Schwanengesang
Schwanengesang (Swan Song), 957, is a collection of 14 songs written by Franz Schubert at the end of his life and published posthumously: Liebesbotschaft (text: Ludwig Rellstab) Kriegers Ahnung (Rellstab) Frühlingssehnsucht (Rellstab) Ständchen (Rellstab) Aufenthalt (Rellstab) In der Ferne (Rellstab) Abschied (Rellstab) Der Atlas (Heinrich Heine) Ihr Bild (Heine) Das Fischermädchen (Heine) Die Stadt (Heine) Am Meer (Heine) Der Doppelgänger (Heine) Die Taubenpost (alternative: D 965a) (Johann Gabriel Seidl) The autograph manuscript of the collection is preserved in the Morgan Library & Museum. Background Named by its first publisher, Tobias Haslinger, who presumably wished to present it as Schubert's last testament, Schwanengesang differs from the earlier Die schöne Müllerin and Winterreise song-cycles by including settings of more than one poet. Seven texts by Ludwig Rellstab (1799–1860) are followed by six by Heinrich Heine (1797–1856); inclusion of the last song, to words by Johann Gabriel Seidl (1804–1875), may or may not reflect Schubert's wishes. In any case, all 14 songs were composed in 1828 and the collection was published in 1829, a few months after the composer's death. Composition and publication The Rellstab and Heine settings were copied in a single sitting on consecutive pages of the manuscript in Schubert's hand,