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Analyze Die böse Farbe op.25 no.17 by Schubert

In the Question 3 of the May 2015 Analysis examination—“Analyze Die böse Farbe op.25 no.17 by Schubert”—you ask for the type of song. Is the correct answer, Lied, modified strophic, or something else? Is the form modified strophic, rounded binary, or something else? What might the explanation for this be? If one refers to Harmony in Schubert by David dam Schroder published by Cambridge University Press 2010, his answers might be different from what an RCM examiner might expect.

Answer

RCM Staff

Monday, June 15, 2020

at 4:24 PM

Schubert's Die böse Farbe, op. 25, no. 17 represents through-composed song structure (type of song). No two verses of the song have identical (or nearly identical) music: in verse 3 (m.13), the first half is same as verse 1, but the second half is new; verse 4 (m. 32) is similar to verse 2, but has different accompaniment with different harmony.

The form of this song is rondo: A (m. 4) A1 (m. 13), B (m. 23) A2 (m. 32) C (m. 43) A3 (m. 53) Coda (m. 61).

Monday, June 15, 2020

at 4:24 PM