Das Dorfchen and the 'unsinnsgesellschaft': Schubert's Elise

Musical Times, Spring 1999 by Steblin, Rita

But the real evidence that this work was composed in honour of Dorflinger is to be found in Schubert's careful selection of verses from the original lengthy poem. The poet is none other than Gottfried August Burger, the unfortunate husband of Elise Hahn, surely of great significance in this case. Schubert sets verses 1-6, beginning with 'Ich r-hme mir / Mein Dorfchen hier!' [I sing the praises of my little village here], omits verses 7-10, and then continues from verse 11 on. The omitted four lines mention the landscape painter Christian Wilhelm Ernst Dietrich (1712-74)26 - a name that would have spoiled the parody - hence the cavalier excision. In the later published version Schubert shortened the work by omitting the Andantino section with the verses 51-74.

It is in this scarcely-known Andantino section that the secret behind the work is revealed. The section begins with the words: 'Schon ist die Flur, allein Elise macht sie mir nur zum Paradiese' [Beautiful is the meadow, only Elise27 alone makes it a paradise for me] and ends with: 'Sie bluht, und bluht doch schoner nicht als das Gesicht Elisens gloht' [It blooms and blooms, but not as beautifully as Elise's face glows]. Both versions then end with a canon on 'O Seligkeit!' [O bliss!]. The wordplay on Dorflinger's name in 'Das Dorfchen' together with the careful selection of verses mentioning Elise, support the thesis that this work was written as the musical counterpart to similar literary and artistic parodies on Dorflinger's role as 'Elise' in the nonsense society.

When Schubert published this work in June 1822, the private significance of the section on Elise was no longer of importance and he omitted this part. Besides, Dorflinger had died suddenly on 9 March 1818, and perhaps Schubert felt it inappropriate to publish what had originally been a joke played on a now deceased friend. 'Das Dorfchen' became one of Schubert's most popular works, being performed repeatedly during his lifetime to great acclaim. I wonder how many of its admirers knew the inside story of its likely origin in the 'Unsinnsgesellschaft'.

IF there are any conclusions to be drawn from this particular example in the case of Schubert, it is that analysis of the music alone will never expose the real story behind a work of genius. We may dissect the notes (the form, the harmonic scheme) until we are blue in the face and still not be the wiser about what the composer really had in mind. Knowledge of the unique biographical circumstances that led to the creation of a work of art not only makes the piece more interesting, but also adds a sorely-needed human touch. This is a plea for the return to the intensive study of biography and the search for more answers. That this must take place in the proper historical context, based on archival research, goes without saying.

1. See my book Die Unsinnsgesellschaft: Franz Schubert, Leopold Kupelwieser und ihr Freundeskreis (Vienna: Bohlau, 1998), where all of the surviving material is transcribed and annotated.