"" (, "Death and the Maiden"), 531;
Op. 7, No. 3, is a
lied composed by
Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...
in February
1817. It was published by Cappi
Diabelli in Vienna in November 1821. The text is derived from a poem written by German poet
Matthias Claudius. The song is set for
voice
The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound produ ...
and
piano
A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...
.
Composition
The piece begins with an introduction in
D minor; the first eight
bars in the
time signature
A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates th ...
2/2. Both hands play
chords. The section is quiet (
pianissimo
In music, the dynamics of a piece are the variation in loudness between note (music), notes or phrase (music), phrases. Dynamics are indicated by specific musical notation, often in some detail. However, dynamics markings require interpretation ...
) and slow (''mäßig''), and presents the musical
theme of
Death
Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...
.
The Maiden enters in the ninth bar on an
anacrusis. This section is more agitated than the first; it is marked
piano
A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...
and "somewhat faster" (''etwas geschwinder''). The melody gradually increases in
pitch,
chromatically at points. The piano accompaniment is
syncopated, playing chords of
quavers alternating in the left and right hand. A
diminished chord in the first bar of the third line (''ich bin noch jung'') creates an eerie mood. In the eighth bar of the maiden's song, on the word ''rühre'' ("touch"), the quavers stop and the rhythm of the opening section returns. Then an
imperfect cadence leads to a
rest with
fermata. This brings the second section to a total of 13 bars in length.
The third and final section is Death's song. The music returns to the
tempo
In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...
and
dynamics of the introduction. Death's melody has a narrow pitch range (save for the last note where the singer has the option of dropping to D below the melody line). The
key modulates to
F major, the relative major of D minor. With the last syllable of Death's song, the key changes into
D major
D major is a major scale based on D (musical note), D, consisting of the pitches D, E (musical note), E, F♯ (musical note), F, G (musical note), G, A (musical note), A, B (musical note), B, and C♯ (musical note), C. Its key signature has two S ...
. The coda is almost a repeat of the introduction, except it is shortened by one bar and is now in the
major key.
Text
See also
*The piano accompaniment from this song was used as the theme in the second movement (a
theme and variations) of Schubert's
Death and the Maiden Quartet (String Quartet No. 14 in D minor) in 1824.
*The theme of the shadowy figure trying to touch a victim, and the victim fearing death at the figure's hands, is explored in some of Schubert's other works as well, notably in the
lied ''Erlkönig'', which itself uses the text of the
poem by the same name by
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...
.
*The play and film versions of ''
Death and the Maiden'' take their titles from the song.
References
External links
*
Sheet music for "Der Tod und das Mädchen"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tod und das Madchen, Der
Lieder composed by Franz Schubert
1817 songs
Death in music
Compositions in D minor
Songs about death