Spinnrade

Spinnrade, commonly known as Gretchen am Spinnrade (Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel), is a lied for voice and piano composed by Franz Schubert in 1814. The song sets a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe from Faust, Part I. It is among Schubert’s best-known works and a landmark in the development of the Romantic Lied, celebrated for its psychological intensity and the seamless integration of text and music.

Musically, the piano accompaniment imitates the whir of a spinning wheel through continuous, arpeggiated motion, while the vocal line conveys Gretchen’s awakening longing and inner turmoil. The mood shifts as the poem moves from hope to despair, with the opening line “Meine Ruh’ ist hin, mein Herz ist schwer” delivered with a sighing, speech-like quality. The piece is through-composed, following Goethe’s text rather than repeating formal sections, and the piano often reflects the character’s emotional state in close correspondence with the words.

Context and reception: Composed during Schubert’s early Viennese period, Spinnrade helped catalyze the modern Romantic Lied, illustrating the era’s emphasis on psychological realism and text-painting. It has remained a staple of recital repertoire and is frequently studied for its exemplary fusion of narrative drama and musical expression. The song also contributed to Goethe’s literary reception in the Romantic musical imagination and has been recorded and interpreted by generations of singers.

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