Classical Music | Baritone

Recorded on 12/31/1969, uploaded on 01/22/2014

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Kriegers Ahnung

In contrast to Liebesbotschaft, the man in Kriegers Ahnung (Warrior’s Foreboding) is stricken by an anxious separation from his beloved and finds no lasting peace in his present circumstances. A soldier away at war, he lies awake as his fellow men sleep. Militant chords in the bleak key of C minor open the song over which the vocalist later enters with the utterance of his troubled heart. Shifting into A-flat major, the soldier momentarily finds comfort in the warm and consoling second stanza. He reminiscences of the warmth of his own home while he held his beloved in his arms. A fleeting moment of hope passes over his troubled heart, and Schubert recalls the ascending thirds that were such a symbol of expectation and love in the previous song. However, the music once again becomes troubled and anxious as the third stanza begins. Brought back to his dismal reality by the cold, gloomy flames of the campfire as their light dances mockingly on the soldiers’ weapons, the poet is struck with loneliness. Capturing the uneasy state of the poet’s heart, Schubert begins the stanza in the remote key of F-sharp minor with anxiously reiterated tones and a bass line pulled down by the weight of loneliness. Passing through A minor and F minor, the fourth stanza returns to C minor and an uncertain feeling of resolve is obtained as the soldier tries to bolster his own spirits. Though many battles lay ahead, he finds another brief moment of comfort as he looks to a return home. Yet, this comfort does not last as his last wishes goodnight to his beloved is undermined by the return of the militant chords heard at the beginning of the song, and a poignant vocal melody that leaves the listener in a state of uncertainty.       Joseph DuBose

This recording of Schwanengesang was made in the 1950s.

Courtesy of YouTube