Fifty-Nine Favorite Songs

"The last word has not been said about the Schubert song when its melody, accompaniment, atmosphere -- all the lovely externals of his music -- have been surveyed. There yet remains the ineffable quality of textual illumination to which all of these factors are bent." -- Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians Inspired by the verse of the German romantic poets, Franz Schubert achieved glittering fame as a creator of the nineteenth-century Lieder long before public recognition of his symphonies assured his place in music. His collaborations with baritone Johann Michael Vogl were the rage of Viennese drawing rooms circa 1817, and by 1823, these concert parties in the homes of affluent merchants and civil servants were more popular than ever. In ten years, Schubert composed over 600 Lieder, whose charming melodies, harmonic invention, and depth of emotion rank them at the top of the form. This handsome reading and playing edition offers 59 favorite Schubert songs -- setting of the verse of 30 lyric poets, including Schiller, Mayrhofer, Schober, and Wilhelm Müller -- from the standard Breitkopf & Härtel complete-score edition of 1884-97. Here are authoritative full scores, complete with modern literal prose translations of the poems -- all handsomely set with wide margins and sturdy binding in one convenient, affordable volume. This celebration of Schubert's lyric and harmonic vitality includes such classics as Der Wanderer; Im Frühling; Ave Maria; Die junge Nonne; Hark, Hark the Lark; Der Tod und das Mädchen; And die Musik; Dir Forelle; Nachtviolen; Wiegenlied; Schwanengesang; Nachtstück; Die Allmacht, and dozens more. Musicians, students, and lovers of music everywhere will appreciate this moderately priced, authoritative volume -- a treasury of inspired creations by a supreme master of the art song.