Franz Schubert-
Gretchen am Spinnrade, D. 118
My peace is gone, my heart is heavy; I’ll never find peace, never again.
The English translation of this text penned by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe clues us in right away that this is going to be a dramatic German vocal piece, or “Lied” about pain and suffering. But what is this soprano character suffering from. Lost love of course! What else? This is the romantic era!
Composed in October 1814, Franz Schubert was only 17 at the time, but was already a very developed and mature composer, having composed more than 40 such Lieder. Gretchen am Spinnrade became one of his best-known lieds, using a poem from Goethe’s drama Faust to depict Gretchen’s emotions and feelings of longing for Faust.
Schubert was very popular in his lifetime, being able to earn a respectable living from freelance composing. As opposed to earlier composers, who depended on the support and funding of rich aristocrats and monarchs, Schubert was independent of any patronage of higher class society, composing and performing Lieds for the first several years of his life. His output was astonishing, especially considering his short life of only 31 years. By the end of his life, he had composed close to 1000 pieces, including more than 600 vocal pieces.
His popularity grew so much that he even hosted musical parties In Vienna. Known as Schubertiads, he would play the piano accompanying singers, or singing himself, for small gatherings in private homes. These were often sponsored by wealthy friends or music lovers, and seen as prime entertainment, sometimes inspiring friends to host their own ‘Schubertiads’.
Gretchen am Spinnrade is a programmatic song. It tells the story of Gretchen and her spinning emotion, as she sits and spins thread at a spinning wheel. The whirling piano melodies both represent the constant, unceasing movement of the wheel and the confused, almost circular despair of her feelings. She sings of her love, yet her confusion at how her world could be turned so dark by Faust, the one she loves. To further articulate this circle of despair, at the beginning and at the end, and between each verse filled with pathos and loneliness, She sing “My peace is gone, my heart is heavy; I’ll never find peace, never again.” It is as if she is trying to find joy again, but no matter, hear heart is sick with love and despair that this love will never be reciprocated. Even at the climax of the piece where she imagines what it would be like to be with him and to finally kiss him, the wheel stops spinning when two chords on the piano fade into silence, and the despair returns. The chorus comes back singing of lost peace, and a heavy heart, and the wheel spins on.
This is an incredibly beautiful and dramatic piece of music that has a great moral. Just don’t ever fall in love. It will just ruin your world.
