Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart (24 March 1739 – 10 October 1791) was a German

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

, composer, and journalist. He was repeatedly punished for his social-critical writing and spent ten years in severe conditions in jail.

Life

Born at

Obersontheim Obersontheim is a municipality in the district of Schwäbisch Hall (district), Schwäbisch Hall in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. Today the town includes a number of villages, including Untersontheim, Ummenhofen and Hausen (Obersontheim), Hausen ...

Swabia Swabia ; , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of Swabia, one of ...

, he entered the

University of Erlangen A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

in 1758 as a student of

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

. He led a dissolute life, and after two years' stay was summoned home by his parents. After attempting to earn a livelihood as private tutor and as assistant preacher, his musical talents gained him the appointment of organist in

Geislingen an der Steige Geislingen an der Steige () is surrounded by the heights of the Swabian Jura, Swabian Alb and embedded in 5 valleys. It is a town in the Göppingen (district), district of Göppingen in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The name relates ...

. Meeting Schubart in

Ludwigsburg Ludwigsburg (; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Ludisburg'') is a Cities of Germany, city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about north of Stuttgart city centre, near the river Neckar. It is the largest and primary city of the Ludwigsburg (district), Lu ...

in 1772,

Charles Burney Charles Burney (7 April 1726 – 12 April 1814) was an English music historian, composer and musician. He was the father of the writers Frances Burney and Sarah Burney, of the explorer James Burney, and of Charles Burney, a classicis ...

called him "the first, real great

harpsichord A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. Depressing a key raises its back end within the instrument, which in turn raises a mechanism with a small plectrum made from quill or plastic that plucks one ...

player that I had hitherto met with in Germany ... He is formed on the Bach school; but is an enthusiast, and original in genius. Many of his pieces are printed in Holland; they are full of taste and fire. He played on the

Clavichord The clavichord is a stringed rectangular keyboard instrument that was used largely in the Late Middle Ages, through the Renaissance music, Renaissance, Baroque music, Baroque and Classical period (music), Classical eras. Historically, it was most ...

, with great delicacy and expression; his finger is brilliant, and fancy rich." Schubart was unappreciated in Ludwigsburg, according to Burney: "The common people think him mad, and the rest overlook him." As a consequence of his wild life and

blasphemy Blasphemy refers to an insult that shows contempt, disrespect or lack of Reverence (emotion), reverence concerning a deity, an object considered sacred, or something considered Sanctity of life, inviolable. Some religions, especially Abrahamic o ...

, found expressed in a parody of the

litany Litany, in Christian worship and some forms of Jewish worship, is a form of prayer used in services and processions, and consisting of a number of petitions. The word comes through Latin ''wikt:litania, litania'' from Ancient Greek wikt:λιτα ...

, he was later expelled from the country. He then visited in turn

Heilbronn Heilbronn () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, surrounded by Heilbronn (district), Heilbronn District. From the late Middle Ages on, it developed into an important trading centre. At the begi ...

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...

, Munich and

Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...

. In Augsburg, he made a considerable stay, began his ' (''German Chronicle'', 1774–1778) and eked out a subsistence by reciting from the latest works of prominent poets. In 1775, Schubart witnessed a piano playing competition in Munich between

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

and Franz Ignaz von Beecke. He wrote in his Teutsche Chronik (27 April 1775) that in his opinion, von Beecke played far better than Mozart: "In Munich... I heard two of the greatest clavier players, Mr Mozart and Captain von Beecke. Mozart’s playing had great weight, and he read at sight everything that we put before him. But no more than that; Beecke surpasses him by a long way. Winged agility, grace and melting sweetness."John Irving: ''Mozart Piano Sonatas: Contexts, Sources, Style''. Cambridge University Press 1997, , p. 56 Owing to a bitter attack upon the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

, he was expelled from Augsburg and fled to

Ulm Ulm () is the sixth-largest city of the southwestern German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with around 129,000 inhabitants, it is Germany's 60th-largest city. Ulm is located on the eastern edges of the Swabian Jura mountain range, on the up ...

, where he was arrested in 1777 and confined in the fortress of

Hohenasperg Hohenasperg, located in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg near Stuttgart, Germany, of which it is administratively part, is an ancient fortress and prison overlooking the town of Asperg. It was an important Celtic oppidum, and a number of ...

. Here he met with lenient treatment, and he spent the time by a study of mystical works and in composing poetry. His ' (''Complete Poems'') appeared in two volumes at Stuttgart in 1785/1786 (new edition by Gustav Hauff, Leipzig, 1884, in

Reclam Reclam Verlag is a German publishing house, established in Leipzig in 1828 by Anton Philipp Reclam (1807–1896).Sturm und Drang (, ; usually translated as "storm and stress") was a proto-Romanticism, Romantic movement in German literature and Music of Germany, music that occurred between the late 1760s and early 1780s. Within the movement, individual subjectivity an ...

" period. One of the poems he wrote there and published in the ''Schwäbischer

Musen-Almanach A ''Musen-Almanach'' ("Muses' Almanac") was a kind of literary annual, popular in Germany from 1770 into the mid-19th century. They were modelled on the ''Almanach des Muses'' published in Paris from 1765. Development in the 1770s The first examp ...

'' in 1783 was ''

Die Forelle "" (German for "The Trout"), Op. 32, 550. is a lied, or song, composed in early 1817 for solo voice and piano with music by the Austrian composer Franz Schubert (1797–1828). Schubert chose to set the text of a poem by Christian Friedrich Dan ...

'' (''The Trout''), set to music 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 1817. He was set free in 1787 by

Frederick the Great Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself ''King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prussia ...

, king of Prussia, and expressed his gratitude in "" ("Hymn to Frederick the Great"). Schubart was now appointed musical director and manager of the theatre at Stuttgart, where he continued his ' and began his autobiography, ' ("Schubart's Life and Thoughts", 2 vols, 1791–1793), but he died before its completion in Stuttgart. His ' (''Collected Writings and Fates'') appeared in 8 volumes (Stuttgart, 1839–1840). Among Schubart's musical works are the

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...

', the

melodrama A melodrama is a Drama, dramatic work in which plot, typically sensationalized for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodrama is "an exaggerated version of drama". Melodramas typically concentrate on ...

', three books of ' (1786), a "Salve Regina", and various songs and keyboard pieces.

References

External links

* * * *
''Ideen zu einer Aesthetik der Tonkunst''
Vienna, 1806 (excerpts)
Schubart Museum in Aalen
(Exhibit on his life and work)
''Der Bettelsoldat''
(mp3) – Free audio book.

Information from the Schubart Quintet
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schubart, Christian Friedrich Daniel 1739 births 1791 deaths German poets People from Ludwigsburg Sturm und Drang German classical organists German male classical composers German male poets German male novelists German male dramatists and playwrights 18th-century German dramatists and playwrights 18th-century German classical composers 18th-century German keyboardists 18th-century German male musicians German male classical organists 18th-century German poets

Life

References

Further reading

External links