Grove's dictionary of music and musicians

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1818 SCHUBERT 1818 291
are dated August 3, and Sept. 18, 1818. The
first is addressed to his home circle, his ' dearest
fondest friends . . Spaun, Schober, Mayrhofer,
and Senn . . . you who are everything to me.
There are messages also to Vogl, and to Schober's
'
mother and sister, and to all possible acquaintances,
' and an urgent entreaty to write
soon— 'every syllable of yours is dear to me."
He is thoroughly well and happy, and composing
like a god. . . Mayrhofer's Einsamkeit
'
is ready, and I believe it to be the best thing
I have yet done, for I was without anxiety
(ohne Sorge—the italics are his own).
' Einsamkeit
'
is a long ballad, filling nineteen close
pages of print, with a dozen changes of tempo
and as many of signature ;
perhaps not quite
coming up to his own estimate of it, though
both words and music are often very striking.
The length of this and other ballads will
probably always hinder their wealth of melody,
dramatic effects, and other striking beauties,
from being known by the world at large.
The other letter, seven weeks later, throws
more light on his position at ZseMsz as com-
'
poser, manager, audience, everything, in one.'
'
No one here cares for true Art, unless it be
now and then the Countess ; so I am left alone
with my beloved, and have to hide her in my
If this
room, or my piano, or my own breast.
often makes me sad, on the other hand it often
elevates me all the more. Several songs have
lately come into existence, and I hope very successful
ones.' He is evidently more at home
in the servants' hall than the drawing-room.
'
The cook is a pleasant fellow ; the ladies'-maid
is thirty ; the housemaid very pretty, and often
pays me a visit ; the nurse is somewhat ancient
the butler is my rival ; the two grooms get on
better with the horses than with us. The Count
is a little rough ; the Countess proud, but not
without heart ; the young ladies good children.
I need not tell you, who know me so well, that
with my natural frankness I am good friends
with everybody.' The letter ends with an
affectionate message to his parents.
The only songs which can be fixed to this
autumn, and which are therefore doubtless those
just referred to, besides the great ' Einsamkeit,
are the ' Blumenbrief, ' 'Blondel und Maria,'
'
Das Marienbild ' and ' '
Litaney, ' Das Abendroth'—for
a contralto, evidently composed
'
for the Countess ; Vom Mitleiden Maria,' and
three Sonnets from Petrarch. The Hungarian
national songs left their mark in the 36 original
'
dances,' or 'First Waltzes' (op. 9), some of
which were written down in the course of the
next year. The Divertissement k ' la hongroise,
and the Quartet in A minor (op. 29), in which
the Hungarian influence is so strong, belong
the first apparently, the second certainly—to a
much later period.
A third letter of this date, hitherto unprinted,
with which the writer has been honoured by the
grand-daughter^ofFerdinand Schubert, to whom
it was addressed, is not without interest, and is
here printed entire. The Kequiem referred to
was by Ferdinand, and had evidently been sent
to his brother for revision. The letter throws
a pleasant light on the strong link existing
between Franz and his old home, and suggests
that assistance more solid than 'linen' may often
have reached him froui his fond step-mother
in his poverty in Vienna. In considering the
pecuniary result of the engagement, it must be
remembered that the florin was at that time only
worth a franc, instead of two shillings. The
month's pay therefore, instead of being £20, was
really only about £8. Still, for Schubert that
was a fortune.
Dear Bkother Ferdinand,
24 Aug. 1818.
It is half-past 11 at night, and your Requiem is
ready. It has made me sorrowful, as you may believe,
for I sang it with all my heart. What is wanting you
can fill in, and put the words under the music and the
.signs above. And if you want much rehearsal you must
do it yourself, without asking me in Zel6sz. Things are
not going well with you ; 1 wish you could change with
me, so that for once you might be happy. You should
find all your heavy burdens gone, dear brother ; I heartily
wish itcould be so.— My foot is asleep, and lam mad with
it. If the fool could only write it wouldn't go to sleep !
Good morning, my boy, I have been asleep with my
foot, and now go on with my letter at 8 o'clock on the25th.
I have one request to make in answer to yours. Give
my love to my dear parents, brothers, sisters, friends, and
acquaintances, especially not forgetting Carl. Didn't
he mention me in his letter ! As for my friends in the
town, bully them, or get some one to bully them well, till
they write to me. Tell my mother that my linen is
well looked after, and that I am well off, thanks to
her motherly care. If I could have some more linen
I should very much like her to send me a second
batch of pocket-handkerchiefs, cravats, and stockings.
Also I am much in want of two pair of kerseymere
trousers. Hart can get the measure wherever he likes.
I would send the money very soon. For July, with the
journey-money, I got 200 florins.
It is beginning already to be cold, and yet we shall
not start for Vienna before the middle of October, Next
month I hope to have a few weeks at Freystadt, which
belongs to Count Erdody, the uncle of my count. The
country there is said to be extraordinarily beautiful.
Also I hope to get to Pesth while we are at the vintage
at Bosczmedj, which is not far off. It would be delightful
if I should happen to meet Herr Administrator
Taigele there. I am delighted at the thought of the
vintage, for I have heard so much that is pleasant about
it. The harvest also is beautiful here. They don't stow
the corn into bams as they do in Austria, but make
immense heaps out in the fields, which they call Tristeu
They are often 80 to 100 yards long, and 30 to 40 high,
and are laid together so cleverly that the rain all runs otf
without doing any harm. Oats and so on they bury in
the ground.
Though I am so well and happy, and every one so good
to me, yet I shall be immensely glad when the moment
arrives for going to Vienna. Beloved Vienna, all that is
dear and valuable to me is there, and nothing but the
actual sight of it will stop my longing ! Again entreating
you to attend to all my requests, I remain, with much love
to all, your true and sincere,
Franz Mpia,
A thousand greetings to your good wife and dear Besi,
and a very hearty one to aunt Schubert and her daughter.
The inscription ' Zelfez, Nov. 1818 ' on the
song ' Das Abendroth ' shows that the return to
Vienna was not till nearly the end of the year.
1 Fiitulein Caroline Geisler, daughter of Linus Oelaler and Ferdinand's
second daughter, Elise.