Schubert's Winterreise: Gute Nacht

Hi guys, and welcome to Follow the Leader with me, your host, Mandy Madrid-Sikich. Today is the official first episode of Season 2, and I can't wait to tell you guys what's going on. But before I do, let's take care of a few housekeeping things. If you are a fan of a podcast, remember to rate, review and subscribe. You can find us on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, all the usual places.

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that mount everest of song cycles the stuff introverts dreams are made of schubert's magnum opus that monolith of the repertoire that's right ladies gentlemen and all non-binary individuals we will be covering Schubert's Winterreise. And if that wasn't enough to get you steamed up, then wait till you hear this next part.

My guest host for today's episode, and indeed for many of our future season two episodes, is none other than that hot tub loving, tambourine shaking, burrito eating technology wizard of the world and my life partner. Brian Sickich. Oh, is this my entrance? Is this the part where I say things? I mean, you can, but you don't have to. Oh, I forgot to say one thing. If I do ever ask you a question, it's a good idea to sort of restate the question in your answer. So for instance...

Brian, when I asked you to be my guest co-host for a number of these season two episodes, what ran through your mind? My gut reaction was that I was going to need a burrito. So for instance, Brian, so you say this. I literally have to restate the question every time. Aren't they listening to you, though, ask the question? Yeah, but I might edit that part out so that it's not like, just go with the flow of your game. I just want to do what you want me to do.

I'm trying to get with the program, but the program doesn't know what program it's on. That is the truth. Okay, don't hold your mic to the side, you dingle dong. I'm right here. Oh, my God. So you have to say. Are you going to ask me the question again? No. You're going to say what the question is in your answer. When you asked Mai to participate in this project. That's literally what you wrote down here for me to say. Oh my God. What sort of janky podcast is this? Okay.

Here's a typo. Whoops. Yeah, you asked me to be on the podcast and I was...

I was kind of surprised, but I was like, sure, why not? Let's hop on there. I'm no leader expert by any means, but I'm happy to dive into this world. I feel like I've been privy to numerous performances of... this cycle uh and it's just been i i mean i've literally been living in it as you've practiced it so yeah i i feel like it's there's a little bit of it in my in my dna in my bloodstream to a certain degree so yes but also the the burrito

was the form of payment, which was the only thing that made this possible. I knew leading up to today that there was going to have to be some sort of bribe in there. So I'm glad that the burrito was... Well, originally it was the timing of it all. So I needed to be able to watch my primary league soccer and have a burrito. But then I realized we were on international break and that was kind of devastating. But we're still doing it at the same time anyways. I did try to work.

around all of your social things. Yeah. I'm just trying to fit you into my schedule here. All silliness aside, I'm super excited you are here to talk about this cycle. That means so much to me. I remember I told you this story

I don't know, last week or something about how when I was first discovering Winterreise and I had, we were driving somewhere. So I was sitting in the passenger seat of the car and I had like all my books and my scores and I was like doing all this reading and I was getting so stoked on this. cycle. And I don't know, I think you were probably just driving in silence. And I was like holding in all of my excitement for this cycle. And it just like the pressure kept building, building, building.

he's not going to want to hear about this. Like he's not interested in this, but I just couldn't take it anymore. And I finally like to start telling you about the cycle, about what I was learning about this incredible story and these really interesting ideas. And I remember you were just, you.

were in it i mean you couldn't really go anywhere you were literally trapped in a car it was like i was next to a volcano of leader and you were just raining down upon me what are you gonna do what are you gonna do you just accept your fate and soak it in And I did. You did. I feel like I've been soaking in the whole leader game and especially the song cycle for years. So I'm here for it. I'm in it. I don't really have a choice in it. It's very true. It's very true. Anyway.

well with that i think it's time to turn to the topic at hand for some time schubert appeared very upset and melancholy When I asked him what was troubling him, he would only say, Soon you will hear and understand. One day, he said to me, Come over to Schober's today, and I will sing you a cycle of horrifying songs.

I am anxious to know what you will say about them. They have cost me more effort than any of my other songs. So he sang the entire winter journey through to us in a voice full of emotion. We were utterly dumbfounded by the mournful, gloomy tone of these songs, and Schober said that only one, the linden tree, had appealed to him. To this, Schubert replied,

I like these songs more than all the rest, and you will come to like them as well. Of course, this writing by Josef von Spawn refers to the genesis of Winterreise. You may be asking yourself, what is Winterizer? Good job following cues. Thank you. indeed what is this thing that could draw such conviction from the composer in the face of disagreement amongst all his friends simply put winterreise is a set of twenty-four poems by the poet wilhelm

set to music for voice and piano by Franz Schubert. If all 24 of the songs are sung through, the performance lasts approximately one hour and ten-ish minutes. While the songs can stand on their own and are indeed programmed individually from time to time, we are here to talk about the experience of Winterreise as a whole. In his book, Schubert's Winter Journey, Ian Bostridge calls it a concept album. And I think that's a really fitting description, actually. There's a, if you look.

concept album on wikipedia um it will give you this definition it says a concept album is one where a creative mind has curated something visionary A program whose whole speaks more powerfully than its parts. A thought through journey which compels to be heard in one sitting. I mean, that's... literally exactly what Winterreise is. And I know it was, you know, it's using it to describe, I think that definition originally came from like the gramophone magazine or something like that.

You know, they were originally intending it to apply to like pop albums and that type of thing. And I just think that that really hits the nail on the head here with Winterreise.

John Reed, author of the Schubert Song Companion, calls Winterreise the greatest achievement in the history of song. And truly, there's nothing like it. Do you remember your first time witnessing it in concert? I... I feel like, I don't know if this was the first time, but it was one of the early concerts. And I think I was recording it. And I think...

I was in it and there were definitely moments where I was seeing the interaction between you two and just sort of that chemistry. But also, I think I was distracted because I had the record limits on the camera and I was like, I thought my battery was going to run out and I thought the memory card was going to run out.

And so I was just like a hot mess trying to like capture it all for you. Oh, that's funny. I literally have no memory of that at all. Yeah. But I think that that was one of the first times also in whatever that hall is out at the... Oh, Geiringer Hall for Tyler's recital. Yeah. That was the first time that I actually fully went along with the transcriptions. Translations. Translations. Thank you. And actually like followed with.

mirrored and matched the performance to the actual words in the text um and that was pretty that was pretty powerful here in the states at least i feel like i have seen you do it in london watched a number of online performances before I saw it live in person. I don't necessarily have a first, a really compelling like first memory, much like your story. You were just like freaking out about the audio and the visuals of it.

Even more compelling than the performances I observed, though, was my first time performing the cycle myself as a whole. Well, I was with a vocalist, but... Can you imagine? Yeah, no, I can't imagine because I see it every day.

you're just that is true cranking away on the piano like adding your own you know vocal style to it yeah true one man band but the first time i performed it You know, by the time we arrived at that last song, there was this feeling of otherworldliness that we had actually somehow traveled down a path that very few people have traveled.

You know, as a performer, you can often, depending on the audience, be more or less aware of how noisy they are. I mean, there's always some measure of papers crinkling, random coughing, shifting and resettling in the seats. But man, I tell you, the silence. When I played those final notes, the absolute silence in the hall was staggering.

As a performer, that's a really cool experience to know that, you know, that's been achieved not only by the performers, but by the audience as well. Like they all collectively are creating that experience. Really, really one of a kind type of thing. You know, every time I sat down to... right this episode, I just laugh at how silly I felt because how do you begin talking about Venturiza? It's such a big undertaking that often it just felt truly laughable.

I mean, many times I was struck by paralysis because there is so much to say, but how to distill it down? So, let's begin where Schubert began, with the words. Why are you smiling? I'm just listening to you. I'm in it. Great, great, great. The poet Wilhelm Müller is an interesting character, if for no other reason than that his life seemed a fairly easy and fortuitous one. Don't get me wrong, there's lots of other reasons why he is interesting.

But one would expect that the dark words and brooding concepts such as those we encounter in Winterreise would come from a truly troubled soul experiencing existential crisis. In reality, when Müller penned these poems, he was experiencing nothing of the sort. Müller had a blessed, albeit restless, life. He was born the son of a poor tailor, but was sponsored to study at university in Berlin. He ended up volunteering for the Prussian army and fought four battles against the French.

When he finished his stint with the army, he tried to go back to university. Though from his teacher's accounts, he was a truly brilliant student, he struggled settling on one topic of study and seemed to resent authority. He must have been exceedingly charming, though, because while he was an outspoken and often argumentative type person, most people seemed to genuinely like him.

He traveled widely, and after eventually giving up his studies altogether, he began editing, writing, teaching, and translating, and even became an imperial librarian. Sounds like he's in Star Wars or something. It does! Hello, I am the Librarian of the Emperor. Darth Vader goes in to check out a book. Doesn't have it. Do you have anything on Death Stars? Just chokes them out. Nice.

That's amazing. He wrote often about... He's a real librarian. I never even thought about that. I can't get that imagery out of my head. I know! It was good. He wrote often about feeling restless. As Susan Ewins says, he was chafing at the boundaries of his existence. And that is actually a theme of a lot of his poetry. Traveling, wandering around, not feeling at home. Always a restless, searching-type movement.

I like to think he'd greatly enjoy a habit I've developed recently where whenever I'm feeling agitated or unsettled with my work or a project I'm chipping away at, I just walk into another room in the house and I yell out, uncomfortable. it's true this happens honestly it really relieves the tension i i highly recommend it

Though Müller did not finish his degree, he never stopped learning. He was one of those student-of-everything type people who loved learning about a wide variety of topics. But because of his deep study of German language and ancient German literature, as he wrote more and more poetry, he was able to capture the true essence of folk song. He disliked complex poetic syntax and preferred simplicity of expression.

and said that the more one notices artful poetic technique, the less truly folk-like the poem is. He mostly stuck to conventional type figures, sailors, fishermen, millers, hunters, as evidenced in his other great set of poems, Die Schöne Müllerin, also set to music by Schubert.

The name Winterreise is inspired by a work by the poet Ludwig Ulland. Ulland had published a group of poems that were entitled Wanderlieder. One of these Wanderlieder was titled Winterreise. The text describes a traveler who arrives upon a village on the other side of a forest, and though he warms his hands by a fire there, he can never warm his heart. Because love has been extinguished.

Sidebar, seven-year-old Richard Strauss set this poem to music. And if anyone listening has the music for that, then please send it to me. I think when Müller ran across these Wanderlieder, it provided the spark for his own work.

Our Winterreise, Müller's and Schubert's, plumbs the deepest reaches of human isolation, at times spine-chillingly grotesque in its existential misery. However... beautiful in its strangeness a brief synopsis reads like this a traveler sets out on a journey he has been scorned by love and leaves town under the veil of night

Throughout the course of the 24 songs, he travels further and further into isolation. And when he wishes for death, even the grave will not have him. He is denied even this consolation. Obviously, there is so much more to the cycle than that brief synopsis, but I'm saving the fullness of description for when we discuss each individual song. I feel like he's a candidate for the, you know, the Reddit thread, fuck you in particular.

that's like that's like him he's like i even the grave will not have me like god damn it absolutely poor guy i know truly but it's really cool how i mean we'll talk about it later throughout the course of the cycle there's

Most of the time he seems brave and noble. I think that we never descend into this true sense of him throwing himself a pity party. He always ends up moving bravely, nobly on. So he's like... pretty stoic through it all yes yes that's a great way to sum it up i know do i get another burrito for that potentially

Might have to put a cap on burrito. No burrito limits here. Publishing the poems was a gradual process. Müller published the first twelve in a Leipzig almanac called Urania in 1823. These twelve also correspond with the twelve songs that make up part one of Schubert's setting. Then... Later in the year, Müller had 10 more of the poems published in a Breslau periodical.

Then he published the entire cycle with two additional poems in 1824 in a collection called Poems from the Posthumous Papers of a Traveling Horn Player. which I think is a funny title given that he tried to be as concise as possible in his poetry. This collection also contains Die Schöne Müllerin. The process of Schubert's setting of these words and the origination of the music is shrouded in a bit more mystery. Remember that Müller himself published the 24 poems at three different times.

Schubert's friend and the person who he was staying with at the time, Franz Schober. Wait a second. Schubert had a friend named Schober and his first name was also Franz? Yes. In fact, Franz Schubert stayed with Franz Schober a few different times during his life. And some people think that Schober was actually the reason that Schubert even contracted syphilis. I mean...

Not that he gave it to him directly, but that Schober was an active participant in a hedonistic and promiscuous lifestyle and encouraged Schubert to engage thusly as well. How does one... Encourage one to engage thusly as well. Like, hey, let's hit the town. Pick up some chicks tonight. Let's go to the brothel. Nice. Nice. All about the brothels. Yep. Let us go engage the brothels thusly.

But we digress. Anyway, Schober said that Schubert discovered the poems in Schober's library, most likely in February of 1827. These would probably have been the first 12... that were published in the Urania Almanac. According to his friend, Josef von Spahn, it seems Schubert was absorbed in their composition during the month.

Interestingly, he promised to show some songs to friends at a gathering on March 4th. Spahn reports that Schubert said, Come to Schober's. I will sing you a cycle of spine-chilling songs. I am anxious to know what you will say about them. They have affected me more than has been the case with any other of my leader. Sounds like big stuff, right? But Schubert didn't turn up for this gathering that he himself organized.

This was fairly typical of Schubert, but it's been speculated that perhaps he meant to show his friends his 12-song Winterreise, and that perhaps he discovered there were in fact more Winterreise poems, meaning his cycle... was incomplete. Rather than show his friends an incomplete project, he simply avoided the gathering altogether.

Now, this might not be true. It's probably more likely that he either forgot about the gathering or wasn't feeling well as he was fairly deep in the throes of his illness. His syphilis often meant that he did not remember his plans, and he often had a brain fog and was notoriously flaky. So he's one of those guys. Just like kind of a wild card, shows up at will, has brilliant ideas. I'm trying to imagine these guys just palling around town, leader geniuses now in hindsight.

uh and like what their day-to-day lives look like like i'm gonna wake up and write some poetry and then just go party hard and then throw a big concert gathering of friends and they just not show up and everyone's like pissed off at them? What does that world look like? Yeah, but I think it was so much more casual than that because...

I mean, there's plenty of accounts of, you know, people just going and knocking on someone's door and then they're offered a place to stay and they end up staying. It's just kind of much more go with the flow. Oh, we have these people here and oh, maybe we'll play some music later tonight. It's a little bit more casual. I mean, it just sounds so chaotic. Viennese society, man. Yeah, I guess so. I'm just trying to like, what does that look like modern day?

for like a modern musician or artist or whatever. It's kind of like... Going to LA and doing like a little, oh, hey, we're just going to jam in the evening and then I'll go crash on this person's couch and then I'll pop over to the, I mean. Yeah, it's probably very similar. And then I'm going to throw a little like mini concert, but not show up. Yeah, I'm sure it's fairly similar. That's probably the best. like modern day equivalent, I guess. Cool, cool, cool. But without the syphilis.

But without the syphilis, ideally. Ideally. Ideally without the syphilis. Probably with some Omicron. Yes. We know what the brain fog feels like from that one. Exactly. So it's not officially known exactly when he encountered the rest of the Venturaiza poems. But from what we can gather, it's most probable that he worked on the rest of the cycle over the summer and maybe even as late as that autumn.

In any case, when Schubert composed the first 12 songs, not only did he end the last one in D minor, which was the key he began the cycle in, but he also wrote the word fine after the 12th one. Seems like he thought it was pretty much complete. At some point after he discovered there were in fact more poems, he changed the key of the twelfth song to leave it open for further songs to be added. And boy did he add them!

Did he double it? There's 24? There's 24, yeah. So the order of the final 12 is all mixed up. It's... completely different than because when Muller republished all of his he put some of his new ones in place of the original 12 ones so it all got jumbled and out of order do you feel like Schubert was like ah shit

I think he was excited, actually. I think that he very much believed that his first 12 were good as they were. And that it did not matter that Muller put some of these other poems, like... in place of some of the 12. So I think he was happy to let those 12 be as they were and then continue the journey on just in a different order than what the poet ultimately ended up intending.

And actually both Schubert and Muller throughout their lives, they were constantly like working. and reworking on things that they had already written or composed. So are different versions of Vintraiza performed differently? So... Or like how did it, once he was gone...

Is there a standing version, like a pinnacle? Yeah, there is. This is the gold standard. Yeah, so there's the 12 that we know in their traditional, or there's the 24 that we know in their traditional order. But then sometimes, like Ian Bostridge, for instance, has rearranged. them according to Mueller's order and has performed them that way. And then sometimes you'll find that the first 12 will be programmed in a concert instead of the whole 24. So that's interesting, I think.

There are options for performance. Wilhelm Müller never heard Schubert's settings of his music. He did believe that music would make his words complete, though, and had this to say about musical settings. If I could produce the melodies, my songs would be more pleasing than they are now. But courage, perhaps there is a kindred spirit somewhere who will hear the tunes behind the words and give them back to me.

Muller felt that there was music in his words and delighted when he heard them set to music by some lesser-known composers. I've always wondered what he would think of Schubert's settings, though, as Schubert used a great deal of text painting in his writing, and Müller actually did not agree with the use of text painting. He mostly seemed to frown upon it. So for instance, if...

like setting the word fluttering, kind of making the notes sound like they're fluttering. He typically frowned upon that type of practice, and it was something that Schubert was known for. Before we turn to the music, I just want to say a little note about Müller. We do have a few of his journals and personal papers, so there are some personal things we know from his life from his own first-hand account. Nothing, however, speaks to the genesis of his Winterreise.

It was a great tragedy that his library was destroyed by a fire, burning many of his personal papers as well. In it, we might have found some reason, some explanation for why he chose such subject matter. I suppose I want even more than that though. I'd like to know how he could write such intense lyrics with this all-knowing sense of experience.

One never has the feeling that the words are simply make-believe. It seems impossible to comprehend that they were written by anyone other than the tortured soul. There's a part of me that yearns to know that he didn't just... Make it all up. That this collection of poems that speaks from and to the soul in the midst of such bleak alienation isn't just conjured from thin air. I'd love to know if he lived his own winteriza.

There was a young woman that he had a relationship with while he was stationed with the army, and we know that this caused him some amount of heartbreak or difficulty. And there was a failed attempt at romance with Louise Hensel, but Müller was happily married at the time he wrote Winterreise. And unless some great journal in addition to what we already have is found, or unless more personal papers are unexplained,

Unexpectedly unearthed from some dusty corner of the planet, we simply have no way of knowing precisely what originated these words. So he lived a relatively angst-free life. Yeah.

Schubert, on the other hand, had the angst. So he made up for it. Yeah. So this might be getting ahead a little bit, but the way that Mueller originally ordered his final set. like his final, like a series of 24 songs. The song that he places before the last one leads us to feel a bit more hope at the end.

And Schubert did not follow that ordering in his setting. Schubert, instead of putting moot, I think it was moot that Müller put right before the end, which is all about courage, and it's a little bit more defiant. Schubert instead put Die Nebenzonen right before Der Leiermann, which leads us into that very dark place. So I think that there is a case to be made that Müller's Winterreise might...

might potentially end a bit more, hopefully, than Schubert's. I mean, that's fascinating that how could someone who didn't have...

who didn't experience this, conjure up these words. That's what I'm talking about. But then what's also fascinating to me is that they stood on their own purely as... poems and his written words but then there was almost like an expectancy that someone would come and like set them to music and like sort of do the next part which then would give him great satisfaction sort of like give them back to me like as he said yeah

You're opening yourself up to like anyone could come along and do this. And what if it's not something that you like? Yeah. And, you know, there were a lot of poets who actually did not like their words to be taken. turned into songs. Goethe was one of them actually. Goethe often did not like the overly involved accompaniments. I believe if I remember correctly, I think I talked about this in one of my podcasts before. It was either Gretchen or Erlkönig.

Schubert sent it to Goethe saying, this is what I did with your words. And it was sent back with no reply. Interesting. Well, and this is all before like, like music licensing and truly, you know, we're not patents, but, but necessarily like the, the protection of. of your intellectual property. Like none of that really existed, right? So you could just kind of do whatever. Yeah. But we do know, thankfully, that Mueller welcomed that.

Yeah, it would be cool. I mean, like I said, he might not approve of some of the techniques that Schubert used, although I will say in Winterreise, Schubert is a lot more economical and uses far less notes than he typically would. So think of Gretchen am Spinnrada or Erlkönig. where it's very, very heavily involved piano accompaniments. Not that these accompaniments aren't involved, but they're just written more economically, so there's less notes.

So they kind of follow the spirit of Mueller's approach as well. Exactly. So instead of like being super ornamental or whatever, it's just like much more pure and simple. Yeah, more simple and folk-like. It's folk-like, but elevate. It's elevated folk.

Art. Words. Okay. Put another one in there. All right. I think it's time to turn to our specific song of the day. Of course, we are beginning at the beginning with the first song of the cycle, Gute Nacht. Yes, I'm familiar with the one. Okay. Good air panel, by the way. Thank you.

Schubert's dear friend Johann Meyerhofer had this to say about Winterreise. Mandy proceeds to grab book, opens book, removes bookmark. It's that part of your script. Oh. It now seems to be in order to mention two poems of Wilhelm Müller's which constitute a more extensive cycle and permit of a more penetrating glimpse into the composer's mind. Opening with a joyful song of roaming, the Mill songs depict love in its awakening.

its deceptions and hopes, its delights and sorrows. Not so with The Winter Journey, the very choice of which shows how much more serious the composer had become. He had been long and seriously ill, had gone through shattering experiences, and life for him had shed its rosy color. Winter had come for him. The poet's irony, rooted in despair, appealed to him. He expressed it in cutting tones. I was painfully moved. That's from Meyerhofer's memoirs.

With that in mind, I'd like to read you my translation of the text for Gute Nacht. A stranger I came, a stranger I depart. May blessed me with many flower bouquets. The maiden spoke of love, the mother even of marriage. Now is the world so dark, the way is shrouded in snow. I can for my journey not choose the time. I must for myself know the way in this darkness. There moves a moon shadow as my companion with me, and on the white meadow I search for wild animal tracks.

Why should I longer linger that they might drive me out? Let the dogs howl before their master's house. Love loves to wander. God has so made it from one to another. Fine loved one, good night. I will not stir you from your dream. It would be a pity for your rest. You should not hear my footsteps. Softly, softly, the door is closed. I write as I pass by on your door, good night, that you might see that I have thought about you.

From the beginning with this text, we are presented with two facts. Our traveler, he does not belong and he is on the move. Before we even hear these words, though, Schubert's introduction perfectly encapsulates those two ideas. You can hear in the pulsing eighth notes the tragedy and determination in his leaving. Did you hear him? I did hear them. Okay. Tragic and determined, are they not? He's like trudging along. Exactly. The tragedy is thoroughly reinforced with this melodic dissension.

The line. When I hear those descending notes, I just get the most massive chills. But I'm also so happy at the same time. It's a signifier to me that I am in for a magical experience. albeit a dark one. If you ever need to get my attention, just play that and you'll immediately have my rapt attentiveness. It's like a homing beacon. Play it.

And I'll come home. It's good to know. It's like the bat signal. It is. It's over the bat signal. It's the leader nerd signal. Yeah, the leader nerd signal. It'll be like a tsunami air horn, but instead it just like blasts that all across Singapore. I like it. Come on, Mandy. I'm all for this plan. I also wanted to mention that this introduction presents us with two main motivic elements that will recur over and over throughout the cycle. The trudging footsteps signifying his journey.

And also the offbeat accents. As if he is being provoked. As we will see, this provocation comes from a few different sources, sometimes by nature, sometimes by society, sometimes, as you'll hear in Song 3, even by his own emotions. Another establishing feature that I love so much is that the piano plays this line. Maybe I was going to sing. Oh, yeah, I think I was. What a treat. Buckle up, ladies and gentlemen.

It's the madrigage at the mic. I'm not going to sing for them. I'm only singing for you. Another establishing feature that I love so much is that the piano plays this line. We already heard that one. I know. And it's not until we hear the voice sing it and then continue it that we realize it was unfinished. So you'll actually hear Tyler singing that in the podcast. So from a performance aspect.

we are meant to understand that there is a true duo here the musicians are literally completing each other's sentences which is fascinating and ironic because it takes two to paint the picture of isolation we come to see. The traveler is alone, and yet in this experience, he has been handed this melody by someone else. The paradox of creating a universe of isolation with another person on stage with you is truly interesting.

As I mentioned, he says, a stranger I came, a stranger I depart. And immediately after this, he reflects back on a better time. The month of May was good to him, and we understand that it is a stark contrast with the bitter cold of the current situation. In Romanticism, this is a familiar idea. The month of May represents blossoming love, there's freshness and newness to life, times are good, etc. There's a beer named after that. It's called Simpler Times. It's probably made in May. Probably is.

Now, I'm going to tell you this really cool thing that Graham Johnson says. He says that when Schubert uses the major tonality in this cycle, it often functions as a time shifter. And so we see it in the next line. He says that the maiden spoke of love. and the mother of marriage. And for this, Schubert shifts into the relative major. with some flowers. The woman spoke of love, the mother gave me

It's a peak back in time at this point. But upon repeating this line, he remembers that this is no longer the case. May is long gone, and in the following piano interlude, we find some commentary on this. The woman spoke of love, the mother even of me. I always see these octaves as having a bell-like quality, almost as if they are tolling that the time is up, both for his love life and for him to get up and leave.

They seem almost to egg him on. Oh, the bell is tolling. I better get out of here. They have a fatalistic quality to them as well, which complements the tragic feel of that opening melody.

As he moves past his bleak realization that the past is in the past, he says the world is dark, the way is covered in snow. And then we have our tragic but determined interlude. basically the introduction all over again, and shortly following comes the second verse. He admits that he cannot choose the time for his departure and that he must find the way for himself in the darkness. And if that doesn't sum up what it feels like to be an adult...

I don't know what does. I don't know what's going on. I don't know what the right decision is. I'm alone and I'm just trying to find my way in the dark. Relatable. Totally. But also he's very, very matter of fact about it. Like he's not, there's not a woe is me attitude. Exactly. Which is wild. Yes, exactly that. Because I feel like most of our modern day age wanderers, travelers definitely have a woe is me. I mean, it's so easy to.

fall into that oh it's really really easy to have tons i mean it's literally him against the world literally and uh He's not calling the pity upon himself. I think whenever we feel a little bit sorry for him in this cycle, it's not because he's wanting us to feel that for him. So I'm glad you noticed that. Unexpectedly in that darkness. He realizes that there is actually a companion. It's a shadow cast by the moon.

And now where Schubert places this is really cool. It's paired with the music where in the first verse, he mentioned the maiden speaking about love. So essentially, he had thought her to be his companion, but now all he has is this shadow in the moonlight. And those two phrases are placed in the same place in the music. I guess it's pretty nerdy knowledge there. I think you need to read your line there. So good. Perfect. Thank you. The people needed to hear that.

I don't know why I typed that out, but... Like, as if I wasn't gonna have a reaction. Anyway, after realizing he has this moon shadow companion, he goes on in describing his search for wild animal prints in the snow. Perhaps he is looking for wild animal footprints because surely they know the way out of town, so he will follow them for guidance. Or maybe he feels as if he might identify more with animals than with the humans of society.

In any case, he seems to be the only one out there seeking them out. Thus ends the second verse. Musically speaking, the second verse is an exact repeat of the first. The words for the second, however, as Graham Johnson points out, are extraordinary. Oh, and by the way, Graham Johnson thinks that Gutenacht is the most...

extraordinary strophic song of all of Schubert's strophic songs. And for those who don't remember, a strophic song is one in which there's like a verse and a melody for that verse repeated over and over again. with some slight variation, as is the case in Gute Nacht. It's like modified strophic. So anyway, he says the words for the second verse are almost better suited to the melody than the first verse.

The reason that this is remarkable is because it's quite often the case that a composer sets the first verse to the music and then just has to make the words of the second fit in. Not the case here, however. The words almost seem to come into their own fullness instead of feeling as if they're jammed into the music.

The third verse sees our travelers suddenly take a bit more control, saying, Why should I linger here any longer, that they may drive me away? Let the dogs howl in front of their master's house. Schubert deftly portrays this moment of defiant yet fleeting ferocity by finishing the melodic phrase that we have become accustomed to with an upward motion. So he sings down... And in previous verses he stayed down, but then in this verse he takes control and sings right back up the staff.

The effect of this is twofold. It shows what it might look like or sound like to be driven out, but also that our traveler does have some pep. He does not dwell in victimization, but takes control over what he might be able to control. Having moved past his indecision about leaving, he seems to make a shift in his attitude here regarding society, saying, let the dogs howl. I don't care if what I do stirs things up a bit. And in this, he solidifies that we are not to pity him.

He suddenly changes tack and speaks of God, having made it so that love wanders from one to another. Now I don't believe that he means this in a genuine sense. It's not said with a true reverence for a God. I almost think he sneers this line a bit, an unjust turn of fate that deserves to be called out for what it is. The dynamics when he first mutters this are pianissimo.

I think it's something that is said at first under his breath, almost as a curse. As the cycle unfolds, you'll see that there is a general sense that there is no God. But he's not necessarily tormented by that notion. It seems to be a fact that he's fine with. He sort of just takes it for granted. The traveler's world turns out to be one in which there is neither a benevolent or a malevolent divine presence.

There is actually a lack of it, which is a truly striking element of this cycle for the time period. It's making these sort of post-romantic movements. Gott hat sie so gemacht. Von einem zu dem anderen, Gott hat sie so gemacht.

Then the fourth verse. One of the most magical moments in all of Schubert occurs. The fourth verse modulates to the parallel major. He talks about not wanting to disturb her dreams as he leaves town. He will but write to Gute Nacht on her door so that she can see he thought of her on his way out of town.

knowing schubert and what he believed about dreams and rest this seems to be a moment of genuine and authentic tenderness though he's expressed some anger previously he still honors her by not disturbing her rest her sacred dreams. He seems to dwell in a moment of reverie, in revealing that he wants her to see that he thought of her as he left. he's leaving yes but the last thing he does is turn his attention toward her

The first time he says, I've thought about you, it's still in the parallel major. But to close things out, Schubert repeats this phrase in the minor. A cold and abrupt return to a reality in which there is nothing for him but to trudge on in his grim determination towards isolation.

In this first poem of Winterreise, we see many of the characters we would expect from this writer of folk poetry, a maiden, a mother, villagers. But as Susan Ewan says, they are spoken of, quote, as if they were separated from him by far more than distance, social standing, or any other human parameter.

From the beginning he seems to occupy a dimension that's simply unoccupied by anyone else. It's as though he's succeeded in stepping behind a veil yet maintains connection enough with this world that he can ruminate. and comment on it as he is experiencing his own self-realization. Gutenacht is the longest song of the cycle. Ian Bostridge mentions that it is fairly featureless, but...

I feel that this lends to a hypnosis of sorts. It's the type of thing that draws our attention, not because it is flashy, you know, like those visual meditations sometimes you'll see on Instagram where it's just... moving in the slightest bit, and you can't look away. Despite its length, I often feel like it's not enough, like I want to play or listen to the song again.

Usually my finger is hovering over that repeat button before the last notes are even out. Any questions before we dive in to a listen? When it's described in this dimension, I feel like... I don't necessarily relate to the journeyman's state of being, but I'm sure that there are many out there who do. that sort of feel like they're a little invisible to the world, sort of living behind that veil. I feel like I am definitely one of those people who's experienced that other side.

You are about to hear a recording that I made with my friend, Dr. Tyler Reese. So Tyler was actually the first musician that I worked on Winterreise with. And so we've been working on these collaborations for the podcast. And I'm so excited to have him here and just really hope that you guys enjoy our performance. Der Mai war mir gefogen. mit manchem Blumenstrauß. Das Mädchen sprach von Liebe, die Mutter gar von Eh. The woman spoke of love, the mother even of me. Now is the...

The world is so thick, the road is covered in snow. Now the world is so thick, the road is covered in snow. Can't you go to my trip? Can't you choose with time? Can't you go to my trip? Can't you go to my trip? Es zieht ein Mundenschatten als mein Gefährte mit. Es zieht ein Mundenschatten. Thank you. Und auf den weißen Matten such ich des Wildes tritt. Thank you. Das Wanden, Gott hat sie so gemacht. Von einem zu dem anderen, Gott hat sie so gemacht. Lieutenant. comes to

impossible to not bop to that song. I love it so much. Bop? Yeah, I just like, I hear those footsteps and I'm like, immediately. in it you know and my head's just bopping and my arms are moving and i know it's not a happy song and yet somehow i'm so happy i love it and that fourth verse i feel like he's so noble about it all it's almost like he could stay if he wanted to you know he could like force it but he knows it's not for him

Yeah, he's accepting of that path before him. And I think you're exactly right. He could stay and yet he can't. And so he takes the path that's before him and... He does extend, yeah, I think a bit of compassion in that he's not, I don't think he leaves her. I don't think that the mark on her door is to try to cut to her heart, you know? See what you've done, now I have to leave? Yeah, it's not backhanded. I don't think so. I mean, at least Schubert's isn't.

I think, from the way he set this and just knowing what we know about Schubert. He was a kind, generous person. He really did believe in the ideal of love, which was then why it was so hard for him when he had this sickness and he knew he was never... you know he just never found the kind of love that he was willing to give like he never found that reciprocated to him and um i think he in spite of

the difficult things that were happening to him, I don't think he lost belief that the ideal possibly existed out there. Existed, but just not for him. Right. Which makes it so much sadder. Yeah. It's so sad. Like, oh, I will never experience that. It's there. Yeah, truly a tragic figure. And and yet like he gave so much. We have this music that's still hundreds of years later. It's still blowing our minds. And you know what I think is super interesting about this now, this cycle in.

particular you know we're collectively experiencing a new relationship with isolation. After living through our own degrees of aloneness throughout the course of the pandemic, I think it's possible to relate to this traveler in a way that we might not have before our own isolation experiences of the last few years. I'm sure we'll get into it more as we move through the cycle, but man, the experience of Winterreise is a powerful one, regardless of what's going on in the world around us.

There's one final thing I wanted to mention before we wrap for the day. I think the reason Winterreise is so alluring to me is that there's so much that's left unanswered. Why is he leaving in the middle of the night? Why did their relationship break down? Where is his own family? Why can't he choose the time to leave? What does he think is going to happen out there? I mean, the list just goes on and on. I'm sure I could come up with an endless list of questions about this one song.

And I think that they are questions worth asking, especially if you are a performer. You know, all of this thinking about and dwelling on questions that are almost unanswerable, it makes for a deeper, more nuanced performance. Sure, maybe the audience won't know specifically the philosophical and narrative knots you've worked yourself into.

and through, but I do believe that they'll sense something, they'll sense some conviction with which you're approaching the song. And that ineffable something? That's what I find so addicting about this cycle. It just leaves so much room to keep thinking, to keep contemplating, to keep feeling now. Here's where you, listener, can get involved. If you just can't get enough Winterreise in your life, then you might want to try singing Gute Nacht with me.

You can find me on YouTube as Mandy Madrid Sikic. Click on the Winterreise playlist and the Gute Nacht accompaniment is there. In two different keys even, so you can choose what suits you best. Brian! Thanks so much for being here today. You're welcome. Honestly, I could not have done this without you. It's true.

That's true. In more ways than one. I couldn't have done any. I mean, there's so many times where even I was writing and you would put snacks in front of my face, you know, and that I really appreciate that kind of support. I'm here for the journey, man. Would you say you're here for the winter journey?

No. I'm here for the long haul, not the winter journey. Okay. I mean, you're going to be here whether you want to or not for more episodes. For everything. So stay tuned. That is true. Can't get rid of me, folks. Nope. Guys, remember that Follow the Leader can be found in all the usual places like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher. And please, if you like what you hear, leave a review. It really helps boost our podcast's visibility and helps other leader lovers.

like you find our work. If you'd like to provide additional support and keep season two running strong, you can support me on Patreon at patreon.com forward slash leader nerd. In addition, you can follow me on Instagram at LeaderNerd. That's at L-I-E-D-E-R-N-E-R-D. See you later, nerds! Nice. Thank you. Untertitelung des ZDF für funk, 2017