Thursday, March 29, 2012

Carrying a Torch

Yes, by most accounts, Schubert carried a torch in the great funeral procession for Beethoven, 185 years ago today--and died soon after, and now they are buried in close proximity. For the music played that day, see below. The close of the famous funeral oration by Franz Grillparzer:

"And you who have followed his escort to this place, hold your sorrow in sway. You have not lost him but won him. No living man enters the halls of immortality. The body must die before the gates are opened. He whom you mourn is now among the greatest men of all time, unassailable forever. Return to your homes, then, distressed but composed. And whenever, during your lives, the power of his works overwhelms you like a coming storm; when your rapture pours out in the midst of a generation yet unborn; then remember this hour and think: we were there when they buried him, and when he died we wept."

No comments:

Post a Comment