Originally, Death and the Maiden is a Germany song-lied with the composition by Schubert for both solo voices accompanied by piano. As per the existing records, the context is one of death reassuring a young maiden that he means her no harm, and rather, she should give in and sleep softly in his arms. As such, the presented scenario is that of a fearful maiden in the presence of a calm, reassuring death. As such, the events form the theme upon which the music hinges itself. The choice to split the song into three sections that are contrasting serves to not only make it unique but also give the audience an opportunity of transitioning between different emotions.
Death and Maiden is an illustration of Schubert’s ingenuity in a string quartet; furthermore, it is the most studied of his quartet works. The second movement theme inspired the title as quoted from an 1817 song he wrote with the same name. To analysts, debates still rage on about passing the quartet as an absolute or program music. To some scholars, they assert that by using a depressed mood coupled with a triplet figure of the first movement, the work suggests one’s struggle with death ( Guez, 2018) . Additionally, the tarantella in the Finale is relentless, which could be viewed as a death dance. Historically, records show the poor health and depression suffered by Schubert at the time he wrote the D-minor quartet. Regardless of the health issues, his work is an illustration of the mastery he held over compositions. Additionally, the work presents not only his charisma but also ability to reach the world through the music he wrote. The publication of the quartet did not become a reality until his death. The public premiere took place in 1831, three years after his death. The example below illustrates the ingenuity in his works.
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Example: F. Schubert: String Quartet in D Minor.
The B Theme melody is taken over by the cello in mm-87-88. The alternating statements occur with a viola. On the other hand, the continuous sixteen notes are played by the first violin. By one listening to the first violin, it becomes possible for a unification of the ensemble. Upon the cello taking up the sixteenth note figure, it results in accentuation of the third and fourth beats notes, which also helps the synchronization of the beat timing with the other voices. An analysis of the D-minor quartet lets both the viewer and the reader peer into Schubert’s context at the time he was composing the work which also serves to leave admiration for the work ( Ruppert, 2009) .
Song’s Introduction
A morbid tone is set in the song’s introduction. The employment of dense chords that is present in the base register promotes the idea of sorrow and melancholy. The reduction in the harmony leads to the identification of the structure as highly simplistic I-V-I harmony. Additionally, the structure is a combination of many chords hence the denotation as a neighbor note. The figure below shows the variation and theme in Schubert’s string quartet;
From the figure above, the representation of harmonic structure is two, a I measure followed by a V before a return of a I. The repetition is done in entirety. One can also observe a bass line that is steady with a scale degree of I, V then I which ends up lending a melancholy feel in the introductory part of the song. The harmonic motion is relatively stagnant, however, hearing it can be attributed to I and V being prolonged as the player uses the neighbor and passing chord to achieve the theme. The presence of a relatively little shape in the music hints the absence of much play ( Fisk, 2001) .
The melodic line does stand out from the dense chord mass as it presents a distinct tone that is full of sorrow. As shown below, the line is high in fluidity;
Compared to other lines, reduction presents the absence of much activity in the song. Taking the third beat F of measure 2 to illustrate an upper-neighbor of E which is also an extension of the V chord presented in the first beat measure. Through the reduction, it is apparent that the piece’s introduction centers around the tonic scale degree which also serves to explain the presence of little motion that echoes in the piece introduction.
Harmonic analysis
Variation I
Of the five variations that begin in m.25, the theme is lighter and airy. As such, the creation of the variation is a result of the newfound space due to the reductive techniques applied by Schubert. Additionally, the cello line is lower when compared to the theme which explains the musical notes. Despite the reduction of the notes to an eighth, both the rhythm and pitches are without any alteration as shown below.
The presence of a violin I serve to add more variation space. The violin notes are arpeggiations illustration of the played chords. Significantly, violin I is limited to playing the syncopated rhythm which also serves to fill in for the cello hence promoting the open nature of the music. On the other hand, violin two coupled with the viola help in the expansion of the melodic ranges. Each quartet is broken down by the triplet bowing leading to triplets that serve to add a swing that is refreshing as well as a variation ( Carmichael, 2017) .
Variation 2
The significant structural change marks the point upon which the second variation starts. The drop of the melodic voice into both the cello and viola line offers a steady baseline. The variation thus aims to create a line that is emotional and thoughtful to the listener. The presence of Schubert’s reductive techniques is presented in A music. Although the reduction outlines the different notes played different from the first variation, the embellishment of the harmonic structure is created by a combination of violin 2, the viola and the cello as shown below.
Variation 3
The third variation is juxtaposition that is laced with thick, muddy textures. Furthermore, this variation is an illustration of the culminated buildup momentum from the previous two variations. By utilizing the reductive technique, Schubert constantly alters and alternates the previous variations in an effort of not only increasing the piece’s momentum but also emphasizing the sorrowful nature in the piece. Through such actions, Schubert emphasizes the Lied’s aspect that was absent- on that denotes tension and the nervousness of the maiden. The variation in this section thus works to reinforce the buildup theme from both variations one and two. As such, this variation has the A music playing a motive that is densely harmonized using the fortissimo technique. On the other hand, the B music despite containing many rests, emphasizes the motive of emotional appeal. Lastly, the C music starts by emulating the A music style with a difference in that, the music in this aspect utilizes the pianissimo system accompanied by violin 2 and viola 1 ( Neuwirth et al., 2018) . The three encompasses rhythmic motive before transitioning into other notes.
Variation 4
This denotes the most distinct variation in the whole piece. After the dense pattern breaking variation, Schubert surprises the listener through the introduction of a slight variation that is extraordinary which is often a prolonged G-variation. The fourth variation aims to prolong the piece which is understandable considering the momentum could not be ongoing after the first three variations. Strategically, Schubert gives the listener a breathing chance. However, in variation five, in preparation of the piece’s closure, the G-minor is returned.
Variation 5
The final juxtaposes variation presents various techniques already used in the previous variations. To the A music, the presence of a second violin and a viola is a restatement of their role in the theme. An ostinato is presented by the cello and considering the cello never transitions from the position, hence its reduction to a G drone which is not necessary for the harmonic analysis. The figure below is an illustration of the motive heard in the violin part.
Conclusion
The detailed investigation of String Quartet by Schubert presents the extent to which the piece is dependent on the lied. The above discussion is thus an analysis and elaboration of different aspect to the music including the momentum in the B music. Furthermore, the debate presents different ways upon which Schubert has led to harmony mutation which surpasses the harmony in the first lied. The paper also identifies the fact that, the piece is more than a simple theme and variation; instead, it gives life to maiden bringing both the embodiment of death and reaction of the maiden to life. While it is suitable for listeners, for analysts, different secrets are hidden in work making the music both mysterious and intriguing.
References
Carmichael, S. A. (2017). Beethoven and Schubert: Selected Late-period Piano Sonatas (Doctoral dissertation).
Fisk, C. (2001). Returning cycles: Contexts for the interpretation of Schubert's impromptus and last sonatas . Berkeley: University of California Press.
Guez, J. (2018). The “Mono-Operational” Recapitulation in Movements by Beethoven and Schubert. Music Theory Spectrum , 40 (2), 227-247.
Neuwirth, M., Harasim, D., Moss, F. C., & Rohrmeier, M. (2018). The Annotated Beethoven Corpus (ABC): A Dataset of Harmonic Analyses of All Beethoven String Quartets. Frontiers in Digital Humanities , 5 , 16.
Ruppert, F. (2009). Franz Schubert and the mysterious magnum . Pittsburgh, Pa: Rose Dog Books.
