Die Nacht, D.deest (Schubert, Franz)

Authorship Note
Franz Schubert's authorship of this work is doubtful


Sheet Music

Scores

PDF typeset by editor
Solti79 (2019/8/25)

Editor Carlos Vázquez (b. 1979)
Publisher. Info. Carvaz Edition, 2019.
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General Information

Work Title Die Nacht
Alternative. Title The Night
Composer Schubert, Franz
Opus/Catalogue NumberOp./Cat. No. D.deest
I-Catalogue NumberI-Cat. No. IFS 986
Key G major
Movements/SectionsMov'ts/Sec's 1 song
Text Incipit Die Nacht bricht an
Year/Date of CompositionY/D of Comp. 1816 post
First Publication. 1990
Librettist Karoline Pichler (1769-1843)
Language German
Average DurationAvg. Duration 6 minutes
Composer Time PeriodComp. Period Romantic
Piece Style Romantic
Instrumentation voice, guitar

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The piece is considered by many to be the latest discovered song by Schubert. Its authenticity is nonetheless doubtful due to the fact that the only existing autograph is not in the composer's hand. The collection where it was found includes some 39 Schubert songs in versions for voice and guitar, which were assembled by Schubert's schoolfriend, Franz Xaver von Schlechta (1796-1875). The well-known Schubert scholar, Walther Dürr (1932-2018), actually speculated that the voice part might have been written by Schubert, while the guitar accompaniment might be Schlechta's. This assumption is supported by the fact that the autograph presents some inconsistencies, which would be unbecoming for Schubert. The scoring is also highly unusual in that practically the totality of Schubert's lieder are written for voice with piano accompaniment, not guitar.

The work was first published by Universal Edition in 1990 in an arrangement by Karl Heinz Füssl for voice and piano. Füssl's version has been recorded by Catherine Wyn-Rogers and Graham Johnson for the Hyperion label. The original version for voice and guitar has also been recorded by various artists, among them Jeffrey Wienand and Stephen Mattingly for the Soundset Recordings label, and Christoph Prégardien and Tilman Hoppstock for the Christophorus label.

A Deutsch number will be assigned after a new revision of the Deutsch Catalogue, around 2027.