Das war ich, D174

First line:

Jüngst träumte mir, ich sah auf lichten Höhen

composer

Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

published in 1845

author of text

Theodor Körner (1791-1813)

Recordings

Schubert: The Complete Songs

Graham Johnson (piano)

Buy by post £180.00 CDS44201/40 40CDs Boxed set + book (at a special price)

Schubert: The Hyperion Schubert Edition, Vol. 4 – Philip Langridge

Philip Langridge (tenor), Graham Johnson (piano)

Buy by post £13.99 (ARCHIVE SERVICE) CDJ33004 Archive Service; also available on CDS44201/40 Download currently discounted

Details

Philip Langridge (tenor), Graham Johnson (piano)

Track 4 on CDJ33004 [3'08] Archive Service; also available on CDS44201/40

Track 21 on CDS44201/40 CD5 [3'08] 40CDs Boxed set + book (at a special price)

DeutschEnglish

Das war ich, D174

1815 was the year of Schubert's ill-fated love for Therese Grob, and it is easy to see that this poem of Walter Mitty fantasy would have appealed to a young man without the real means to win his lady. The song is marked 'erzählend' ('as though telling a story') and there is a whimsical freedom here as though words and music are invented on the spot as the daydreamer plays a game of consequences with himself. There is also much humour and tenderness. The singer can vary the final cadence of each verse so as to suggest anything from triumphant assertion to rueful self-delusion. Schubert made a half-hearted attempt to set the poem again, probably in 1816. Only six bars of the vocal line were completed.

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Hyperion Records