Frühlingsglaube D686 (1820)

Geheimes D719 (1821)

Ständchen D957 No.4 (1828)

Nacht und Träume D827 (1822-23)

Gruppe aus dem Tartarus D583 (1817)

Der Musensohn D764 (1822)

There could scarcely be a more touching anticipation of serenity than

Frühlingsglaube. An essentially relaxed observation of spring renewal secure in its major harmonies, it twice admits an anxious modulation as thoughts turn inwards while faith in the restorative powers of nature is sustained by the consistent presence of the initial rhythmic pattern in the piano part. There are two similar modulations in Geheimes, this time as though to test the lover’s self-confidence, asserted in the same cocky two-note rhythm throughout, and to affirm its validity as the harmonies return to the tonic.

Ständchen, a Rellstab setting from Schwanengesang, represents a more conventional kind of love song. It is Schubert’s last word on the serenade, its melodiously plaintive vocal line accompanied by an imaginary guitar in the pianist’s left hand, its cadences echoed in the right, its eloquence in the closing stanza rewarded by a hesitant but gratifying change to the major. Nacht und Träume, which is to be sung pianissimo throughout, is an expression of the kind of serenity anticipated in Frühlingsglaube. It is so slow in tempo, so sustained in line, so even in the rhythms of the piano part that sense of movement is confined largely to the changes in harmony which, far from disturbing the moonlit atmosphere, heighten the magic inspired by Collin’s verse.

Tranquillity is shattered by Gruppe aus dem Tartarus, an astonishing Schiller setting by a 20-year-old composer who, having tried and failed to match the expressive scope of the verse 18 months earlier, conceived not so much a song as a tone poem – as Brahms more or less acknowledged by making an arrangement for orchestra with unison male chorus. Not the least remarkable aspect of the work is that the depiction of the agonies of the damned preclude any clear tonality until the acclamation of “Ewigkeit” in an unambiguous but ultimately untenable C major.

The protagonist of Der Musensohn is, like Schubert, a musician driven by his art. The ultimate professional, he dances tirelessly through every season to a fleet-footed but relentlessly regular 6/8 without pausing, except in minimal ritardando in the very last line, to give expression to his own innermost feelings.