The Austrian composer Schubert is a representative of early romantic music. Although his life was short, his short 31 years left behind a large number of masterpieces on various themes and styles, especially in art. The songs are not only exquisite, but also have distinctive personalities and simple folk customs, all of which sparkle with his skill and wisdom. What is particularly outstanding is that he combines poetry, melody and accompaniment to bring new vitality to ancient German art songs and reach a new realm. Therefore, he is known as the "King of Art Songs". Schubert composed more than 600 art songs in his lifetime, among which the famous ones include "The Devil", "Wild Rose", "Trout", "Wanderer", "Serenade", "Lullaby", "Ave Maria" and the vocal suite " "The Beautiful Mill Girl", "Winter Journey", "Swan Song", etc. His art songs have a unique charm. The melody is a natural expression of the connotation of the lyrics. The accompaniment carries the content that is difficult to express in the singing melody. Through the changes in tonality, register and harmony, the art songs are given new life and are romantic. The lyrical and biographical nature of the doctrine.
In summary, Schubert’s art songs have two major characteristics:
1. Simple structure
Schubert’s art songs commonly use three forms , one is a section song, the other is a Tongpu song, and the other is actually a type of section song, called a change section song.
The so-called segmented song is a song that uses one melody to sing two or more lyrics. The stanza song is a common form of German and Austrian songs, including folk songs. Schubert used this form to write works such as "Wild Rose" and "Lullaby". The lyrics of "Wild Rose" are selected from Goethe's poem of the same name. This is a friendly and peaceful song like an Austrian folk song. A melody of 16 bars is simple and fresh. This 16-bar melody has three different lyrics (and 2 bars of piano interlude in the middle), telling Schubert's romantic feelings. The lyrics are probably like this: The young man saw red roses, red roses in the field, how delicate and beautiful; he hurriedly ran to see them, secretly praising in his heart, roses, roses, red roses in the field. The young man said I would pick you back, the red rose in the field. The rose said that I sting you so that you will never forget, and I will never promise you! Rose, rose, red rose in the field. It is such a fresh and moving melody that floats from the night sky. The cold, dark night, and everything around them seem to disappear. People seem to smell the rich and fragrant fragrance of flowers and see the figures of naughty children...
< p>The most commonly used form of Schubert's art songs is the variation of stanzas. A changed section song, as the name suggests, makes some changes to the harmony, tonality, piano texture, speed, etc. of the melody when repeating the same melody. At that time, German and Austrian composers had realized the limitations of folk song forms and wanted to change this fixed section song. Schubert also stood in this ranks. For example, his "Trout", "Ave Maria", "Serenade", "Winter Journey", etc. are all based on stanza songs, and according to the tension and changes in the emotions of the lyrics, they either change the key or the mood. The harmony, piano texture, tempo, etc. are adapted to the lyrics. The sharp contrast of this musical material achieves a strong and colorful effect. For example, in the piece of music at the end of "Trout", the mode, piano texture and speed all change with the change of the mood of the song. Another example is "Ave Maria", which is always filled with an elegant and holy atmosphere, making the listener feel like they are in a simple and solemn church in the Middle Ages. This "Ave Maria" was composed by him in 1825 based on the "Song of Ellen" in the narrative poem "Beauty on the Lake" by British poet Walter Scott. It depicts a pure girl sincerely praying to the Virgin Mary. Maria's scene. At the same time, people can also feel the pain and sorrow, happiness and hope that the author experienced on the bumpy road of life from this little song. The temporary changes, decorative sounds and triplets in the song are used very cleverly and just right. The melody is soft and euphemistic, pure and simple, the musical expression is delicate and full, the melody of the song is beautiful, stretched and moving, and the emotion is euphemistic, sincere and deeply touching.A typical Tongti song is "The Demon King". The plot is probably about a father riding a horse in a dark forest with a high fever child in his arms. The devil in the forest keeps tempting the child, and the child screams in surprise. Finally, he died in his father's arms. The song is completed in one go throughout the 148-bar development process, with great momentum.
The different angles, moods and tones of several different characters (the storyteller, the father, the sick child and the devil) are vividly expressed through the contrasting transformations of tones, textures, dynamics and changes in melody lines. The devil's temptation (Major key, gentle), the son's cry for help and the father's nervousness (minor key, rapid and constantly modulating), the storyteller's recitative tone, the piano accompaniment simulating the rhythm of galloping horses throughout the song, and the bass playing The sound of the wind depicts the cold and aggressive scene of the forest at night, setting off a dull and frightening atmosphere; Xiao Erdu ascends to imitate the child's exclamation, vividly depicting the child's frightened expression. The abrupt end and the last chord, together with the singer, create a tense and eerie scene and atmosphere. This ballad becomes a perfect example of Schubert's dramatic art songs.
2. Rich in content
Among Schubert's art songs, there are those that praise nature, such as "To Spring" and "Listen to the Skylark", and there are those that praise art and love, such as "To Music" and "Messenger of Love", some describe gods and humans, such as "Ave Maria", "Earth God", "Foreign Land", and some express his inner depression, sadness and loneliness, such as "City", "Seaside" "etc. Schubert expresses these songs with different emotional meanings directly, simply, profoundly and movingly using two simple musical carriers: voice and piano. This is also the characteristic of Schubert's art songs. Piano accompaniment and vocal part A wonderful and perfect combination, the two complement each other, usually the vocal part shows various scenes and moods, while the piano accompaniment part depicts the bright spring, the cold wind, the vast winter snow, etc., such as "The Devil", piano accompaniment The continuous triplet sound pattern in "City" depicts the sound of horse hooves; in the song "City", piano arpeggiated texture is used to play diminished seventh chords one after another, creating a gray and misty city scene in the distance, which is an expression of the character's desolate mood; and For example, "Phantom", with its four harmonic motifs accompanied by piano, expresses the frightened, lonely, and even grief-stricken mood of a lonely wanderer who suddenly sees his own shadow in the deserted streets and alleys in the dead of night. Think vividly.
In Schubert’s art songs, the melody has always been lyrical, pure, simple, and folk-style. As an improviser, his endless inspiration never seemed to know. What are modifications and refinements? Because Schubert has been living in the haze of the city, his music sounds a little sensitive, easily excited and melancholy when you listen carefully. This is related to Schubert's own frustration and loneliness. of. Schubert fully exploited the potential of art songs and turned them into expressive and perfect forms. The songs of Schumann, Brahms and Mahler, including Wagner, all followed the path opened by Schubert. .