Franz Peter Schubert (31 January 1797 – 19 November 1828) was an Austrian c… Read Full Bio ↴Franz Peter Schubert (31 January 1797 – 19 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a vast oeuvre, including more than 600 secular vocal works (mainly lieder), seven complete symphonies, sacred music, operas, incidental music, and a large body of piano and chamber music. His major works include the art songs Erlkönig, Gretchen am Spinnrade, Ave Maria; the Trout Quintet, the unfinished Symphony No. 8 in B minor, the "Great" Symphony No. 9 in C major, the String Quartet No. 14 "Death and the Maiden", a String Quintet, the two sets of Impromptus for solo piano, the three last piano sonatas, the Fantasia in F minor for piano four hands, the opera Fierrabras, the incidental music to the play Rosamunde, and the song cycles Die schöne Müllerin, Winterreise and Schwanengesang.

Born in the Himmelpfortgrund suburb of Vienna, Schubert showed uncommon gifts for music from an early age. His father gave him his first violin lessons and his elder brother gave him piano lessons, but Schubert soon exceeded their abilities. In 1808, at the age of eleven, he became a pupil at the Stadtkonvikt school, where he became acquainted with the orchestral music of Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Ludwig van Beethoven. He left the Stadtkonvikt at the end of 1813 and returned home to live with his father, where he began studying to become a schoolteacher. Despite this, he continued his studies in composition with Antonio Salieri and still composed prolifically. In 1821, Schubert was admitted to the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde as a performing member, which helped establish his name among the Viennese citizenry. He gave a concert of his works to critical acclaim in March 1828, the only time he did so in his career. He died eight months later at the age of 31, the cause officially attributed to typhoid fever, but believed by some historians to be syphilis.

Appreciation of Schubert's music while he was alive was limited to a relatively small circle of admirers in Vienna, but interest in his work increased greatly in the decades following his death. Felix Mendelssohn, Robert Schumann, Franz Liszt, Johannes Brahms and other 19th-century composers discovered and championed his works. Today, Schubert is ranked among the greatest composers in the history of Western classical music and his work continues to be admired and widely performed.

Nachtstück D672
Franz Schubert Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Wenn über Berge sich der Nebel breitet,
Und Luna mit Gewölken kämpft,
So nimmt der Alte seine Harfe, und schreitet,
Und singt waldeinwärts und gedämpft:

"Du heilige Nacht:
Bald ist′s vollbracht.
Bald schlaf ich ihn, den langen Schlummer,

Der mich erlöst von allem Kummer."

Die grünen Bäume rauschen dann:
"Schlaf süß, du guter, alter Mann;"
Die Gräser lispeln wankend fort:
"Wir decken seinen Ruheort;"

Und mancher liebe Vogel ruft:
"O laßt ihn ruhn in Rasengruft!"

Der Alte horcht, der Alte schweigt,
Der Tod hat sich zu ihm geneigt.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Franz Schubert's song Nachtstück D672 describe an old man who takes his harp and sings into the forest as the fog spreads over the mountains and the moon battles the clouds. He sings about the holy night and how he will soon enter a long and restful sleep that will release him from all his troubles. As he sings, the trees rustle, the grass whispers, and the birds call out to let him rest in peace. The old man listens and then falls silent as death approaches him.

The song's imagery and melancholic melody convey a sense of surrendering to the natural world and accepting one's inevitable journey towards death. The lyrics use nature as a metaphor for the cycle of life and death, with the fog representing the veil between the living and the dead, while the trees, grass, and birds symbolize the natural environment that cares for the old man in death. Through this, the lyrics evoke a sense of comfort and acceptance towards one's mortality, as the old man ultimately surrenders to the embrace of the earth.

Line by Line Meaning

Wenn über Berge sich der Nebel breitet,
When fog spreads over the mountains,

Und Luna mit Gewölken kämpft,
And the moon battles with clouds,

So nimmt der Alte seine Harfe, und schreitet,
The old man takes his harp and walks,

Und singt waldeinwärts und gedämpft:
And sings into the forest, softly:

"Du heilige Nacht:
"Oh holy night,

Bald ist's vollbracht.
Soon it will be done.

Bald schlaf ich ihn, den langen Schlummer,
Soon I will sleep the long sleep,

Der mich erlöst von allem Kummer."
That will release me from all sorrow."

Die grünen Bäume rauschen dann:
The green trees rustle then:

"Schlaf süß, du guter, alter Mann;"
"Sleep sweetly, good old man;"

Die Gräser lispeln wankend fort:
The grasses whisper as they sway: