The traditional approach to the study of Goethe and Schubert is to place them in opposition to one another, both in terms of their life experiences and in relation to the nineteenth-century Lied. In her introduction to this book, Lorraine Byrne examines the myths that have evolved around these artists and challenges the view that Goethe was unmusical and conservative in his musical tastes. She also considers Schubert's life in relation to his obvious affinity with the poet and links the composer's Goethe settings with the poet's perception of the Lied. Goethe judged the success of a setting by whether the meaning of the text had been realised in musical form. In his Goethe settings Schubert translates the poet's meaning into musical terms and his rendition attains the classical unity of words and music that Goethe sought. The core of this volume is the series of individual analyses of all of Schubert's solo, dramatic and multi-voice settings of Goethe texts. These explore in detail both the literary and the musical dimensions of each work, and Schubert's reading and interpretation of Goethe's writings. This is the first study in English to treat both artists with equal attention and insight. This, together with its encyclopaedic coverage of this important corpus of works, makes this volume an essential reference tool for all those who study Schubert and Goethe.

This reference book comprises individual studies of all of Schubert's solo, dramatic and multi-voice settings of Goethe's poems. Lorraine Byrne examines the myths that have evolved around these artists, and explores Schubert's reading and interpretation of Goethe's texts.

Goethe's Faust, a work which has attracted the attention of composers since the late eighteenth century and played a vital role in the evolution of vocal, operatic and instrumental repertoire in the nineteenth century, hashad a seminal impact in musical realms.

This book explores the way in which Schubert revolutionised the Lied, transforming folk song into art song through the mixture of dramatic and lyrical vocal genres. By introducing dramatic poetry and musical traits within solo song settings, he turned the Lied into a highly expressive musical medium capable of conveying the complexities and nuances of the new Romantic poetry. In so doing, he created an art form which attracted nearly every subsequent composer of the period. Schubert's numerous dramatic songs have baffled critics from his day to our own. Their unusual stylistic characteristics - through composed form, progressive tonal structures, declamatory vocal lines, illustrative accompaniments - fly in the face of traditional conceptions of the Lied. Dr Hirsch's discussion and analysis of selected dramatic Lieder illuminate Schubert's compositional innovation.

The author details the efforts made by friends to acquaint Goethe with Schubert's Lieder, and Schubert with Goethe's poems and even - unsuccessfully - with Goethe himself."--BOOK JACKET. "Ultimately 80 Lieder and Lied fragments resulted from their collaboration. Professor Whitton discusses both text and music for each Schubert setting of a Goethe poem."--BOOK JACKET.

'Re-reading Poetry' uncovers an important shared outlook between composer Franz Schubert and poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The author explores the bond between the two men to uncover the reason why Schubert reset poetry to his compositions to create new songs.

Since its emergence in sixteenth-century Germany, the magician Faust's quest has become one of the most profound themes in Western history. Though variants are found across all media, few adaptations have met with greater acclaim than in music. Bringing together more than two dozen authors in a foundational volume, The Oxford Handbook of Faust in Music testifies to the spectacular impact the Faust theme has exerted over the centuries. The Handbook's three-part organization enables readers to follow the evolution of Faust in music across time and stylistic periods. Part I explores symphonic, choral, chamber, and solo Faust works by composers from Beethoven to Schnittke. Part II discusses the range of Faustian operas, and Part III examines Faust's presence in ballet and musical theater. Illustrating the interdisciplinary relationships between music and literature and the fascinating tapestry of intertextual relationships among the works of Faustian music themselves, the volume suggests that rather than merely retelling the story of Faust, these musical compositions contribute significant insights on the tale and its unrivalled cultural impact.