—the end of a page—Schubert appears to have grown impatient of this regular proceeding, and from that point to the end of the work has made merely memoranda. But these memoranda, in their way, perfectly complete and orderly to the end of the Finale. Every bar drawn-in; the tempi and names of the instruits are fully written at the beginning of each movement; the nuances are all marked; the double bars and flourishes are gravely led at the end of the sections, and 'Fine' at conclusion of the whole; and Schubert evidently regarded the work as no less complete on the paper than it was in his mind. And complete it virtually is; for each subject is given at full length, with a bit of bass or accompaniment-figure, or fugato passage. There is not a bar from beginning to end that does not contain the part of one or more instruments; at all crucial places the scoring is much fuller; and it would no doubt be possible to complete it as Schubert himself intended. It is said that Mendelssohn contemplated doing so, but this is probably a mere legend, and Mendelssohn was too practical to give his time to a work which at the best could only be regarded as a curiosity. Though containing much that is original, and as deeply imbued throughout with melody and spirit as any of the preceding six, this symphony is, like them, virtually a work of the old school, and it required another year before Schubert could break with the past, and in the two movements of his unfinished 8th Symphony in B minor, and the great Entr'acte to 'Rosamunde,' in the same key, appear in the orchestra in his own individual and native shape, as he had done in the Song so many years before.[1]
We next find the two friends at the castle of Ochsenburg, a few miles south of St. Pölten, the seat of the Bishop, who was a relative of Schober's; and there and in St. Pölten itself they passed a thoroughly happy and healthy holiday of some weeks in September and October. The Bishop and Baron Mink, a local magnate, were congenial hosts, and the visit of the two clever young men was the signal for various festivities, in which all the aristocracy of the country-side—'a princess, two countesses, and three baronesses,' in Schober's enumeration—took part, and in which the music and drollery of Schubert and his friend delighted every one. The great result of the visit however was the composition of opera to Schober's words, on a romantic subject of battles, love, conspiracy, hunting, peasant life, and everything else, so natural in opera librettos, so impossible in real life. It was called 'Alfonso and Estrella,' and two acts were completed before their return to town. The first act is dated at the end of the autograph Sept. 20, and the second Oct. 20. A week later they were back again in Vienna.
The songs composed in 1821 are very important, and comprise some of his very finest, and in the most various styles. It is sufficient to name among the published ones 'Grenzen der Menschheit' (Feb., Lf. 14, no. 1); 'Geheimes' (March, op. 14, no. 2); Suleika's two songs (ops. 14, 31); 'Sey mir gegrüsst' (op. 20, no. 1); and 'Die Nachtigal,' for four men's voices (op. 11, no. 2)—all of the very highest excellence, of astonishing variety, and enough of themselves to make the fame of any ordinary composer. A fine setting of 'Mahomet's song,' by Goethe, for bass (possibly for Lablache), was begun in March, but remains a MS. fragment.
The third act of 'Alfonso and Estrella' was finished on Feb. 27, 1822. The fact that a thoroughly worldly, mercenary, money-making manager like Barbaja, who was at the same time a firm believer in Rossini, had become lessee of the two principal theatres of Vienna, augured badly for Schubert's chance of success in that direction. But indeed the new piece seems to have been calculated to baffle any manager, not only in Vienna, but everywhere else. It caused, as we shall see, a violent dispute, eighteen months later, between Schubert and Weber, which but for Schubert's good temper would have led to a permanent quarrel. Anna Milder, to whom Schubert sent a copy of the work in 1825, tells him in a letter full of kindness and enthusiasm, that the libretto will not suit the taste of the Berliners, 'who are accustomed to the grand tragic opera, or the French opéra comique.' Nor was the libretto the only drawback. Schubert, like Beethoven in 'Fidelio,' was in advance of the modest execution of those days. At Gratz, the abode of the Hüttenbrenners, where there was a foyer of Schubert-enthusiasts, the opera got as far as rehearsal, and would probably have reached the stage, if the accompaniments had not proved impossible for the band.[2] No performance took place until twenty-six years after poor Schubert's death, namely at Weimar, on June 24, 1854, under the direction of Liszt, who, with all his devotion to the master, had to reduce it much for performance. It was very carefully studied, and yet the success, even in that classical town, and with all Liszt's enthusiasm and influence, seems to have been practically nil. At last, however, its time came. Twenty-five years later, in 1879, it was again taken in hand by Capellmeister Johann Fuchs of the Court opera, Vienna, who entirely rewrote the libretto, and greatly curtailed the work; and in this form it was brought to performance at Carlsruhe in March 1881, with great success. Several numbers were extremely applauded, and the opera now bids fair to become a stock piece in the German, and let us hope the English, theatres.
But to return to Schubert and 1822. Early in the year he made the acquaintance[3] of
- ↑ The change in this symphony from the Scherzo in C to the Trio in A, by an E in octaves in the oboes lasting 4 bars, is an anticipation of the similar change in the same place in the great C major Symphony of 1828, and a curious instance of the singular way in which many of Schubert's earlier symphonies lead up to his crowning effort.
- ↑ K.H. 249 (i. 262).
- ↑ For their meeting we have the authority of Weber's son in his biography, ii. 420. But his statement that Schubert was alienated from Weber by Weber's criticism on Rosamunde is more than doubtful, because Rosamunde was probably not composed till some 19 months later, and because it was not Schubert's habit to take offence at criticism.
