Not all Romantic composers produced extravagant spectacle for the exorbitant tastes of the middle class. Some composers preferred more intimate forms such as art song. Rather than concert stages, art song was normally performed in wealthy homes and exclusive salons for highly cultured audiences.
The Rose, or the Artist's Journey | Moritz von Schwinn, 1804-1871 | The distant past fascinated nineteenth century artists. | Alte Nationalgalerie Berlin
What is Art Song?
Art songs are compositions for solo voice and piano written in the classical art music tradition—not folk or popular styles—and contain a setting of a poem. The German art song tradition is the most prominent and, thus, the German term, lied or lieder (plural), is often used instead of art song.
While most nineteenth century art songs were written for piano and voice, occasionally guitar or harp were used instead of piano. For example, the great French composer Hector Berlioz composed his Twenty-Five Romances for voice and guitar. Whether accompanied by piano, guitar or harp, the combination of a solo vocalist and a single instrument accompaniment was well suited for performance in small venues such as living rooms and salons.
Franz Schubert
Childhood
The greatest composer of early nineteenth century art song was Franz Schubert (1797-1828). Born in Vienna, the son of a schoolmaster, Schubert studied piano and violin from the age of eight. At eleven he entered the Imperial Seminary and sang in the Imperial Chapel boy choir. He became first violinist of the chapel orchestra, sometimes conducting and writing for the ensemble. At fourteen, the composer Antonio Salieri (1750-1825) heard the boy's music and tutored Schubert in music theory and composition. Schubert's First Symphony and first three string quartets were written in 1813, when only sixteen years old.
Franz Schubert | Wilhelm August Rieder, 1796-1880 | Vienna Museum
Adult Life
Schubert's mature period of composition dates from his eighteenth birthday and is marked by his songs Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel, Heidenröslein and Erlkönig, and his second and third symphonies (1815). From this time a steady stream of masterpieces continued until his death at the age of thirty-one.
Schubert enjoyed a bohemian existence of music and socializing with friends, spending his adult life destitute and homeless. He slept on friend's couches, surviving on casual income and gifts from friends and brother. He didn't mingle with aristocrats but performed in cultivated middle class homes.
Schubertiade | Drawing by Moritz von Schwind, 1804-1871, of Schubert at the piano during a parlor or salon serenade. | Wikimedia Commons
When Beethoven was on his deathbed in 1827, he was given a collection of Schubert's songs. He was astonished at what he saw, stating "truly in Schubert there is the divine spark" (Maurice Brown: Schubert. A Critical Biography, London 1958, p.259). Weeks later Beethoven passed, and Schubert was a torch bearer at his funeral. The following year, Schubert followed the maestro in death.
Schubert’s last year of life, 1828, produced his finest works, including the German dances, piano Sonatas and Quintet in C major. He was sick and worked until he fell upon his deathbed. It was an agonizing demise caused by typhus and syphilis. Schubert was only thirty-one when his spirit left this world. He was given his final wish, to be buried beside Beethoven in Währinger Cemetery. “Music has here entombed a rich treasure, but much fairer hopes,” was inscribed on his tomb.
Beyond his circle of friends, Schubert was almost unknown as a composer during his life. His Unfinished Symphony was not performed until 1865, thirty-seven years after his death. Most of his musical output was unpublished during his lifetime.
Schubert's Art Songs
At the center of Schubert’s music are his art songs. More than six hundred songs testify to his spontaneous response to early romantic poetry. Schubert was not a lyricist. He created his art song masterpieces using existing poetry. Most of these songs were conceived for solo voice with piano accompaniment.
Der Erlkönig
Der Erlkönig (The Elf King) was composed when Schubert was eighteen. Instead of the usual strophic form, it is through-composed. Strophic form refers to songs in which all verses of the text are sung to the same music. For example, Silent Night and Ninety-nine bottles of Beer on the Wall are in strophic form because the same melody is sung with each verse. In contrast, through-composed means a song has different music for each stanza of lyrics. Through-composed songs often create a sense of unity with repeating motives or accompaniment patterns.
Erlkönig | Moritz von Schwind, 1804-1871 | Stories of the supernatural were popular subjects of Romantic art, music and literature. | Alte Nationalgalerie
Goethe's Poem
Der Erlkönig's (Elf King) text is a poem written by the eminent German poet, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe [gur-tah] (1749-1832). This poem tells the story of a young boy being carried home at night by his father on horseback. As they gallop through the mists, Der Erlkönig, king of the fairies and a grim reaper, attempts to entice the boy and steal his soul. The father reassures the child that his fear of Der Erlkönig is imagined, but when they reach the courtyard, the boy is dead.
A narrator and three characters in the poem are depicted by using different registers of the voice: Der Erlkönig and father occupy the low register while the dying boy is depicted in a higher register.
Accompaniment
Schubert's piano accompaniment of triplet octaves and dark bass motives manages to both unify the song and add a fourth character, the galloping horse:
Der Erlkönig Piano Accompaniment | Galloping horse texture
Here's a translation of Der Erlkönig's German lyrics:
Who rides so late through the windy night?
It is the father and his child.
He holds the boy,
Warm and safe.
Son, why do you hide your face in fear?
Father, do you not see the Elf King?
With his crown and train?
Son, it's just the mist.
Come with me, lovely child
We'll play games
There are flowers on the beach and
My mother has golden clothes
Father, can't you hear
What the Elf King is promising me?
Be calm, my boy—
It's only the wind in the leaves.
Lovely boy, will you come with me?
My daughters will wait on you
My daughters will sing and dance for you
and rock you to sleep.
Father, do you not see
The Elf King's daughters there?
Son, it's the old willows shining
In the moonlight.
I love you— I'm aroused by your beautiful form
And if you won't come, I will take you by force
Father, father, he has grabbed me.
The Elf King has hurt me.
The father shudders. He rides fast,
the groaning boy in his arms,
Anxious, he reaches the courtyard.
In his arms, the boy is dead.
Der Erlkönig | Franz Schubert (4:30)
Vocabulary
lieder, strophic form, through-composed, Franz Schubert
What is Art Song?
Der Erlkönig 
Goethe's Poem
