Schubert continues to explore the deepest recesses of the human heart in the twelfth song, Am Meer (Near the Sea). Heine’s poem tells of two lovers who meet at the hut of a lonely fisherman by the sea. The woman’s tears fall on the narrator’s hand, and from that moment he is overtaken by an intense and desperate longing for her—he has been “poisoned by her tears.” Schubert focuses on the poet’s longing for his beloved, which is eloquently summarized in the opening chords of the song. In the first stanza, the tranquil melody and harmonies capture the vast expanse of the sea at dusk, while the tinge of melancholy depicts the lonely fisherman’s hut. However, at the beginning of the next stanza, Am Meer becomes almost operatic, with dramatic tremolandi and a vocal melody rife with tension. Yet, the intensity subsides and the previous tranquility restored as the poet recounts the tears that fell from his beloved’s “lovely eyes.”
The previous music is made use of again, unchanged until the end, for the following two stanzas as Schubert draws forth new emotions from what has already been heard. Instead of tranquil, the music now beams with the tenderness of love as the poet comforts his beloved. Then, in the fourth stanza, what had been the surging of the sea is now the turbulence of the narrator’s own heart, as he pines for the woman’s love. Yet, this stanza does not end so serenely as the second. With only slight changes, Schubert brings the vocal melody to a passionate and longing conclusion, after which the opening chords return to recap the emotional journey of the Heine’s poem. Joseph DuBose
This recording of Schwanengesang was made in the 1950s.
Classical Music | Baritone
Franz Schubert
Am Meer, from Schwanengesang Play
Recorded on 12/31/1969, uploaded on 01/22/2014
Musician's or Publisher's Notes
Am Meer
Schubert continues to explore the deepest recesses of the human heart in the twelfth song, Am Meer (Near the Sea). Heine’s poem tells of two lovers who meet at the hut of a lonely fisherman by the sea. The woman’s tears fall on the narrator’s hand, and from that moment he is overtaken by an intense and desperate longing for her—he has been “poisoned by her tears.” Schubert focuses on the poet’s longing for his beloved, which is eloquently summarized in the opening chords of the song. In the first stanza, the tranquil melody and harmonies capture the vast expanse of the sea at dusk, while the tinge of melancholy depicts the lonely fisherman’s hut. However, at the beginning of the next stanza, Am Meer becomes almost operatic, with dramatic tremolandi and a vocal melody rife with tension. Yet, the intensity subsides and the previous tranquility restored as the poet recounts the tears that fell from his beloved’s “lovely eyes.”
The previous music is made use of again, unchanged until the end, for the following two stanzas as Schubert draws forth new emotions from what has already been heard. Instead of tranquil, the music now beams with the tenderness of love as the poet comforts his beloved. Then, in the fourth stanza, what had been the surging of the sea is now the turbulence of the narrator’s own heart, as he pines for the woman’s love. Yet, this stanza does not end so serenely as the second. With only slight changes, Schubert brings the vocal melody to a passionate and longing conclusion, after which the opening chords return to recap the emotional journey of the Heine’s poem. Joseph DuBose
This recording of Schwanengesang was made in the 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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