A Note of Suicide
what are the words of the poem by Heinrich Heine set to music by Schubert in his song Der Doppelganger
Heine, Schubert, and "Der Doppelgänger"
The poem by Heinrich Heine set to music by Franz Schubert in his song "Der Doppelgänger" includes the following lines:
"Still ist die Nacht..."
(The night is silent, the streets are quiet. My sweetheart lived in this house. She left the city long ago, but the house still stands on the same spot. There, too, stands a man, staring upwards, wringing his hands in agony. I shudder when I see his face—the moon shows me my own form. You doppelganger! You pale fellow! Why do you ape my lovesickness, which tormented me on this spot, so many a night in ancient times?)
the musical harmony and melody of the song has earned many allusions to its camp solemnity
Schubert's “Der Doppelgänger” is a profound example of his late Lieder, showcasing intricate harmonic and melodic craftsmanship. The song is through-composed, with each stanza receiving a distinct musical treatment, yet unified by a recurring harmonic motif introduced in the first four bars of the piano part. This motif is characterized by ambiguous harmonic progressions, with chords that lack defining notes, leaving the tonality unclear until the voice enters. The initial key is B minor, the same as Schubert's “Unfinished Symphony,” and the harmony gradually becomes denser as the emotional intensity of the text unfolds.
The harmonic ambiguity is particularly striking in the opening measures. The first chord lacks a third, making it indeterminate between B major and B minor. The second chord presents only an interval of a third, leaving it ambiguous between a second inversion of D-sharp minor or a first inversion of F-sharp major. This uncertainty is only resolved with the entry of the voice, which establishes the B minor tonality with its dominant, F-sharp major. This harmonic uncertainty mirrors the psychological tension of the poem, where the protagonist confronts his own spectral double, a motif rooted in German Romanticism signifying death or existential dread.
Melodically, Schubert's Der Doppelgänger is restrained, yet highly expressive. The vocal line is declamatory, and largely syllabic, emphasizing the dramatic gravity of the text rather than elaborate melodic flourishes. The piano, however, plays a dominant role, reinforcing the song’s inexorable emotional expression through block chords that gradually intensify. At the climax, the harmonic language becomes increasingly dissonant, reflecting the moment of horrified realization when the protagonist recognizes his own spectral image reflected back at him by the moonlight.
The solemnity of the piece is heightened by its harmonic pacing and texture. The slow harmonic rhythm and the use of minor modes contribute to a sense of inevitability and introspective despair. Schubert’s use of chromaticism, particularly in the modulation to D-sharp minor at the line “Was äffst du nach mein Liebesleid,” intensifies the emotional crisis of the text, underscoring the protagonist’s anguish over past love and existential dread.
In summary, Schubert's Der Doppelgänger exemplifies the song writer's ability to fuse harmonic innovation with poetic depth, using ambiguity, chromaticism, and textural contrast to evoke a profound psychological and emotional landscape.
the phrase "reflected back at him by the moonlight" could mean he looked at his reflection in the mirror and - gasp - saw nobody
That interpretation—that the protagonist looks into a mirror under moonlight and sees nothing—is a compelling and evocative reading of Schubert's Der Doppelgänger, though it diverges from the more traditionally accepted understanding of the poem.
Heinrich Heine’s text describes a man who, in the stillness of the night, sees a figure standing where his beloved once lived. The final revelation is that the figure is his Doppelgänger—a ghostly double—whose anguished gestures mirror his own past suffering in love. Schubert sets this moment with chilling intensity, particularly in the harmonic shift at “Der Mond zeigt mir meine eigne Gestalt” (“The moon shows me my own likeness”), where the realization strikes.
While Heine’s imagery does not explicitly mention a mirror, the idea of a reflection appearing in the moonlight opens up a haunting alternative: that the moon itself acts as a mirror, revealing not just a double, but an absence—his own non-being. This reading introduces an existential or even nihilistic dimension, where the confrontation is not with a ghostly twin but with the void of one’s own identity. Such an interpretation aligns with later 20th-century themes of alienation and self-erasure, and could be seen as a metaphor for despair so complete that it obliterates the self.
In the context of Schubert’s music—its harmonic ambiguity, emotional weight, and the abrupt dissonance at the climax—either reading works powerfully: whether the protagonist sees his own face in another (the Doppelgänger), or sees nothing at all (a self erased by grief), both are terrifying in their own way.