SEHNSUCHT - Schubert and the guitar, from legend to reality
Firmly rooted in the imagination of many music lovers is the belief that Schubert played the guitar. Many among them have been beguiled by the legend, based on a number of misconceptions, that the composer sketched out his lieder on the guitar before giving them their final form with accompaniment on the piano, an instrument to which he did not always have access.
It is true that among his few possessions at his death was a guitar by the famous luthier Johann Georg Stauffer, who had created the arpeggione a few years previously. Although it is possible that Schubert tried out a few basic arpeggios from time to time, historic evidence suggests that he composed "at the table", i.e. without the help of any instrument, not even the piano.
Curiously, even though he possessed a guitar, the only works written for the instrument among his huge output are the Cantata zur Nammensfeier des Vaters, D.80, for three male voices and guitar, written in 1813 by a young man of 16, and the first version of Das Dörfchen, D.598a, for four male voices and guitar. The other work that associates Schubert with the guitar is the Quartet for flute, viola, guitar and cello, D.96, but it has been revealed to be an unfinished arrangement of the Notturno op.21 for flute, viola and guitar by Bohemian composer Wenzel Matiegka, to which Schubert added a part for cello and modified the viola part.
However, the huge popularity of the guitar during the first three decades of the 19th century in Vienna, as well as the common practice of accompanying the voice on a guitar, certainly influenced Schubert, which is demonstrated by his frequent use in his lieder accompaniments of archetypal gestures that are specific to the instrument, including simple arpeggios (Meeres Stille, Harfenspieler I), circular arpeggios (Nachtstück), and alternating bass and chords (Sehnsucht, Der Wanderer).
It was also very common to publish melodies with an alternative accompaniment for guitar, often coexisting on the same score. Schubert was no exception, and from his op.1, the famous Erlkönig published in 1821, alternative versions of his Lieder for guitar were produced successively by five of his publishers. Thus, thirty-four of Schubert's Lieder were published with guitar accompaniment during the composer's lifetime. For three of these (including the famous Der Wanderer, D.489), the version for guitar even appears before the piano version. The same publishers published eighteen more lieder with guitar accompaniment during the five years following Schubert's death, illustrating the central role of the guitar in the period's musical practice. These guitar arrangements were often produced by the publishers themselves, either because they were guitarists, as in the case of Diabelli, or because they ordered adaptations from connoisseurs of the instrument.
Another essential source that links Schubert to the guitar is the manuscript by Franz von Schlechta, a member of Schubert's intimate circle of friends (for whom he set seven poems to music), who was probably himself an amateur guitarist and copied thirty-nine of his lieder. Some of these are clearly copies of the previously mentioned editions (for example, Der Pilgrim, Der Alpenjäger, Sehnsucht, Nachtstück, which we have used, with a few corrections, for this recording) but there are still nineteen lieder that were probably arranged by him (Meeres Stille, Auf dem Wasser zu singen and Die Sterne, rearranged here). If we add up all these sources, we reach the impressive total of seventy-one lieder directly linked to the guitar during Schubert's lifetime, a heretofore neglected treasure for which we are only beginning to understand the historic importance.
The uneven quality of these arrangements is certain, both in the published material as well as in Schlechta's manuscript, but among these we find some true gems, such as Wehmut and Der Zwerg, recorded and presented here for the first time. We do not know who arranged them, but their difficulty reveals deep knowledge of the instrument and expertise far beyond the reach of a dilettante. On the other hand, we were not able to find certain first editions (Lied eines Schiffers an die Dioskuren, Aus Heliopolis I, Der Wanderer, Suleika II, Harfenspieler I, Hänflings Liebeswerbung) and made our own transcriptions in the spirit of the period's instrumental practice.
The interest of listening to these magnificent compositions with guitar accompaniment, in addition to the use of a remarkable historical instrument by Johann Anton Stauffer, is to revive this practice that was at the heart of Viennese musical life. Remember that the tone of a historic guitar is very close to that of a pianoforte and perfectly suits the nature of these Lieder. The guitar, so to speak, was the movable counterpart of the pianoforte, and in this respect it played a very important role in the circulation of the new melodies that had just been printed. As shown in the illustrations by Moritz von Schwind and Ludwig Mohn, the guitar was always present in the frequent strolls through the Viennese countryside that Schubert took with his friends, and we can readily imagine that some of his Lieder were played in his presence in this relaxed atmosphere.
It is certainly time to restore the legitimacy of the guitar in this repertoire and to repair a historical banishment that has lasted far too long.
Pablo Márquez, Basel, January 2023
Firmly rooted in the imagination of many music lovers is the belief that Schubert played the guitar. Many among them have been beguiled by the legend, based on a number of misconceptions, that the composer sketched out his lieder on the guitar before giving them their final form with accompaniment on the piano, an instrument to which he did not always have access.
It is true that among his few possessions at his death was a guitar by the famous luthier Johann Georg Stauffer, who had created the arpeggione a few years previously. Although it is possible that Schubert tried out a few basic arpeggios from time to time, historic evidence suggests that he composed "at the table", i.e. without the help of any instrument, not even the piano.
Curiously, even though he possessed a guitar, the only works written for the instrument among his huge output are the Cantata zur Nammensfeier des Vaters, D.80, for three male voices and guitar, written in 1813 by a young man of 16, and the first version of Das Dörfchen, D.598a, for four male voices and guitar. The other work that associates Schubert with the guitar is the Quartet for flute, viola, guitar and cello, D.96, but it has been revealed to be an unfinished arrangement of the Notturno op.21 for flute, viola and guitar by Bohemian composer Wenzel Matiegka, to which Schubert added a part for cello and modified the viola part.
However, the huge popularity of the guitar during the first three decades of the 19th century in Vienna, as well as the common practice of accompanying the voice on a guitar, certainly influenced Schubert, which is demonstrated by his frequent use in his lieder accompaniments of archetypal gestures that are specific to the instrument, including simple arpeggios (Meeres Stille, Harfenspieler I), circular arpeggios (Nachtstück), and alternating bass and chords (Sehnsucht, Der Wanderer).
It was also very common to publish melodies with an alternative accompaniment for guitar, often coexisting on the same score. Schubert was no exception, and from his op.1, the famous Erlkönig published in 1821, alternative versions of his Lieder for guitar were produced successively by five of his publishers. Thus, thirty-four of Schubert's Lieder were published with guitar accompaniment during the composer's lifetime. For three of these (including the famous Der Wanderer, D.489), the version for guitar even appears before the piano version. The same publishers published eighteen more lieder with guitar accompaniment during the five years following Schubert's death, illustrating the central role of the guitar in the period's musical practice. These guitar arrangements were often produced by the publishers themselves, either because they were guitarists, as in the case of Diabelli, or because they ordered adaptations from connoisseurs of the instrument.
Another essential source that links Schubert to the guitar is the manuscript by Franz von Schlechta, a member of Schubert's intimate circle of friends (for whom he set seven poems to music), who was probably himself an amateur guitarist and copied thirty-nine of his lieder. Some of these are clearly copies of the previously mentioned editions (for example, Der Pilgrim, Der Alpenjäger, Sehnsucht, Nachtstück, which we have used, with a few corrections, for this recording) but there are still nineteen lieder that were probably arranged by him (Meeres Stille, Auf dem Wasser zu singen and Die Sterne, rearranged here). If we add up all these sources, we reach the impressive total of seventy-one lieder directly linked to the guitar during Schubert's lifetime, a heretofore neglected treasure for which we are only beginning to understand the historic importance.
The uneven quality of these arrangements is certain, both in the published material as well as in Schlechta's manuscript, but among these we find some true gems, such as Wehmut and Der Zwerg, recorded and presented here for the first time. We do not know who arranged them, but their difficulty reveals deep knowledge of the instrument and expertise far beyond the reach of a dilettante. On the other hand, we were not able to find certain first editions (Lied eines Schiffers an die Dioskuren, Aus Heliopolis I, Der Wanderer, Suleika II, Harfenspieler I, Hänflings Liebeswerbung) and made our own transcriptions in the spirit of the period's instrumental practice.
The interest of listening to these magnificent compositions with guitar accompaniment, in addition to the use of a remarkable historical instrument by Johann Anton Stauffer, is to revive this practice that was at the heart of Viennese musical life. Remember that the tone of a historic guitar is very close to that of a pianoforte and perfectly suits the nature of these Lieder. The guitar, so to speak, was the movable counterpart of the pianoforte, and in this respect it played a very important role in the circulation of the new melodies that had just been printed. As shown in the illustrations by Moritz von Schwind and Ludwig Mohn, the guitar was always present in the frequent strolls through the Viennese countryside that Schubert took with his friends, and we can readily imagine that some of his Lieder were played in his presence in this relaxed atmosphere.
It is certainly time to restore the legitimacy of the guitar in this repertoire and to repair a historical banishment that has lasted far too long.
Pablo Márquez, Basel, January 2023
María Cristina Kiehr : soprano
Pablo Márquez : guitare
Revue de presse
11-13-2023Sehnsucht
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