An die Musik, D. 547

• Set to poetry by Franz von Schober, An die Musik is a strophic Lied (German Art Song), a “hymn to the holy art of Music.” ¹
• Written in 1817, An die Musik was written the same year Schubert wrote Die Forelle, the “Little C Major” Symphony, and several other instrumental works.

Beloved art, in how many a bleak hour,
when I am enmeshed in life’s tumultuous round, 
have you kindled my heart to the warmth of love, 
and borne me away to a better world!

Often a sigh, escaping from your harp,
a sweet, celestial chord
has revealed to me a heaven of happier times. 
Beloved art, for this I thank you!

Source, trans. Richard Wigmore

1. Carol Kimball, Song: A Guide to Art Song Style and Literature (Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, 2005), 57.