Beauty in Ambiguity: On Marian Anderson’s Lifelong Love For Schubert
When you’re young, or not so young, and strongly drawn to a genre of music, a certain composer, a particular piece, it’s often hard to explain why, even to yourself. This may be especially true of music unfamiliar to you.
Marian Anderson's lifelong passion for Schubert's songs was a mysterious and powerful force that ultimately drove her to study the music with expert teachers and visit Europe. As a young teenager, she was captivated by Roland Hayes singing Schubert songs in a church recital, and although she couldn't understand the German texts, she was drawn to the music nonetheless. Fifteen years later, her desire to study Schubert lieder was a significant factor in her decision to travel to Europe.
Throughout her career, Anderson was widely recognized as an exceptional Schubert singer with impeccable German diction. However, she rarely delved into the reasons behind her love for Schubert's music. When selecting songs for a recital program, she always began with Schubert, who wrote "hundreds of them," each one more beautiful than the last. She noted that Schubert's songs were rewarding for both pianists and singers.
Anderson shared her unique perspective that no songs by Schubert or Brahms could surpass Negro spirituals in terms of being sublime and profound. During her childhood, she was deeply affected by the music of her church choir, including familiar hymns and spirituals, as well as occasional classical choral works. This early exposure to musical ambiguity, subtext, and metaphor, including through Negro spirituals, influenced her appreciation for Schubert's songs, which she believed reflected the complexities and contradictions of the composer's life and character.
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