Classical Music | Soprano

Franz Schubert

Szene aus Goethes Faust, D. 126  Play

Jennifer Zetlan Soprano
David Shimoni Piano

Recorded on 08/02/2009, uploaded on 11/05/2011

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Though rarely staged in its entirety, Goethe’s Faust is considered by many to be a pinnacle of German literature. The play, which comprises two parts, occupied many years of the poet’s life and captivated the minds of composers for the next century. Berlioz, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Wagner, Liszt and Mahler were all compelled, in some manner and sometimes more than once, to express Goethe’s deeply metaphysical work in sound (of the foremost composers of the mid to late 19th century, only Brahms seems to have been immune to a drama rife with content begging for musical accompaniment). It seems fitting, then, that Franz Schubert, a man who possessed a seemingly supernatural gift for imbuing words with melody, should likewise have been attracted to Goethe’s play. Beginning in 1814, Schubert produced settings of three selections from Faust, though the last (Gretchens bitte) remained unfinished at the composer’s death. The first composed in 1814 was his first successful lied, Gretchen am Spinrrade, and remains one his most popular in modern times. Not long after completing this setting, Schubert turned to a scene taken from Part One of Faust. In the scene, Gretchen, who has just poisoned her mother, returns to pray in her church but is mocked and tormented by the presence of an Evil Spirit.

Entitled simply Szene aus Goethes Faust, this work makes far greater demands than its predecessor. Written for female voice with piano accompaniment, the singer is required to take on the role of the scene’s two characters, Gretchen and the Evil Spirit, as well as the church choir, which though in the background, provides a poignant commentary on Gretchen’s plight. To achieve an effective characterization, Schubert places Gretchen’s words in the voice’s high register, while the Evil Spirit is intoned in the low register. The choir, likewise, is also placed in the low register but is stylistically different from the recitatives of the Evil Spirit. The song is particularly moving, with the wandering chromatic harmonies that accompany the sinister recitatives of the Evil Spirit and the impassioned and anguished cries of Gretchen. Indeed, it begs for a full orchestral and choral setting, nearly surpassing the limits of what may be considered song.      Joseph DuBose


Steans Music Institute

The Steans Music Institute is the Ravinia Festival's professional studies program for young musicians.