Relic (Schubert)

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The Reliquie (D 840) is a fragment of a four-movement piano sonata by Franz Schubert . The last two movements are unfinished and the sonata can only be heard very rarely in the concert hall; but it belongs to Schubert's great, enigmatic, and abysmal works.

Emergence

After a two-year hiatus, Schubert composed three sonatas in the spring of 1825: the C major D 840, the A minor D 845 and the D major D 850 (Gasteiner). A year earlier he had written to his friend Joseph Kupelwieser that he wanted to approach the great symphony with string quartets and other chamber music. The "unfinished" symphony in B minor had stood at the beginning of this path in 1822, on which the Sonata in C major D 840 became a big step. Dated April 1825 by Schubert himself, it is known as the “relic”. Its first publisher, Friedrich Whistling in Leipzig, published it as a relic in 1861 - 33 years after Schubert's death . Last sonata (unfinished) for the pianoforte by Franz Schubert . But it was not Schubert's last sonata; it was followed by six (completed) sonatas. Of Schubert's five unfinished sonatas, the “Reliquie” is the best known. Brother Ferdinand Schubert gave the manuscript to Robert Schumann , who immediately recognized the value of the work.

construction

The work is very orchestral. The individual sections and parts take on symphonic proportions that were previously unknown. The Great Symphony in C major can be guessed at. A pulsating rhythm pervades almost the entire sonata. As in Beethoven's early C minor sonatas (5 and 8), A flat major (the subdominant of the parallel key E flat major) plays a major role in the 2nd and 3rd movements. In the corner movements , C major remains the determining timbre. The fact that it turns into the parallel A minor on the last (unfinished) page makes the relic unique in the world of sonatas.

1 sentence

Moderato, C major, 4/4 time, 318 bars (421 with repetition)

The melancholy unison question with the falling sixth is followed by a gentle answer in the dominant seventh chord. It is similar to the opening theme of the A minor Sonata D 845. The falling sext returns with doubled and syncopated octaves . The varied repetition (B flat major, A flat major, F minor, G major) is based on a rhythmic (syncopated) ostinato . In G major it falls from fortissimo to piano. Above the unchanged bass - leggiero, pianissimo - the unreal legato side theme appears in the distant B minor. The exposure to the dominant G major returns via C minor . After repeating that starts performing ado in A Major. It opens the harmonic, dynamic and tonal perspectives in an orchestral way. The first theme dissolves into the rhythmic ostinato. In the recapitulation , the first theme appears only once, without the repetition introduced by the ostinato. The legato theme returns in A minor and finds its way to the tonic in C major via the bass syncope. The end of the sentence brings the opening theme again, pianissimo in A flat major and C minor.

2nd movement

Andante, C minor, 6/8 time, 121 bars (134 with repetition)

The four-part sonata movement without development continues on the same path. The dynamic contrasts are less strong, but the harmonic spectrum is just as broad as in the first movement. The contrast between D minor and A flat major, which is characteristic of many later works, is already at the fore. In both movements the melodies are not closed, but open - including fragments of melodies or memories of melodies. Their harmonious foundations contrast with rhythmic ostinati. As in the songs, rhythmic cells acquire a structural meaning.

3rd movement, fragment

Menuetto, Allegretto, A flat major, 3/4 time, 121 bars

The soft A flat major turns into (unusual) A major after 16 bars and takes up the gentle dance thought of the 2nd movement four times. After 18 bars and the beginning of a repeat sign, the action accelerates and darkens. In typical Schubert manner (forzando quarter and four eighth notes) it reminds of the execution of the 1st movement: G flat major - D flat major - A flat major and again A major. Calm returns over the dominant seventh chord (E major). The notation breaks off in the right hand before the repetitive stroke that is missing. Like a Schubert waltz does this-composed Trio in G sharp minor , the enharmonic change the relative key flat minor . The second part of the trio begins in B major. Harold Truscott (1914–1992) composed a completion of the minuet in 1957.

4th movement, fragment

Rondo, Allegro, C major, 2/4 bar, 273 bars (without repetition)

Leggiero und soft, with eighth triplets in the right hand, the rondo quotes the last movement of the piano sonata No. 3 (Beethoven) . Sixth chords and somewhat "unruly" suggestions spread moody cheerfulness. After at least 120 bars, the second theme appears in the dominant, taut and energetic with a small second . It is stretched far and colored by Moll , and it is repeated in the bass. After 16 carefree sixteenth measures still in G major, the parallel keys of C minor and G minor gain the upper hand. The repetition of the grandiose “exposition” is followed by four bars, which are copied over in many recordings. In doing so they mark a deep turning point, the departure into the endless. The inversion of the small second leads via E major to the last 30 bars in A minor. With Richter they do not sound like a “third theme”, but like the quiet beginning of a demonic Stretta , a furious finale - which Schubert did not find.

Exemplary recordings

Completions

Quotes

“Perhaps the relic is not just an unfinished sonata, but rather an“ unfinished ”one. Mikhail Rudy describes it as an "educational trail". It is actually a journey through structures that appear as if in a fog, where the thematic and harmonic perspectives are blurred, where the listener literally gets lost. This experience continues in the finale, the contours of which are just as blurred. It is a sonata movement entitled Rondo, where every element is a miniature rondo, which is lost in depths that were unattainable on the grand piano of the time and contrasted with strikingly bright lines. This time the hiker has finally lost himself. Faking a return to the real world would only give away one of Schubert's most experimental creations. "

- NN

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. a b c Franz Schubert: Piano Sonata in C major D 840 "Reliquie" (Capriccio Kulturforum)
  2. Schubert's piano sonatas 1815–1825 (naxos.com)
  3. ^ Franz Peter Schubert: Franz Schubert - Sonata in C major, D. 840
  4. Yamaguchi Makiko: The addition of Schubert's C major sonata D 840 by Ernst Krenek (2014)

Remarks

  1. Most minor sonatas end in a lighter major.
  2. Wührer's interpretation is quite “unromantic” and crystal clear. He plays the first three movements quickly, almost quickly, but the last movement "with the handbrake on". And he dispenses with the six-sided repetition in order to gain space for Krenek's long completion; but that too goes beyond the proportions of the sonata and proves its incompleteness and the correctness of Richter's code interpretation.
  3. In the 3rd and 4th movements, Richter ends with Schubert's last notes.
  4. ↑ When Eduard Erdmann asked him in 1922 , Krenek completed both sentences - for Alfred Einstein with an “excellent” result.