Lot 316
  • 316

F. SCHUBERT. AUTOGRAPH MANUSCRIPT OF THE SONGS "TISCHLERLIED", D.274, AND "TOTENKRANZ FÜR EIN KIND", D.275, 1815

Estimate
50,000 - 70,000 GBP
bidding is closed

Description

  • Autograph manuscript of the two songs, "Tischlerlied" D.274 and "Totenkranz für ein Kind" D.275, 25 August 1815, REGARDED AS 'LOST' IN THE SCHUBERT THEMATIC CATALOGUE
a composing manuscript, THE ONLY KNOWN AUTOGRAPH SOURCE FOR THE TWO SONGS, written in brown ink, each song notated on three three-stave systems and occupying separate sides of a single leaf, with autograph titles and dates ("Tischler-Lied...den 25 Aug. 1815...Todtenkranz für ein Kind...den 25 Aug. 1815"), the second and third verses of the Tischlerlied, and the second verse of Todtenkranz für ein Kind, written out by Schubert below the setting of the first verse, a few autograph deletions and corrections  2 pages, oblong 4to (23.5 x 31.7cm), 16-stave paper, watermarked "G KI[ESLING]" (cf. www.schubert-online.at: Wasserzeichen 61), various later annotations in pencil, red crayon and ink, including by the musicologist Johannes Wolf ("Im Repertorium ist noch verzeichnet: Tischlied, text von Göthe...nicht gestochen"), browning consistent with paper-type, small stain

Literature

Otto Erich Deutsch, Franz Schubert. Thematisches Verzeichnis seiner Werke (Kassel, 1978), p. 170; Robert Winter, 'Paper Studies and the future of Schubert research', Schubert Studies, ed. E. Badura-Skoda and P. Branscombe (Cambridge, 1982), pp. 209-275; Schubert online: http://www.schubert-online.at/activpage/allewasserzeichen.php [accessed 19 September 2018]

Condition

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

THE AUTOGRAPH MANUSCRIPT OF TWO COMPLETE SONGS BY SCHUBERT. SCHUBERT SONGS ONCE APPEARED WITH REGULARITY AT AUCTION, BUT HAVE BECOME SCARCE IN THE LAST DECADE.

THE PRESENT MANUSCRIPT IS DESCRIBED BY DEUTSCH AS 'LOST'.

Both Tischlerlied ('Carpenter's Song') and Totenkranz für ein Kind ('Wreath for a Dead Child') were products of Schubert's annus mirabilis, 1815, during the course of which the eighteen-year-old composer produced around one hundred and forty-five songs. And most remarkably, on the day - 25 August 1815 - which saw the composition of the two songs, Schubert also wrote another seven songs of various kinds.

The present single-leaf autograph was once part of a larger manuscript which, on one leaf, contained the songs Trinklied D 267 and Das Leben D 269 (2nd version), and on another, the songs An die Sonne D 272 and Lilla an die Morgenröte D 273 (according to Deutsch, the whereabouts of the leaf containing D 267 and D 269 are unknown, the leaf bearing D 272 and D 273 is recorded as being in a private collection in Basel). Tischlerlied (the author of whose poem is unknown), and Totenkranz für ein Kind (poem by Friedrich von Matthisson) were not published until long after Schubert's death, in an edition by Diabelli, c.1850, and in the old collected edition, 1895, respectively. The Diabelli edition differs from the autograph in a number of ways, although it is not clear whether it was based therefore on a further lost autograph source or whether its diverging features (including a two-bar introduction) are due to its editor's imagination.