What is the meaning of Gretchen am Spinnrade?
“Gretchen am Spinnrade” (or “Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel”) is the name of a lied—a German ballad—which was composed in 1814 by Franz Schubert, based on a story in Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s Faust. One of the things that Faust wants is Gretchen, but the romance ends in murder and infanticide.
What emotions is expressed in Gretchen am Spinnrade?
Schubert’s setting of Goethe’s poem, “Gretchen am Spinnrade,” is evocatively beautiful and menacing – an ominous feeling of overwhelming melancholy and love’s fateful delirium. The lyrics are in stanzas of four and are in strophic form.
Is Gretchen am Spinnrade?
“Gretchen am Spinnrade” (Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel), Op. 2, D 118, is a Lied composed by Franz Schubert using the text from Part One, scene 15 of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s Faust. “Gretchen am Spinnrade” was composed for soprano voice but has been transposed to accommodate other voice types.
What are the characteristics of Gretchen am Spinnrade?
As Gretchen spins, her mind is racked with dread and longing; she recalls her love’s endearing traits — his “noble form,” his “witching words,” and, most importantly, his kiss. From the outset, her prediction is not optimistic: “O, my heart is sad, my rest is o’er, / And never, alas!
Is Gretchen am Spinnrade homophonic?
Gretchen am Spinnrade consist of homophonic texture.
What form is Gretchen am Spinnrade?
Gretchen Am Spinnrade is a modified strophic composition in a seven-part rondo form – ABACADA.
What is the tone quality and texture of Gretchen am Spinnrade?
Texture: The piece has a constant texture that occasionaly gets thicker to represent the clouding of thoughts that she is experiencing.
What is the German art song?
Lieder
The German tradition of art song composition is perhaps the most prominent one; it is known as Lieder. In France, the term Mélodie distinguishes art songs from other French vocal pieces referred to as chansons.
What are the three basic types of Lieder?
When three parts are present, whether sung or played and sung, the tenor and top part (descant) form a harmonic unity, while the third part (countertenor) skips between and below the other two. Polyphonic lieder reached a climax in the mid-16th century with the songs of Ludwig Senfl and his contemporaries.
What kind of poem is Gretchen am Spinnrade?
Gretchen am Spinnrade is a strophic poem, yet Schubert rearranged the order of each strophe so that he could illustrate and extend the drama between Faust and Gretchen.
How is Gretchen am Spinnrade related to Faust?
In this particular scene, a scene from Goethe’s drama Faust, Gretchen is at her spinning-wheel troubled by her feelings for Faust, a man she just met and barely knows. Gretchen am Spinnrade is a strophic poem, yet Schubert rearranged the order of each strophe so that he could illustrate and extend the drama between Faust and Gretchen.
How is the spinning wheel used in Gretchen am Spinnrade?
The song opens with Gretchen at her spinning wheel, thinking of Faust and all that he had promised. The accompaniment in the right hand mimics the perpetual movement of the spinning-wheel and the left hand imitates the foot treadle.
Who was the composer of Gretchen at the spinning wheel?
Page 1. “Gretchen am Spinnrade” (Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel), Op. 2, D 118, is a Lied composed by Franz Schubert using the text from Part One, scene 18 of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s Faust.