The songs of Schubert / by A. Craig Bell.

Author/creator Bell, A. Craig
Format Book
Publication InfoLowestoft : Alston Books, 1964.
Descriptionix, 163 pages : facsimiles, music, portrait ; 23 cm
Subjects

Contents Preface -- The song before Schubert -- Schubert and the song -- The early songs, 1811-1814 -- 1815-1816 -- 1817-1821 -- 1822-1823 -- Die schöne Müllerin, 1823 -- 1824-1826 -- Winterreise, 1827 -- Swan song, 1828 -- Appendix I. Interpreting Schubert's songs -- Appendix II. The songs in chronological order -- Appendix III. The poets of the songs.
Abstract Schubert wrote some six hundred songs, of which very few indeed are familiar to British singers and audiences. In his study of these masterworks, the author, while not passing over the few relatively "popular" songs, has preferred to stress the more neglected masterpieces. He has also tried to counteract the all too widely accepted notion that Schubert composed in blindly intuitive flashes of inspiration without the preliminary brain work essential to the creation of any great work of art. Bernard Shaw's ludicrously inept and frequently repeated assessment of Schubert's genius as "brainless" still persists even in critical quarters which should have abandoned it long ago. The many settings Schubert made of Goethe's "Wilhelm Meister" songs alone are sufficient proof that he knew when he had missed the mark--which was not often. Like the "Unfinished" and the "Great C major" symphonies and the D minor quartet, the songs are the products of a mental power which in its own way was no less stringent than Haydn's, Mozart's or Beethoven's. Schubert's songs must be accounted among the highest achievements of mankind.
Bibliography noteIncludes bibliographical references and indexes.
LCCN 65003970

Availability

Library Location Call Number Status Item Actions
Music Music Stacks ML410.S3 B46 1964 ✔ Available Place Hold