Classical Music | Tenor

Recorded on 02/02/2000, uploaded on 03/24/2009

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Du bist die Ruh ("You are peace") is one of a handful of poems by Friedrich Rückert that Franz Schubert set to music. Derived from a love poem written by Rückert in 1819-20, the text of Du bist die Ruh is intensely passionate and moving. Schubert, however, more or less ignores the passionate tone of the poem and instead infuses it with one of simplicity. In fact, the solemn manner of Schubert's setting comes across as quasi-religious with its idealized portrayal of the poem's subject matter.

In the key of E-flat major, Schubert's setting is both harmonically and textually simple. Indeed, even chromatic chords for much of the song are few and far between. The five stanzas of Rückert's poem are divided into two groups of two, set to the same music. The final stanza, however, is different. Beginning in E-flat, it quickly passes through G-flat major before reaching a cadence in A-flat at the close of the penultimate line. The last line returns to E-flat major with a delicate embellishment in the accompaniment. The song ends on a solemn cadence over a tonic pedal.      Joseph DuBose

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.