Music 25801/31801

The Analysis of Song

Writing Assignment #1 (for 10/16/15, delivered in hard copy to my mailbox in the Department)
Write a 750-word (c. three-page) essay on Am Feierabend, the fifth song from Schuberts Die
schne Mllerin. Begin, as always, with a careful (re-)reading of the text, and listening to the song with
and without the score.
As youll discover from Graham Johnsons notes to the Hyperion Schubert Edition recording of the
cycle, and in Susan Youens Cambridge handbook on the cycle [ML410 .S26 Y67 1992, on reserve],
this is an exceptionally rich song for interpretation, not the least because there is a cast of characters
that come on to Schuberts stage (and which the singer needs to embody). For your essay, however,
I would like you to adopt a slightly idiosyncratic position, which is that the song embodies a
reminiscence on the part of the miller. Let me set this out in cinematic terms: as the scene opens, we
see the miller striding along a forest path (the mill stream not far away), and overhear him speaking
to himself. After a bit he slows and stops, and becomes lost in a memory of the previous evening,
when he gathered with the other apprentices at the conclusion of the days work. Two images
dominate this memory: a kindly and yet regal statement of approval from the master; and a soft
good night from his daughter, the beautiful maid of the mill. This last image jerks the miller back to
the present, and he returns to the present and strides on through the forest.
In your essay, I would like you to describe how Schuberts music supports this staging of Mllers
poem.
In approaching this assignment you should think broadly about Schuberts musical materialshe
has, after all, more than just pitch material at his disposalbut pay particular attention to the way he
uses harmonies and key areas to suggest different images and personas within this scene (and in
some cases transitions between portions of the scene). You should make use of at least one musical
example to illustrate your argument (but I can imagine using more). Think carefully, however, about
the role of the example(s) in your essay, and be sure to incorporate the example(s) fully within your
argument. Put another way, examples are not icons. They are instead material anchors for sequences
of musical events.1 To get the most out of these anchors you need to set them up properly, and in
many cases lead your reader through them. Examples should be neatly rendered and appended to
your text.
Given the brevity of this essay, and its artificial nature (in that Im requiring you to adopt a particular
interpretation of the song), you neednt worry about an introduction or thesis statement. Simply
launch into your account as though you had already set up the framework for it (which I guess Ive
done with these instructions), and concentrate on developing the strongest and clearest sketch of the
scene that you can. You also neednt worry about a conclusion, although you might want to consider
how the millers moment of reminiscence has effected a change in his psychological state.
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The notion of a material anchor comes from the work of Ed Hutchins (Material Anchors for Conceptual
Blends, Journal of Pragmatics37, no.10 (October 2005):155577). The tokens we use for monetary units
paper bills and metal coins, for instanceare good examples of material anchors.