Schubert’s “Die Götter Griechenlands” (“The Gods of Greece”): A Song of Alienation

Friedrich Schiller’s 1788 poem, Die Götter Griechenlands (“The Gods of Greece”), is filled with nostalgia and longing for the long-vanished world of Greek antiquity. Rebelling against mechanical philosophy, it idealizes man’s harmonious interaction with the Greek gods and nature.

Schubert’s 1819 song, Die Götter Griechenlands, D. 677 sets only a fragment of the lengthy poem. It begins with a faltering three note motif (E-D-E), repeated by the piano, followed by the despairing opening line, “Fair world, where are you?” A minor shifts suddenly to sunny A major, and we enter a hallucinatory dreamscape evoking the “sweet springtime of nature,” and “the magic land of song.” Ultimately, the haunting opening motif returns, and the song ends with a sense of alienation (“only a shadow has remained”). As the final notes drift away, the home key of A minor feels empty and static, denied a concrete tonic pitch.

Schubert returned to this lamenting  motif, quoting it in the Minuet of the String Quartet No. 13 in A minor, “Rosamunde,” as well as the ghostly introduction to the final movement of the Octet, both of which were composed in 1824.

This 1968 recording features mezzo-soprano Janet Baker, accompanied by Gerald Moore:

English translation of the text by Richard Wigmore:

Fair world, where are you? Return again,
sweet springtime of nature!
Alas, only in the magic land of song
does your fabled memory live on.
The deserted fields mourn,
no god reveals himself to me;
of that warm, living image
only a shadow has remained.

Recordings

  • Schubert: Die Götter Griechenlands, D. 677, Janet Baker, Gerald Moore Amazon

Featured Image: “The Parthenon” (1871), Frederic Edwin Church

About Timothy Judd

A native of Upstate New York, Timothy Judd has been a member of the Richmond Symphony violin section since 2001. He is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music where he earned the degrees Bachelor of Music and Master of Music, studying with world renowned Ukrainian-American violinist Oleh Krysa.

The son of public school music educators, Timothy Judd began violin lessons at the age of four through Eastman’s Community Education Division. He was a student of Anastasia Jempelis, one of the earliest champions of the Suzuki method in the United States.

A passionate teacher, Mr. Judd has maintained a private violin studio in the Richmond area since 2002 and has been active coaching chamber music and numerous youth orchestra sectionals.

In his free time, Timothy Judd enjoys working out with Richmond’s popular SEAL Team Physical Training program.

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