"An Sylvia", D 891; Op. 106, No. 4, is a

Lied In Western classical music tradition, (, plural ; , plural , ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music to create a piece of polyphonic music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German, but among English and French s ...

for voice and piano composed by

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

in 1826 and published in 1828. Its text is a German translation by

Eduard von Bauernfeld Eduard von Bauernfeld (13 January 1802 – 9 August 1890), Austrian dramatist, was born at Vienna. Life Having studied jurisprudence at the University of Vienna, he entered the government service in a legal capacity, and after holding variou ...

of "Who is Silvia?" from act 4, scene 2, of ''

The Two Gentlemen of Verona ''The Two Gentlemen of Verona'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1589 and 1593. It is considered by some to be Shakespeare's first play, and is often seen as showing his first tentative steps in laying ...

'' by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

. "An Sylvia" was composed during a peak in Schubert's career around the time he was writing the Ninth Symphony "Great" (D 944), two years before his death.

Creation

Although considered to be myth, it is said that Schubert first came up with the idea to write "An Sylvia" as he was walking in Vienna and entered a beer garden with friends. There, he found a volume of Shakespeare on a table and as he was reading, he apparently exclaimed, "Oh! I have such a pretty melody running in my head. If only I had some paper!" His friend drew staves on the back of a menu, and, as it came to his head, Schubert spontaneously wrote melodies to the words he was reading in the play. The handwritten score was originally entitled "Gesang" and appeared within a small booklet labeled ''Währing, July 1826'' (

Währing Währing () is the 18th district of Vienna and lies in northwestern Vienna on the edge of the Vienna Woods. It was formed in 1892 from the unification of the older suburbs of Währing, Weinhaus, Gersthof, Pötzleinsdorf, Neustift am Walde and Sa ...

was a town outside of Vienna where Schubert stayed with his friend

Franz von Schober Franz Adolf Friedrich Schober, since 1801 von Schober (born 17 May 1796, Torup Castle at Malmö, Sweden; died 13 September 1882 in Dresden), was an Austrian Lyric poetry, poet, librettist, lithographer, actor in Breslau and ''Legationsrat'' in We ...

). The score had no tempo markings and served as Schubert's only draft of "An Sylvia" which allowed him to write additional notes in the score over time as ideas came to him. In addition, the title "Gesang" was crossed out and instead "An Sylvia" was written in its place. "An Sylvia" became one of three Shakespeare texts set to music by Schubert; the other two are " Ständchen" ("Hark, hark! the lark") and "Trinklied" ("Bacchus, feister Fürst des Weins", D 888). Schubert's friend,

, kept the original manuscript and managed Schubert's music after the composer's death. After the Lithographic Institute of Vienna published "An Sylvia" in 1828, Schober published it himself shortly after. In 1829, "An Sylvia" was assigned

opus number In musicology, the opus number is the "work number" that is assigned to a musical composition, or to a set of compositions, to indicate the chronological order of the composer's production. Opus numbers are used to distinguish among compositio ...

106 after

Anton Diabelli Anton (or Antonio) Diabelli (5 September 17818 April 1858) was an Austrian music publisher, editor and composer. Best known in his time as a publisher, he is most familiar today as the composer of the waltz on which Ludwig van Beethoven wrote ...

published the work.

Composition

"An Sylvia" is written in the

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

A major A major (or the key of A) is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor. The key of A major is the only k ...

with a

time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

alla breve ''Alla breve'' also known as cut time or cut common timeis a musical meter notated by the time signature symbol (a C with a vertical line through it), which is the equivalent of . The term is Italian for "on the breve", originally meaning tha ...

. A four-

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

introduction by the piano is followed by 25 bars, a

strophic form Strophic form – also called verse-repeating form, chorus form, AAA song form, or one-part song form – is a song structure in which all verses or stanzas of the text are sung to the same music. Contrasting song forms include through-composed, w ...

identical for each stanza. The song is in

bar form Bar form (German: ''die Barform'' or ''der Bar'') is a musical form of the pattern AAB. Original use The term comes from the rigorous terminology of the Meistersinger guilds of the 15th to 18th century who used it to refer to their songs and the ...

, which follows a pattern of A–A'–B: a main melody, or in German, followed by an ending melody known as the . The majority of the piece stays in close proximity to the tonic and is generally simplistic in form. However, the second phrase of the (A') is the only phrase that passes through the third scale

degree Degree may refer to: As a unit of measurement * Degree (angle), a unit of angle measurement ** Degree of geographical latitude ** Degree of geographical longitude * Degree symbol (°), a notation used in science, engineering, and mathematics ...

and demonstrates Schubert's ability to bring out emotional qualities through unexpected changes in the harmonization. In addition, the B section is the only phrase to

cadence In Western musical theory, a cadence (Latin ''cadentia'', "a falling") is the end of a phrase in which the melody or harmony creates a sense of full or partial resolution, especially in music of the 16th century onwards.Don Michael Randel (1999) ...

on the tonic. Other key features of "An Sylvia" include an echo on the piano at the ends of phrases, ascending figures in the piano

accompaniment Accompaniment is the musical part which provides the rhythmic and/or harmonic support for the melody or main themes of a song or instrumental piece. There are many different styles and types of accompaniment in different genres and styles ...

's bass, and a separate melodic figure in the piano's top (treble) staff at the end of the B phrase. All of these characteristics demonstrate Schubert's emphasis on interdependency between the melody and the accompaniment.

Text

The poem introduces Sylvia who is characterized as a beautiful, fair, and innocent woman admired by her suitors. The question becomes whether or not Sylvia is as kind as she is attractive, because only kindness can make her beautiful. When Sylvia is in love with one of the suitors, her eyes appear softer, helping the suitor to see that she is a kind and caring person. Was ist Sylvia, saget an, dass sie die weite Flur preist? Schön und zart seh' ich sie nahn, auf Himmels Gunst und Spur weist, , : dass ihr Alles unterthan. :, Ist sie schön und gut dazu? Reiz labt wie milde Kindheit; ihrem Aug' eilt Amor zu, dort heilt er seine Blindheit, , : und verweilt in süßer Ruh'. :, Darum Sylvia tön', o Sang, der holden Sylvia Ehren! Jeden Reiz besiegt sie lang, den Erde kann gewähren: , : Kränze ihr und Saitenklang! :, Who is Silvia? What is she, That all our swains commend her? Holy, fair, and wise is she; The heaven such grace did lend her, That she might admirèd be. Is she kind as she is fair? For beauty lives with kindness. Love doth to her eyes repair, To help him of his blindness, And, being helped, inhabits there. Then to Silvia let us sing, That Silvia is excelling; She excels each mortal thing Upon the dull earth dwelling: To her let us garlands bring.

Dedicatee

Schubert dedicated "An Sylvia" to one of his donors,

Marie Pachler Marie Pachler (2 October 1794 – 10 April 1855) was an Austrian pianist. She was an admirer of Ludwig van Beethoven, and a friend of Franz Schubert. Biography Marie Pachler was born as Marie Leopold Koschak on 2 October 1794 in Graz Graz (; ...

, a successful woman, talented

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

from

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...

who knew

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

personally and enjoyed bringing musicians over to her house for entertainment.

References

External links

* *,

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (28 May 1925 – 18 May 2012) was a German lyric baritone and conductor of classical music, one of the most famous Lieder (art song) performers of the post-war period, best known as a singer of Franz Schubert's Lieder, ...

Gerald Moore Gerald Moore Order of the British Empire, CBE (30 July 1899 – 13 March 1987) was an England, English classical music, classical pianist best known for his career as a Collaborative piano, collaborative pianist for many distinguished musicians. ...

(1957) {{Authority control 1826 compositions Music based on works by William Shakespeare Lieder composed by Franz Schubert Compositions in A major Music dedicated to benefactors or patrons