Ständchen (Serenade) is easily one Franz Schubert’s most well-known and beloved songs. Its incantations of love, tinged with melancholy, make it an ethereal creation that can strike the heart of any listener. Its beauty is rendered by its overwhelming simplicity, heightened by the poignancy of Rellstab’s text. Under the veil of night, a hopeful lover, joined by a chorus of nightingales, sings to “his dearest” in his effort to woo her, and implores her to fulfill his happiness.
In D minor, Schubert masterfully evokes the nocturnal setting of Rellstab’s poem and gives its words a captivating utterance with a sensuous melody. This melody weaves its way through the tones of the tonic triad, supported by a simple accompaniment of broken chords and echoes of its sentimental turns, and eventually effects a stirring turn into the tonic major. In the interlude between the second and third stanzas, the music wavers between D major and D minor, eloquently capturing the hopes and fears of the poet.
While the third and fourth stanzas follow the same music as the previous two, the fifth and last stanza is different. Though the accompaniment remains unchanged, the vocal melody becomes ardent in its declarations, as the poet passionately implores his beloved to be moved by the nightingales’ sweet song. The sudden modulation into B minor, followed by the uncertainty of whether the music will close in D minor or D major, captures his trembling anxiety. It is the major mode that the song finally comes to rest in, though the poignant inflection of the minor mode just after the vocalist’s last utterance brings to light the uncertain hope of the amorous bard. Joseph DuBose
This recording of Schwanengesang was made in the 1950s.
Classical Music | Baritone
Franz Schubert
Ständchen, from Schwanengesang Play
Recorded on 12/31/1969, uploaded on 01/22/2014
Musician's or Publisher's Notes
Ständchen
Ständchen (Serenade) is easily one Franz Schubert’s most well-known and beloved songs. Its incantations of love, tinged with melancholy, make it an ethereal creation that can strike the heart of any listener. Its beauty is rendered by its overwhelming simplicity, heightened by the poignancy of Rellstab’s text. Under the veil of night, a hopeful lover, joined by a chorus of nightingales, sings to “his dearest” in his effort to woo her, and implores her to fulfill his happiness.
In D minor, Schubert masterfully evokes the nocturnal setting of Rellstab’s poem and gives its words a captivating utterance with a sensuous melody. This melody weaves its way through the tones of the tonic triad, supported by a simple accompaniment of broken chords and echoes of its sentimental turns, and eventually effects a stirring turn into the tonic major. In the interlude between the second and third stanzas, the music wavers between D major and D minor, eloquently capturing the hopes and fears of the poet.
While the third and fourth stanzas follow the same music as the previous two, the fifth and last stanza is different. Though the accompaniment remains unchanged, the vocal melody becomes ardent in its declarations, as the poet passionately implores his beloved to be moved by the nightingales’ sweet song. The sudden modulation into B minor, followed by the uncertainty of whether the music will close in D minor or D major, captures his trembling anxiety. It is the major mode that the song finally comes to rest in, though the poignant inflection of the minor mode just after the vocalist’s last utterance brings to light the uncertain hope of the amorous bard. Joseph DuBose
This recording of Schwanengesang was made in the 1950s.
Courtesy of YouTube
More music by Franz Schubert
Der Wanderer an den Mond
Tränenregen, from Die schöne Müllerin
Moment musicaux, D. 780 No. 4
Erlkönig
Piano Sonata D. 958, Finale: Allegro
Sonata in B-flat Major, Op. 30, D617
Impromptu Op. 90 No. 2 in E-flat Major, D. 899
Notturno
Impromptu Op 90 N° 3
Standchen, Lieder for Flute and Piano
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