Composer

:

Franz Schubert

Genre

:

Vocal

Style

:

Song: Art Song

Compose Date

:

1816

Average_duration

:

5:04

"Der Wanderer" is a lied composed by Franz Schubert in 1816. It is also known as "Der Wanderer über dem Nebelmeer" or "The Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog". The song is based on a poem by the German poet Georg Philipp Schmidt von Lübeck, who wrote under the pseudonym of Friedrich von Matthisson. The song was first performed in Vienna in 1821, with the tenor Johann Michael Vogl singing the solo part. It is the first song in Schubert's Opus 4, a collection of six songs for voice and piano. The song is divided into three distinct sections or movements. The first section is in a slow and contemplative tempo, with the piano playing a simple and repetitive accompaniment. The second section is more lively and energetic, with the piano playing a more complex and virtuosic accompaniment. The third section returns to the slow and contemplative tempo of the first section, with the piano playing a more elaborate and expressive accompaniment. The song is characterized by its melancholic and introspective mood, which reflects the themes of the poem. The lyrics describe a wanderer who is lost and alone, wandering through a misty and desolate landscape. The wanderer reflects on his own mortality and the transience of life, and longs for a sense of purpose and meaning. Schubert's music captures the emotional depth and complexity of the poem, with its shifting moods and contrasting textures. The song is a masterpiece of the lieder genre, and has become one of Schubert's most beloved and enduring works.

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