"" (You are rest and peace), D. 776; Op. 59, No. 3 is a

Lied In the Western classical music tradition, ( , ; , ; ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German and Dutch, but among English and French speakers, is often used interchangea ...

composed by

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

in 1823. The text is from a set of poems by the German poet

Friedrich Rückert Johann Michael Friedrich Rückert (16 May 1788 – 31 January 1866) was a German poet, translation, translator, and professor of Oriental languages. Biography Johann Michael Friedrich Rückert was born 16 May 1788 in Schweinfurt and was the e ...

(1788–1866). It is the third poem in a set of four. This song is set for solo

voice The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound produ ...

and

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

Description and analysis

Rückert's poem was originally untitled. Schubert used the poem's first line as the title of the song. Rückert later titled his poem "" (Stay with me).

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...

transcribed many of Schubert's songs for piano, including "" (S. 558/3). The melody and harmonies are all Schubert's but with the addition of Liszt's own interpretation, while still staying true to the original meaning of Rückert's poem. The piece is in

triple meter Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row ...

() and is marked

larghetto In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given composition, and is often also an indication of the composition's character or atmos ...

(fairly slow) and

pianissimo In music, the dynamics of a piece are the variation in loudness between note (music), notes or phrase (music), phrases. Dynamics are indicated by specific musical notation, often in some detail. However, dynamics markings require interpretation ...

(very soft). The piece 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 ...

and its original key is

E-flat major E-flat major is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has three flats. Its relative minor is C minor, and its parallel minor is E minor, (or enharmonically D minor). The E-fla ...

. It starts with both hands playing broken triads softly and slowly in treble clef. The simplicity of the melody makes this piece that much more difficult to sing as it requires perfect

legato In music performance and notation, legato (; Italian for "tied together"; French ''lié''; German ''gebunden'') indicates that musical notes are played or sung smoothly, such that the transition from note to note is made with no intervening si ...

and breath control. Any inconsistencies in the sound can disrupt the 'peace' of the poem. Schubert sets tender and gentle themes to Rückert's words, and the simplicity of the piano line further enhances the meaning of the song. The progression of the harmonies repeat with the bar form, always establishing the key of the piece. With a pianissimo and larghetto marking and the piano part light in

texture Texture may refer to: Science and technology * Image texture, the spatial arrangement of color or intensities in an image * Surface texture, the smoothness, roughness, or bumpiness of the surface of an object * Texture (roads), road surface c ...

, Schubert sets up the poem for the first few lines, "You are the calm, the mild peace", in the introduction. The piece has five

stanza In poetry, a stanza (; from Italian ''stanza'', ; ) is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or indentation. Stanzas can have regular rhyme and metrical schemes, but they are not required to have either. ...

s. The first and second verses are almost exactly identical to the third and fourth, with the exception of one note. The fifth (and final) verse is the start of the B section (""). Both the piano and the voice have a marking of pianissimo up until measure 57, when there is finally a

crescendo In music, the dynamics of a piece are the variation in loudness between notes or phrases. Dynamics are indicated by specific musical notation, often in some detail. However, dynamics markings require interpretation by the performer depending ...

. This is in the first few bars of the B section. In measure 59, Schubert marks

forte Forte or Forté may refer to: Music *Forte (music), a musical dynamic meaning "loudly" or "strong" * Forte number, an ordering given to every pitch class set * Forte (notation program), a suite of musical score notation programs * Forte (vocal ...

. Here is the climax as well as the highest note of the piece along with a

decrescendo In music, the dynamics of a piece are the variation in loudness between notes or phrases. Dynamics are indicated by specific musical notation, often in some detail. However, dynamics markings require interpretation by the performer depending o ...

. There is then a bar of rest and Schubert marks the next entrance at pianissimo once again. Perhaps this is to reinforce the mood of the song. "What could be more restful than silence?" Schubert repeats this text, thereby creating a sixth verse. He then ends the vocal line on the dominant (B-flat), which leaves the piano to resolve the harmony. Throughout the piece, Schubert sets words like "joy" on the tonic, and words like "pain" on the dominant harmonies.

Text

Du bist die Ruh', der Friede mild, die Sehnsucht du, und was sie stillt. Ich weihe dir voll Lust und Schmerz zur Wohnung hier mein Aug' und Herz. Kehr' ein bei mir, und schließe du still hinter dir die Pforten zu. Treib' andern Schmerz aus dieser Brust! Voll sei dies Herz von deiner Lust. Dies Augenzelt, von deinem Glanz allein erhellt, O füll es ganz! You are the calm, the mild peace, you my longing and what stills it. I consecrate to you full of joy and grief to dwell here my eye and heart. Come in to me, and softly close the gates behind you. Drive other pain from this breast. Full be my heart of your joy. The canopy of my eyes by your splendour alone is lit, O, fill it completely!

Other settings

"Du bist die Ruh" was also set to music by

Fanny Mendelssohn Fanny Mendelssohn (14 November 1805 – 14 May 1847) was a German composer and pianist of the early Romantic era who was known as Fanny Hensel after her marriage. Her compositions include a string quartet, a piano trio, a piano quartet, an or ...

in her Opus 7 in 1839.

References

External links

* *
English translation
at lieder.net
"Du bist die Ruh
English translation in ''

Harper's Magazine ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the United States. ''Harper's Magazine'' has ...

''
Text, translation
oxfordlieder.co.uk * , (soprano) * ,

Benjamin Zander Benjamin Zander (born 9 March 1939 in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, England) is an English conductor, who is currently the musical director of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. Biography Benjami ...

's interpretation

master class ''Master Class'' is a 1995 play by American playwright Terrence McNally, presented as a fictional master class by opera singer Maria Callas near the end of her life, in the 1970s. The play features incidental vocal music by Giuseppe Verdi, Giac ...

on "Du bist die Ruh * , Leon McCawley,

Wigmore Hall The Wigmore Hall is a concert hall at 36 Wigmore Street, in west London. It was designed by Thomas Edward Collcutt and opened in 1901 as the Bechstein Hall; it is considered to have particularly good building acoustics, acoustics. It specialis ...

, October 2016 {{authority control Lieder composed by Franz Schubert 1823 songs Compositions in E-flat major Musical settings of poems by Friedrich Rückert