Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
KING OF LIEDER
PRESENTATION BY JENELLE MAGBUTAY
A SHORT, BUT FRUITFUL
LIFE
EARLY YEARS
• Born in Himmelpfortgrund, Austria (near Vienna) in 1797
• In 1822, Schubert contracted a venereal disease (probably syphilis) and had to retire
from his work as a music master.
• Spent his retirement unsuccessfully trying to break into the opera world, eventually
wrote his famous arrangement of the Ave Maria
• Final years, composed his famous song cycles Winterreise (Winter Journey) and
Schwanengesang (Swan Song)
• Died of typhoid fever after drinking tainted water in 1828 at just 31 years old
WHAT IS A GERMAN
LIED?
• Literally “German Song”, used to refer to German voice/piano
songs of the 19th century (Romantic Period)
• Four characters played by one vocalist: narrator, father, son, and the Elf King
• Each character has own “voice”
• Narrator = middle range/minor
• Father = Low range/major and minor
• Son = High range/minor
• Elf King = soft dynamic/arpeggiated accompaniment
• Extremely challenging due to voice characterization and difficult
accompaniment
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Franz-Schubert
Lumen Learning. (n.d.). Music Appreciation. Retrieved July 04, 2020, from
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/musicapp_historical/chapter/der-erlkonig/
Pirolli, B. (2017, April 11). A Look at German Lieder -- The Songs of the Romantic Era in Music. Retrieved
July 04, 2020, from https://www.resonanceschoolofmusic.com/german-lieder/