ABSTRACT
Songs from Goethe's Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship published by Anton Diabelli and Co., 2 March 1827, ‘reverentially dedicated to Mathilde, Princess of Schwarzenberg.' Which is Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt; Heiss mich nicht redden; So lasst mich scheinen and Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt. The songs are three of the four the 13-year-old dancer, Mignon, sings in Goethe's novel, the other being Kennst du das Land? Wilhelm Meister comes across Mignon in a travelling circus, and buys her freedom from a troupe of tight-rope dancers. Mignon's songs are also soft or very soft, and they too contain quickly controlled dynamic outbursts. Schubert indicates her surface coolness and latent passion by starting each vocal line in a subdued manner with phrases lying within a narrow orbit, then expanding them so that they cover a wider range and involve larger leaps.
