Dr. David Mathie
Trombonist, Professor, Arranger
Schubert - Eleven Songs
Four-part Tuba-Euphonium Quartet/Ensemble
Difficulty Level: High School/College/Professional
Published by Cimarron Music (formerly T/E Press), Catalog number TEP 11050
Click below to hear Die Nacht
Click below to hear Trinklied
The early years of the nineteenth century were noted for music composed for educated
middle-class amateurs. In this genre we see the great chorus and orchestra works by
Mendelssohn and Schumann, piano pieces by Beethoven and Brahms, and the smaller
choral works of Schubert and Brahms, which were meant to be performed informally at
home. Schubert wrote almost one hundred of these pieces for various combinations of
male voices, twenty-four of which are for unaccompanied four-part (TTBB) men's
chorus.
These transcriptions of these songs for men's chorus are taken from the complete works of Schubert (Neue Ausgabe sämtlicher Werke, Bärenteiter-Verlag, Kassel, 1974). All musical indications in the originals, such as dynamics and articulations, are retained in these transcriptions; the translations from the original German are mine. All editorial additions have been kept to a minimum and are clearly marked: added slurs are written with dashes, and other musical suggestions have been put in parentheses - (rit.) - to distinguish them from Schubert's. Tempo suggestions indicated by metronome markings were added by me.
Finally, although mature works that would fit on anyone's recital, these pieces are quite playable by a good high school quartet or choir.