Wednesday, 15 April 2020
Schwanengesang literally translates as ‘swansong’ and comes from the ancient belief that swans remain mute throughout their entire lives but sing a beautiful song just before death. While this myth has no factual basis, the term ‘swansong’ has become a metaphor for the last performance given or work produced before death or retirement. However, the title of Franz Schubert’s (1797-1828) final song cycle was not conceived by Schubert himself but by his publisher Tobias Haslinger (1787 – 1842) in 1829 – several months after Schubert had died. Today I will be exploring the way Schubert comes to terms with his impending death in his final musical contribution to the world through his choice of poetry, word setting and use of musical devices.