St Josephs College - Footprints Yearbook (Brooklyn, NY)

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Franz Schubert IT is a sultry afternoon in ugust, 1825. In the garden of a dilapidated Viennese coffee house, seated at a table, are five young revelers, drink- ing, laughing, and singing in the midst of the bustle of a popular tavern. Mugs and dishes arc clattering, children are squalling, roysterers arc shout- ing, waiters are rushing hither and thither, glasses are clinking, and general ci iiifnsii in prevails. The five young revelers are now laughing loudly at a joke which has just been narrated by one of their number whom they address as Franz. As the laughter dies down, it is seen that Franz has been commenting upon a Shakesperian play which he had witnessed the previous afternoon. In his thick, blunt fingers he holds a volume of Shakespeare which he thumbs nervously as his friends laugh and chuckle at his wit. His short, stout body with his low forehead, projecting lips, stumpy nose, and short curly hair. presents an appearance which is fully in harmony with the general riot ami disorder of the inn. Suddenly Franz ' s bulging little eyes light upon some verses in the book at which he has been glancing through his thick spectacles. Turning to lleinrich. who its at his right. Franz says. 1 have a pretty melody in my head for these lines, if I could only get a piece of ruled paper. My dear fellow, says Heinrich, Ruled paper costs money, and having no money. I have no ruled paper; though I truly believe that if I had ruled paper, I should prefer to have money. ud besides, my dear Franz, a clever .schoolteacher like yourself should be able to write on the air. As the others join in Heinrich ' s laughter at this jest. Franz reaches across the table, picks up the menu-card and begins to write quickly with a short stumpy pencil. What Franz Schubert wrote in the midst of all this riot and confusion was the divine melody of Hark. Hark, the Lark, a song which embo one of the most delicate dreams of tenderness that the heart of man might ci mceive. It was with just such sudden inspirations as this that Schubert com- posed most of his masterpieces. In his happy-go-lucky way he would dash iil ' f. on the spur of the moment, a tune that was ringing in his head. Hence, it is not difficult to realize that he excelled in the composing of songs above all other musical forms, to such an extent that he has come to he known as the Father of the Song. Schubert was always poor. He worked hard and suffered much. Even his greatest masterpieces failed to bring enough money to support him. it he kept on producing music in his hasty way. always writing new pieces and never revising old ones, because music consoled him in his misery. Xot having had much schooling, he knew but little of the technique b) which Beethoven and the other composers of his da) found themselves bound. Schubert always adapted his music to the thought of the text which he was using. Hence for him music was purel) an expression of emotion. In this accidental way. and without knowing it. Schubert became a leading exponent of the Romantic School of music, a school which more full) expresses feelings, and hence is not formal and exact as the Classical School. Schubert ' s musical training might he said to have been accidental. B) chance he became an Imperial Chorister when a boy, and by chance a lew friends gave him lodgings in which to live while he produced his many pieces. Salieri, the Italian musician, met and encouraged the hoy in his 6(21)3.

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is a bitter one. They are always trying to get the upper hand and to obtain an unfair advantage. I don ' t like this kind of door. There is another kind of door that is more unpleasant than the revolving door. Think how grim the cold snap of an iron bar door must sound to the criminal. That door stands between him and freedom. Liberty is on the other side of it. How hopeless is the sound of the lock ! The first click of this dour must awaken fear in a criminal ' s heart, no matter how callous he may be. There are many other kinds of doors that we have not considered. A stage door always has a particular significance, even though most of them are made of some cheap wood covered with green baize. They are very commonplace to the passerby, but, to the excited and enthusiastic matinee fans, they seem to be the entrance to a land of romance, a glorified fairy- land. There is a strange glamor about them that is entirely absent from the long, narrow, stately bronze doors that grace some of our dignified public buildings. The latter may be more magnificent, but every fan will find them much less interesting than the dingy, ugly, old stage door. We have by no means exhausted the kinds of doors that exist in our universe. Many of them are famed in song and story. Others have peculiar associations, bitter and sweet, for each one of us. A plain, simple, white door excites thoughts of home and of the love awaiting us there. There is a throb of pity for the gaping window and door. for they offer mute testimony of the house with nobody in it. We have man} ' , many doors with varied purposes. All contain possibilities. Adventure, danger, excite- ment may lurk behind a closed door. A door led Alice to Wonderland — after she had found the magic key. A door may open before us and show us fame. Who knows? And, in that very thrill of uncertainty lies the chief pleasure that doors afford. MARY STACK. ' 27. -4 20 $ -

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musical endeavors, and thus contributed to the majesty of the German music a bit of the more delicate Italian style, producing a combination which is exquisite. In accordance with his romantic character, Schubert wrote rapidly and frequently. He preferred short pieces to long ones, because they more aptly- expressed his momentary moods, his monumental moments. as they have been called. He wrote more than six hundred songs, among which are Hark. Hark, the Lark. The Wanderer. Du Bist Die Ruh, Who Is Sylvia, Ave Maria. The Erlking. Gute X ' acht. and the Winter ' s Journey. These songs perfected the German art-song as it is called, in which the melody predominates, yet has a fitting setting in the accompaniment. Schubert ' s favorite method of variation was to change from a major to a minor, and vice versa. His themes were usually those of love, religion, nature and ecstacy. These were drawn from many sources, especially from the poetry of Goethe and Schiller. But while Schubert ' s songs are his greatest works, he also produced great music of many other types, such as sonatas, variations in 1! flat, masses, arias, waltzes, polonaises, marches, and symphonies — especially his Unfin- ished Symphony in I! minor, and his great Symphony in C major, which has become famous because of its virile rhythm and accent, its scherzo effects, and its fund of melodies exploited in a conversational style between the various instruments rather than by other devices. His operas were never successful because his lyric style was better adapted to shorter pieces, and I).- found it hard to confine his music within the bounds required by the opera, and furthermore, he did not have the necessary knowledge of stagecraft. However, while Schubert often wielded thrilling rhythmic force in his symphonies, it is generally admitted that in the gentler lyric music of his songs he stands supreme. Like all geniuses. Schubert was far in advance of his time. During his lifetime he was almost unrecognized, could rare!} ' sell his compositions, and was usually rebuffed at every step. Yet through all his misfortunes. music was ever his consolation. In his short lifetime of thirty-one years he brought forth over one thousand compositions. When we realize how many of these one thousand works are masterpieces, we can well unite with Beethoven in exclaiming. Certainly here is one who possesses a spark of the divine fire. LOUISE McGOUGH, ' 27. - 4 22