The 'Death and the Maiden' Quartet has all four movements in the minor mode, an unusual feature, and all derive their motivic material from the song itself.
Compositional Technique
The second movement of Schubert's 'Death and the Maiden' Quartet is based on variations of his own song, 'Der Tod und das Mädchen,' a song about death.
Recording & Production
This album was recorded at the Sendesaal Bremen in September 2019.
Composer Biography
By early 1824, Franz Schubert had completed over five hundred songs, as well as drafting several Singspiele, two grand operas, and incidental music to Rosamunde.
Composition History
Schubert's String Quartet No. 14 in D Minor, D 810, 'Der Tod und das Mädchen' (Death and the Maiden), reflects the harrowing ordeal he underwent in 1823, suffering from secondary syphilis.
Album & Artwork
The album title, 'Ins stille Land,' comes from one of the songs included, a setting of a poem by Swiss poet Johann Gaudenz von Salis-Seewis about the longing for death.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Schubert's friend Johann Senn, a poet, was imprisoned and banished from Vienna for subversive political activity, which may have intensified his feelings of alienation and longing for death, themes reflected in Schubert's music.
