Euphonium and piano
SKU: P2.80027
Composed by Franz
Schubert. Arranged by
Gretchen Renshaw. Chamber
music. Published by
Potenza Music (P2.80027).
Written by
Franz Schubert
(1797-1828) in 1814,
Gretchen am Spinnrade
(Gretchen at the Spinning
Wheel), D. 118, has
become one of the most
famous examples of German
lieder from the Romantic
era. This lied is a
setting of text from
Johann Wolfgang von
Goethe's tragic play
Faust. Gretchen, a
principal character in
the play, sits at her
spinning wheel and
daydreams about Faust,
who has managed to seduce
her. As Schubert so often
did in his lieder, he
used the piano
accompaniment to depict
an important element of
the lied. In Greten am
Spinnrade, the right hand
plays an undulating
legato line reminiscent
of a spinning wheel while
the left hand staccato
notes represent the
treadle, which is the
foot pedal used to make
the wheel spin. These
accompanimental figures
are present throughout
the entire piece, except
at the climax, where
Gretchen becomes
distracted by the thought
of Faust's kiss and,
without realizing it,
stops spinning the wheel.
A song filled with deep
passion, Gretchen am
Spinnrade presents an
opportunity for the
euphonium soloist to
display intense
musicality while
conveying Gretchen's
infatuation with
Faust.
Gretchen am Spinnrade, D.118
