…Schubert’s song cycle Winterreise originally contained twelve — not twenty-four — songs?
Based on poems by Wilhelm Müller — which Schubert discovered in the literary periodical Urania — the piece began and ended in the key of D minor, until its composer learned of twelve additional poems while staying with a friend. The autograph manuscript shows ‘Fine’ after the twelfth song, but rather than revise and disrupt its musical structure, Schubert extended his winter wanderer’s journey by adding the additional poems in order (though he did reverse two poems near the end).
Sources:
Youens, Susan. “The Winter of the Spirit” Schubert’s Winterreise (Winter Journey), D. 911″. Liner notes for Franz Schubert: Winterreise. Recorded July 2001. Musica Omnia 108.
Zahn, Robert V. “Müller’s and Schubert’s ‘The Winter’s Journey'”. Liner notes for Winterreise. Recorded November 1989. Chanel Classics 0190.
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