- Schubert composed the songs in Schwanengesang (Swan Song) in August-October of 1828. Schubert died on November 19, 1828.1
- Schubert had been very ill for six years at this point and in August of 1828 his doctor had advised him to move in with his brother Ferdinand in hope of benefitting from the cleaner air outside the city of Vienna.2
- At the time Schubert was working on two sets of songs, one to poetry by Ludwig Rellstab and the other to poetry by Heinrich Heine. Both sets, plus one more song, were published after Schubert’s death under the collective title Schwanengesang (Swan Song).
- Text and translation of “Ständchen” available here (as well as short bios of Schubert and poet Rellstab)
- The seven poems by Ludwig Rellstab which appear in Schwanengesang were originally intended for Beethoven. Rellstab left them with Beethoven in 1825, and Beethoven’s amanuensis Anton Schindler later gave them to Schubert.3
Sources
- Maurice Brown, J.E., Eric Sams, and Robert Winter, “Schubert, Franz,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed January 22, 2020, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000025109.
- Ibid.
- “Ständchen D957,” Oxford Lieder, accessed January 22, 2020, https://www.oxfordlieder.co.uk/song/988.
Cut IDs
45314, 45557