Pieces › Franz Schubert

Gute Nacht

Winterreise, D. 911 · No. 1

Franz Schubert · 1827 · D minor · 105 bars · 177 chords analysed

“Good night”: the wanderer leaves his beloved's house in the dark. The steady walking rhythm runs through the whole cycle.

Schubert's “Winter Journey” sets 24 poems by Wilhelm Müller. A rejected lover leaves town at night and wanders through a frozen landscape. Schubert finished it in 1827, a year before his death, and told friends these songs had affected him more than any others.

Keys visited: D minor, F major, B♭ major, D major, G major.