Grove's dictionary of music and musicians

'
;'
—;
f
1815 SCHUBERT 1815 285
tion on his deathbed : Such long poems, many
me the words,' said Mozart, and ' I'll put the poetry to them.' can be seen in the complete edition of Breitkopf & Hartel.]
'
spectacle of so insatiable a, desire to produce has
of them containing ten others,' by which he never before been seen ; of a genius thrown
meant as long as ten. [See p. 3096.] And naked into the world and compelled to explore
this mass of music was produced in the mere for himself all paths and channels in order to
intervals of his school drudgery ! Well might discover by exhaustion which was the best
his brother say that the rapidity of his writing and then to die.
was marvellous.
During this year he taught diligently and
Amidst all this work and, one might be punctually in his father's school, and attended
tempted to believe, all this hurry, it is astonishing
Salieri's lessons. His relations to the Lichten-
to find that some of the songs of these thal remained as before. The Mass in G, like
boyish years are amongst the most permanent that in F, was written for the parish church, and
'
of his productions. Gretchen am Spinnrade, according to the testimony of one ' of his old
a song full of the passion and experience of a friends was especially intended for those of his
lifetime, was written (as we have said) in Oct. companions who had been pupils of Holzer's with
1814, when he was seventeen. The Erl King him. A pleasant ' relic of his home life exists
itself in its original form (with a few slight in a piece of music written for his father's birthday,
Sept. 27, 1815, for four voices and orchestra
differences)! belongs to the winter of 1815,
and the immortal songs of the ' Haidenroslein,'
— 'Erhabner, verehrter Freund der Jugend.'*
'
Rastlose Liebe,' 'Sohafers Klagelied,' the He kept up his intercourse also with the Convict,
grand Ossian songs, and others of his betterknown
and when he had written anything special it
works, fall within this year. The Mass was one of the first places to which he would
in G, too, though composed for a very limited take it. There possibly his Symphonies were
orchestra, and not without tokens of hurry, is tried, though it is doubtful if a juvenile orchestra
a masterpiece. The dramatic works contain would contain clarinets, bassoons, trumpets,
many beautiful movements, and are full of and horns, all which are present in the scores
striking things, but the librettos are so bad, of the first four Symphonies. There, thanks
that in their present condition they can never to the memorandum of another old ' Gonvicter,'
be put on the stage. The symphonies, though we can assist at the first hearing of the ' Erl
not original, are not without original points King.' Spaun happened to call one afternoon,
and are so sustained throughout, so full of in this very winter, at the elder Schubert's
fresh melody and interesting harmony, and so house in the Hiramelpfortgrund, and found
extraordinarily scored considering their date, Franz in his room, in a state of inspiration over
that in these respects a man of double Schubert's Goethe's ballad, which he had just seen for the
age might be proud to claim them.
first time. A few times' reading had been
The habit of writing to whatever words came sufficient to evoke the music, which in the rage
in his way was one of Schubert's characteristics, of inspiration he was whelming down^ on to
especially in the earlier part of his career. the paper at the moment of Spaun's arrival
With his incessant desire to sing ; with an indeed it was already perfect except the mere
abundant fountain of melody and harmony filling in of the accompaniment. This was
always welling up in him and endeavouring to quickly done ; and it was finished in the form
escape, no wonder that he grasped at any words in which we can now see it in the Berlin
and tried any forms that came in his way and Library. ° In the evening Schubert brought it
seemed to afford a channel for his thoughts. to the Convict, and there first he and then Holzapfel
sang it through. It was not altogether
If good, well ; if bad, well too. The reason
why he wrote eight operas in one year was no well received. No wonder ; the form was too
doubt in great measure because he happened to new, the dramatic spirit too strong, even for
meet with eight librettos ; had it been four or that circle of young Schubert-admirers. At
twelve instead of eight the result would have the words Mein Vater, mein Vater, '
jetzt fasst
!
been the same. The variety in the productions er niich an ' where Gb, Fl], and Eb all come >
even of this early year is truly extraordinary. A together, there was some dissent, and Ruzicka, I
glance at the list is sufficient to show that he as teacher of harmony, had to explain to his f
tried nearly every form of composition, whilst pupils, as best he might, a combination which (
the songs which he set range from gems like now seems perfectly natural and appropriate.
Goethe's ' Meeresstille ' and ' Freudvoll und 1816 was passed.much as 1815 had been, in
leidvoll, ' to the noisy ballads of Bertrand ; from Herr Doppler. I cannot refrain from mentioning this gentleman,
3
who in 1867 was shopman at Spina's (formerly niabelli'a). I
Mayrhofer's stern classicality and the gloomy
shajl never forget the droll shock I received when on asking him if
romance of Ossian, to the mild sentiment of he knew Schubert, hereplied, 'Know him? I was at his christening!
Klopstock. No doubt, as Schumann says, he ' Kreissle's Li/e is indebted to him for many a trait which
would otherwise have bsen lost.
could have set a placard to music.^ The
* Now in the Imperial Library, Berlin. No
every year, though that of 1814 has been lost.
doubt there was one
5 givtzuwWtend is Kreissle's word, doubtless from Spaun's lips.
1 The Berlin Library poasesses an autograph of the earlier form. 6 If indeed this be the actually first original. "The omission of
All the versions are in the complete edition.
bar 8, and its subsequent insertion, however, as well as the clean
3 'Qu'on medonne la Gazette de Hollande,' says Rameau. But regular look of the whole, seem to point to its being a transcript.
Schubert could have thrown poetry into an advertisement I Give [The various versions of this song, and the stages of its growth,