Franz Schubert's Partsongs for Voices of the Same Register with piano or guitar accompaniment were very popular among his contemporaries, much like his famous Lieder. Schubert learned singing in multiple parts both at home and at school, small cantatas for family festivities and trios for his compositional studies are among his early compositions. Alongside uplifting vocal movements in the style of Michael Haydn, he composed several drinking songs for unison choir. The young composer had his first public success with 'Das Dörfchen' (D 598). Starting in 1819, he composed more sophisticated vocal quartets, such as 'Gondelfahrer', 'Die Nachtigall', and 'Nachthelle' for performances at the Vienna Musikverein. Until today, these works are an essential part of the Romantic male voice repertory.
Some of Schubert's partsongs represent the unique sociability of Vienna's middle class during the Biedermeier period. They were written for festive occasions involving Schubert's friends and acquai ntances, such as 'Standchen' D 920: The work was commissioned by voice teacher Anna Fröhlich for one of her pupils and is based on a poem by Franz Grillparzer.
The present volume contains 46 partsongs for three to five voices of the same register or unison choir, representing the entire spectrum of the genre, including diverging versions of some of the songs and some works that remained fragmentary, such as the third setting of J. W. von Goethe's 'Gesang der Geister über den Wassern'.