Six Schubert Songs by Caspar Joseph Mertz
Contemporary transcriptions of Schubert for guitar solo as a source for performance practice
Cla Mathieu
This article deals with the solo guitar arrangements of six Schubert songs made by Caspar Joseph Mertz (1806– 1856) and published in Vienna in 1845. It investigates the means used here to imitate the voice, with aspects of singing practice notated in the music itself. Cla Mathieu argues that this in many cases also allows conclusions to be drawn about the manner in which the original versions were themselves performed. Thus these arrangements may serve in a broader sense as a hitherto little-regarded source of information on the performance practices of the day.
