Schuberts’ Lieder
Lieder can be described as the barest subgenre of chamber music, composed for private, intimate context.
Schubert’s work on six hundred Lieder is what posterity remembers him most for. The Lieder genre was a development of the German song tradition. Many contemporary composers wrote songs because there was a demand in the salon music environment.
Schubert brought a role to the piano part that illustrates the poetry in a new way. The piano was not only a support to the vocal part of the song but became an independent voice in Schubert’s Lieder. An excellent example is Gretchen am Spinnrade where the piano portrays the spinning rock and Gretchen’s immense frustration.
Schubert’s way of composing assumed poetic breadth. The illustrative mood typical of Romanticism was a feature Schubert was particularly responsive to. He received some recognition for his Lieder during his lifetime, and they were an important part of his meager income.