The theme of love and longing continues in the third song, Frühlinssehnsucht (Longing in Spring). In Rellstab’s verse, the smitten lover is surrounded by the burgeoning glory of spring—murmuring breezes, the scent of flowers, brooks invigorated by the melting snow, and the world clothed once again in green. His heart is restless with a love yearning to break forth like the new season. Yet, unlike the flowers around him, it has not yet found the one to bring forth its own blossoms of love.
Schubert’s setting opens with an introduction for the piano that captures the vivacity of early Spring, in which sprightly triplets animate a melodic line that surges upward from the bass. The first four stanzas are treated strophically with a vocal melody that is cheerful and delights in the return of life. However, at the end of each stanza, Schubert executes a truly ingenious transition. Deftly passing from a blithe B-flat major and momentarily touching D minor, the music turns introspective and finds itself in the unsettling key of A-flat minor with the lingering, unanswered questions posed by the poet at the end of the first four stanzas. The vigorous accompaniment of the piano disappears, and only sustained chords support the vocalist’s questioning semitone. With equal skill, Schubert leaves A-flat minor and the joyous B-flat major returns as the next stanza begins.
However, in the fifth and final stanza, as the poet dwells more on his own restless heart, Schubert provides an altered form of the strophe by a modulation into the key of the tonic minor. The major mode is eventually regained as the vocalist reaches the final two lines of the poem (“Nur du befreist den Lenz in der Brust, nur du!” / “Only you can release the Spring in my heart, only you!”), revealing a sense of hope. Yet, the presence of the minor sixth, an inflection of the minor mode, in the final bars maintains the longing of the lover’s restless heart.Joseph DuBose
This recording of Schwanengesang was made in 1950s.
Classical Music | Baritone
Franz Schubert
Frühlingssehnsucht, from Schwanengesang Play
Recorded on 12/31/1969, uploaded on 01/22/2014
Musician's or Publisher's Notes
Frühlingssehnsucht
The theme of love and longing continues in the third song, Frühlinssehnsucht (Longing in Spring). In Rellstab’s verse, the smitten lover is surrounded by the burgeoning glory of spring—murmuring breezes, the scent of flowers, brooks invigorated by the melting snow, and the world clothed once again in green. His heart is restless with a love yearning to break forth like the new season. Yet, unlike the flowers around him, it has not yet found the one to bring forth its own blossoms of love.
Schubert’s setting opens with an introduction for the piano that captures the vivacity of early Spring, in which sprightly triplets animate a melodic line that surges upward from the bass. The first four stanzas are treated strophically with a vocal melody that is cheerful and delights in the return of life. However, at the end of each stanza, Schubert executes a truly ingenious transition. Deftly passing from a blithe B-flat major and momentarily touching D minor, the music turns introspective and finds itself in the unsettling key of A-flat minor with the lingering, unanswered questions posed by the poet at the end of the first four stanzas. The vigorous accompaniment of the piano disappears, and only sustained chords support the vocalist’s questioning semitone. With equal skill, Schubert leaves A-flat minor and the joyous B-flat major returns as the next stanza begins.
However, in the fifth and final stanza, as the poet dwells more on his own restless heart, Schubert provides an altered form of the strophe by a modulation into the key of the tonic minor. The major mode is eventually regained as the vocalist reaches the final two lines of the poem (“Nur du befreist den Lenz in der Brust, nur du!” / “Only you can release the Spring in my heart, only you!”), revealing a sense of hope. Yet, the presence of the minor sixth, an inflection of the minor mode, in the final bars maintains the longing of the lover’s restless heart. Joseph DuBose
This recording of Schwanengesang was made in 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
Standchen, Lieder for Flute and Piano
Impromptu No. 2 in E-flat, Op. Posth. D.946
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