Die schöne Müllerin
Encyclopedia
Die schöne Müllerin is a song cycle
by Franz Schubert
on poems by Wilhelm Müller
. It is the earliest extended song cycle to be widely performed. The work is considered one of Schubert's most important, and it is widely performed and recorded.
Die schöne Müllerin is performed by a pianist and a solo singer. The vocal part falls in the range of a tenor
or soprano
voice, but is often sung by other voices, transposed to a lower range. Since the story of the cycle is about a young man, the work is most often sung by men. The piano part bears much of the expressive burden of the work, and is only seldom a mere "accompaniment" to the singer.
A typical performance lasts around sixty to seventy minutes.
. He was 26 years old at the time. Schubert omitted several of the poems, such as a prologue and an epilogue delivered by the poet. The work was published in 1824 under the title Die schöne Müllerin, ein Zyklus von Liedern, gedichtet von Wilhelm Müller, which means, "The lovely maid of the mill, a song cycle to poems by Wilhelm Müller".
The cycle is occasionally referred to as the "Müllerlieder," the Müller songs, a term used by the composer once in a letter. This is not especially useful nomenclature, since Schubert's later and equally celebrated song cycle Winterreise
is also a setting of poems by Müller.
, and they move from cheerful optimism to despair and tragedy.
At the beginning of the cycle, a young journeyman miller wanders happily through the countryside. He comes upon a brook, which he follows to a mill. He falls in love with the beautiful miller's daughter (the "Müllerin" of the title); she is out of his reach as he is only a journeyman. He tries to impress her, but her response seems tentative. The young man is soon supplanted in her affections by a hunter clad in green, the color of a ribbon he gave the girl. In his anguish, he experiences an obsession with the color green, then an extravagant death fantasy in which flowers sprout from his grave to express his undying love. (See Adelaide (Beethoven)
for a similar fantasy.) In the end, the young man despairs and drowns himself in the brook. The last number is a lullaby sung by the brook. The question remains: is the brook really the miller's friend or is it a fiend, like Mephistopheles in the Faust
legend, who leads the miller to his downfall and destruction?
and Elmar Budde, and is available as Volume 1 of the Peters Urtext Edition http://www.editionpeters.com/music/urtext.php, available in high, medium and low key versions. The most recent scholarly edition is in the New Schubert Edition, again edited by Walther Dürr and published by Bärenreiter. This also offers transposed versions for lower voices. Online, there is a Schubertline (digital) edition http://www.schubertline.co.uk which presents the songs in the original keys, but allows transposition to any other keys. The cycle has also been arranged for voice and guitar in an edition by Schott.
Six of the songs were transcribed for piano by Franz Liszt
and published as Müllerlieder.
Song cycle
A song cycle is a group of songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a single entity. As a rule, all of the songs are by the same composer and often use words from the same poet or lyricist. Unification can be achieved by a narrative or a persona common to the songs, or even, as in Schumann's...
by Franz Schubert
Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...
on poems by Wilhelm Müller
Wilhelm Müller
Wilhelm Müller was a German lyric poet.-Life:Wilhelm Müller was born at Dessau, the son of a tailor. He was educated at the gymnasium of his native town and at the university of Berlin, where he devoted himself to philological and historical studies...
. It is the earliest extended song cycle to be widely performed. The work is considered one of Schubert's most important, and it is widely performed and recorded.
Die schöne Müllerin is performed by a pianist and a solo singer. The vocal part falls in the range of a tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
or soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
voice, but is often sung by other voices, transposed to a lower range. Since the story of the cycle is about a young man, the work is most often sung by men. The piano part bears much of the expressive burden of the work, and is only seldom a mere "accompaniment" to the singer.
A typical performance lasts around sixty to seventy minutes.
Composition
Müller's poems were published in 1820, and Schubert set most of them to music between May and September 1823, while he was also writing his opera FierrabrasFierrabras (opera)
Fierrabras is a three-act opera written by the composer Franz Schubert in 1823, to a libretto by Josef Kupelwieser, the general manager of the Theater am Kärntnertor...
. He was 26 years old at the time. Schubert omitted several of the poems, such as a prologue and an epilogue delivered by the poet. The work was published in 1824 under the title Die schöne Müllerin, ein Zyklus von Liedern, gedichtet von Wilhelm Müller, which means, "The lovely maid of the mill, a song cycle to poems by Wilhelm Müller".
The cycle is occasionally referred to as the "Müllerlieder," the Müller songs, a term used by the composer once in a letter. This is not especially useful nomenclature, since Schubert's later and equally celebrated song cycle Winterreise
Winterreise
Winterreise is a song cycle for voice and piano by Franz Schubert , a setting of 24 poems by Wilhelm Müller. It is the second of Schubert's two great song cycles on Müller's poems, the earlier being Die schöne Müllerin...
is also a setting of poems by Müller.
Story
There are twenty songs in the cycle, around half in simple strophic formStrophic form
Strophic form is the simplest and most durable of musical forms, elaborating a piece of music by repetition of a single formal section. This may be analyzed as "A A A..."...
, and they move from cheerful optimism to despair and tragedy.
At the beginning of the cycle, a young journeyman miller wanders happily through the countryside. He comes upon a brook, which he follows to a mill. He falls in love with the beautiful miller's daughter (the "Müllerin" of the title); she is out of his reach as he is only a journeyman. He tries to impress her, but her response seems tentative. The young man is soon supplanted in her affections by a hunter clad in green, the color of a ribbon he gave the girl. In his anguish, he experiences an obsession with the color green, then an extravagant death fantasy in which flowers sprout from his grave to express his undying love. (See Adelaide (Beethoven)
Adelaide (Beethoven)
"Adelaïde" is a song for solo voice and piano by Ludwig van Beethoven. It was written in 1795/1796, when the composer was about 25 years old, and published as his Opus 46....
for a similar fantasy.) In the end, the young man despairs and drowns himself in the brook. The last number is a lullaby sung by the brook. The question remains: is the brook really the miller's friend or is it a fiend, like Mephistopheles in the Faust
Faust
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend; a highly successful scholar, but also dissatisfied with his life, and so makes a deal with the devil, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures. Faust's tale is the basis for many literary, artistic, cinematic, and musical...
legend, who leads the miller to his downfall and destruction?
Editions
The Diabelli first edition of 1830 is available in a facsimile score, with notes by Walther Dürr, published (1996) by Bärenreiter http://www.baerenreiter.com. The version in most common use is the Peters Edition, edited by Max Friedlaender, and in this and several other editions (e.g. Schirmer) the cycle is presented as the first 20 songs of Volume 1. There are versions in the original (high) keys, and transposed alternatives for lower voices. The Peters edition was recently revised by Dietrich Fischer-DieskauDietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau is a retired German lyric baritone and conductor of classical music, one of the most famous lieder performers of the post-war period and "one of the supreme vocal artists of the 20th century"...
and Elmar Budde, and is available as Volume 1 of the Peters Urtext Edition http://www.editionpeters.com/music/urtext.php, available in high, medium and low key versions. The most recent scholarly edition is in the New Schubert Edition, again edited by Walther Dürr and published by Bärenreiter. This also offers transposed versions for lower voices. Online, there is a Schubertline (digital) edition http://www.schubertline.co.uk which presents the songs in the original keys, but allows transposition to any other keys. The cycle has also been arranged for voice and guitar in an edition by Schott.
Six of the songs were transcribed for piano by Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
and published as Müllerlieder.
Song titles and keys
(Title translations from the International edition)- "Das Wandern" ("Wandering Miller"; B flat major)
- "Wohin?" ("Where to?"; G major)
- "Halt!" ("Stop!"; C major)
- "Danksagung an den Bach" ("A Song of Thanks to the Brook"; G major)
- "Am Feierabend" ("Rest at the End of the Day"; A minor)
- "Der Neugierige" ("The Inquisitive One"; B major)
- "Ungeduld" ("Impatience"; A major)
- "Morgengruß" ("Good morning"; C major)
- "Des Müllers Blumen" ("The miller's flowers"; A major)
- "Tränenregen" ("Shower of tears"; A major)
- "Mein!" ("Mine!"; D major) (like the Miller Maid is Mine)
- "Pause" ("Interlude"; B flat major)
- "Mit dem grünen Lautenbande" ("With the green lute-riband"; B flat major)
- "Der Jäger" ("The hunter"; C minor)
- "Eifersucht und Stolz" ("Jealousy and pride"; G minor)
- "Die liebe Farbe" ("The Beloved colour"; B minor)
- "Die böse Farbe" ("The Evil colour"; B major)
- "Trockne Blumen" ("Withered flowers"; E minor)
- "Der Müller und der Bach" ("The miller and the brook"; G minor)
- "Des Baches Wiegenlied" ("The brook's lullaby"; E major)
External links
- Original German and English translations of the texts
- Performance of Die schöne Müllerin by Randall Scarlata (baritone) and Jeremy DenkJeremy DenkJeremy Denk is an American classical pianist. He has performed with numerous orchestras and presented world premieres by Jake Heggie, Libby Larsen, Kevin Puts, and Ned Rorem. He frequently performs with violinists Joshua Bell and Soovin Kim. He has recorded several chamber works as well as a solo...
(piano), from the Isabella Stewart Gardner MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner MuseumThe Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum or Fenway Court, as the museum was known during Isabella Stewart Gardner's lifetime, is a museum in the Fenway-Kenmore neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, located within walking distance of the Museum of Fine Arts and near the Back Bay Fens...
in MP3MP3MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
format - Müller's complete text, read in German at librivox.org (N. 19)
- Notes on Die schöne Müllerin by Franz Schubert & Wilhelm Müller - notes, texts, translations, and links