--- thomas mark montgomery <thomas8@t...> wrote:
--- thomas mark montgomery <thomas8@t...> wrote:
> (...)Up until the time of Schubert, composers,
including
> Reichardt, Zumsteeg
> and Zelter, wrote very simple, strophic songs for
> the consumption of
> amateurs. One of Schubert's great contributions was
> the elevation of the
> song to something greater than the tradition of
> these earlier composers. (...)
Dear Mark and co-vocalisters,
I am verry happy that Mark wrote these lines. I really
don't understand how people can believe ideas about
Schubert songs as songs written for amateurs. (Sorry
Tako, nothing personal, appart from my indeed personal
love for Schubert.) If you read some serious books
about Schubert (e.g. DFD's) you find absolutely no
proof for those ideas.
Lloyd W. Hanson's mail about music and text (which
cannot be valued enough, like his other contributions)
also makes clear i.m.o., that looking at Schubert
songs as nice and simple folksongs, is about the same
as considering Rembrandt's paintings as an overpriced
alternative for wallpapers.
It might have to do with the popular idea (wrong, like
many popular ideas) of Schubert writings songs to sing
while having a good time with his friends, who knows.
But as Mark wrote: Schubert was extremeily happy when
he finally succeeded in persuading Vogl to to perform
his songs. Vogl was not only a very good professional
singer, but also a great lover of literature, a man
who had the intelligence and open mindedness to
recognise Schubert's greatness.
That after Schubert's death there has been a time
where his songs were often performed by amateurs, has
to do with the fact Lieder did not have a high status
at that time. For that reason it was very unusual to
give Lieder-recitals by professional singers then; in
fact Lieder recitals did not yet exist.
As Isabelle suggested a few mails ago, the bourgeois
culture in those days, might have given at least some
amateurs a musical education equal to that of
professional musicians of nowadays. And even apart
from that: performing Schubert songs by amateurs must
not necessarily mean degradating them to folksongs.
Just listen to the (untill recently) amateursinger Ian
Bostridge, who - despite his somewhat peculiar
technique - performed Schubert songs better than many
professional singers. The same is true for Hans Peter
Blochwitz, although his technique is much better than
Bostridge's i.m.o.
Best greetings,
Dre
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