One Jewel, Three Settings

From left to right: Fanny Mendelssohn, Franz Schubert, and Franz Liszt, all of whom set Friederich Rückert’s poem “Du bist die Ruh”

From left to right: One jewel, three settings. “Du bist die Ruh by Fanny Mendelssohn; the same Rückert poem set by Franz Schubert; a transcription by Franz Liszt

Among the many things I find so wonderful about being a classical musician are the endless discoveries I make as I examine the lives and histories of its composers. This is particularly true as I continue my study of Fanny Mendelssohn.

“Du bist die Ruh” is a poem by the great German poet Friederich Rückert (1788–1866). While Schubert’s setting of the poem (D. 776, Op. 59, No. 3, written in 1823) is certainly the most well-known, it is interesting to me that Fanny Mendelssohn used the same poem as part of her Opus 7, No. 4, written in 1839.

Here is the poem:

Listening to both songs it is clear they both capture the mood and spirit of the poem equally well. The simplicity, elegance and purity of the work are even more evident in the transcription by Liszt (S. 558, No. 3, written in 1838), which is, of course without words. 

Whenever you are playing, whatever you are playing, I feel it is very important to capture what you feel to be the true essence of a work.  Rückert did it with words, which Mendelssohn and Schubert expanded upon with music for voice and piano alone. Liszt then used his own unique musical gifts to inspire still more ways to think about this magnificent poem, even without the benefit of language.

What are your gifts? How do you develop them? How do you use them? Last, but certainly not least, how do you, within a work you are performing, capture its message best in order to share it, first with yourself, and then with an audience? These are some of the many questions I ask myself every day.

As pianists every piece we play is like a jewel. Our job is to make sure every facet of each such jewel shines as much as possible.

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