Practically without ancestry, the songs of Franz Schubert stand out as the crowning achievement of the "lieder "tradition. The directly appealing melodies, with their infinite variety and grace, and the highly evocative accompaniments, filled with graceful pianistic figures, lend these short masterpieces the rare distinction of encompassing greatness in a score of bars.
Schubert's three great song cycles are here reprinted directly from the definitive Breitkopf & Hartel "Schubert-Gesammtausgabe." The volume comprises the universally known and beloved songs of "Die schone Mullerin" (1823), the somber depth and picturesqueness of "Die Winterreise" (1827) and "Schwanengesang" (1828), one of Schubert's last works, a rich and masterly epilogue to the long series of his songs. Whether purely lyrical (as in "Wohin?") or creating revolutionary atmospheric effects (as in "Die Stadt" or "Der Doppelganger"), all of these songs show the composer to sure and powerful advantage.
In addition to the music and German texts, this volume also includes English translations of the texts by Henry S. Drinker, previously unavailable, that are especially designed to be sung to Schubert's melodies."