.” The final barrier breaks. 5. Schubert, “Nachthelle,” mm. 71–77. The autograph (now at the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek) shows the deletion of Seidl’s published final line (“Ich halt’ es länger nicht”) and its replacement (“Die letzte Schranke bricht”). 6. J. G. Seidl, “Widmung” (“Dedication”), final quatrain only. This is the first poem of the Lieder der Nacht section of Seidl’s Dichtungen (1826), in which both “Nachthelle” and “Grab und Mond” appear. Begeistert ruf’ ich gegen’s Sternenreich: Ardently I cried to the realm of stars: “Ja meine Freunde müßten auch so fühlen!” – “My friends, you must feel what I do!” Zuerst rief Euch die Seel’ – ich weih’ sie Euch: My soul first cried to you, I dedicate it to you: Ich kenn’ Euch ja, -­‐‑-­‐‑ Ihr müßtet auch so fühlen! – I know you – you must feel the same! Howe / “Schubert at the ‘Final Barrier’” / 5 7. Schubert, “Nachthelle,” mm. 40–54: depicting “freedom” (and echoing “Widerspruch,” mm. 35–36). F Db
m. 45 (Db) ⇒ m. 50 ⇒
A (V of D) Howe / “Schubert at the ‘Final Barrier’” / 6 8. The “final barrier breaks”: Schubert, “Nachthelle,” voice-­‐‑leading reduction, mm. 55–79. Gb and Cb act as “barrier” pitches that “break open” in m. 67, on the words “die letzte Schranke bricht” (!). 9. The “final barrier breaks”: Schubert, “Nachthelle,” mm. 55–79. m. 60 the Ger. +6th … is prolonged by a neighbor 6/4, leading to… Howe / “Schubert at the ‘Final Barrier’” / 7 … bVI; and it resolves on its second try. ! m. 65 !! m. 70 !!! m. 75 Howe / “Schubert at the ‘Final Barrier’” / 8 10. Schubert, original version of “Nachthelle” (mm. 49–64), subsequently crossed out and revised. Transcribed from the autograph score, now at the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek. Howe / “Schubert at the ‘Final Barrier’” / 9 Howe / “Schubert at the ‘Final Barrier’” / 10 11. Schubert, “Nachthelle,” mm. 117–46: two final chromatic expansions suggest a porous division between finite and infinite spaces. penultimate expansion: m. 122 m. 127 Howe / “Schubert at the ‘Final Barrier’” / 11 m. 132 final expansion: m. 137 m. 142 … followed by fourteen “transcendental” bars of B-­‐‑flat major … Howe / “Schubert at the ‘Final Barrier’” / 12 12. J. G. Seidl, “Grab und Mond” (“Grave and Moon”), text and translation. (In Seidl’s Dichtungen [1826], the words “relata referre!” [“as told by another!”] are printed beneath the title.) Silbergrauer Mondenschein Silver-­‐‑gray moonlight Fällt herab; descends, Senkt so manchen Strahl hinein sinking many a beam In das Grab. into the grave. Freund des Schlummers, lieber Mond, Friend of sleep, dear moon, Schweige nicht, do not be silent Ob im Grabe Dunkel wohnt, on whether light or darkness Oder Licht! lives on in the grave. Alles stumm?! Nun stilles Grab, All quiet?! Now then, silent grave, Rede du! you speak! Zogst so manchen Strahl hinab You have drawn so many a beam In die Ruh; into rest. Birgst gar manchen Mondenblick, You hide so many a moon’s glance, Silberblau; silvery-­‐‑blue— Gib nur einen Strahl zurück: – give back just one beam! “Komm und schau!!” [The grave replies:] “Come and see!” Selected Bibliography Hatten, Robert. Musical Meaning in Beethoven: Markedness, Correlation, and Interpretation. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1994. Howe, Blake. “The Allure of Dissolution: Bodies, Forces, and Cyclicity in Schubert’s Final Mayrhofer Settings.” Journal of the American Musicological Society 62 (2009): 271–322. Kramer, Richard. Distant Cycles: Schubert and the Conceiving of Song. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1994. Said, Edward W. On Late Style: Music and Literature against the Grain. New York: Pantheon, 2006. Seidl, Johann Gabriel. Dichtungen. 2 vols. Vienna: J. P. Sollinger, 1826. Schubert, Franz. Franz Schuberts Werke: Revisionsbericht. Edited by Eusebius Mandyczewski. Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel, 1897. Reprinted as Editors’ Commentary on the Critical Edition, vol. 19 of Franz Schubert: Complete Works. New York: Dover, 1969. Straus, Joseph N. “Disability and ‘Late Style’ in Music.” The Journal of Musicology 25 (2008): 3–45. Youens, Susan. Schubert’s Late Lieder: Beyond the Song Cycles. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Discography Utrecht Vocal Soloists, with Ronald Brautigam, piano. Franz Schubert: Part Songs. Globe CD 5021 (2006, recorded 1989). Orphei Dränger, directed by Robert Sund, with Jonas Degerfeldt, tenor, and Folke Alin, piano. Schubert: Male Choruses. Bis CD 1033 (2000).