Mignon (Schubert)


Mignon, a character appearing in Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's writings such as Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship and Wilhelm Meister's Journeyman Years, is the subject of several lieder by Franz Schubert.

"An Mignon"

Schubert had started to compose songs on texts by Goethe in 1814, among which "Gretchen am Spinnrade," published as his Op. 2 in 1821. His first Mignon-related song was a setting of "An Mignon" , a poem published by Goethe in 1797. Schubert set it as a song for voice and piano in February 1815, 161. Together with fifteen other songs he had composed on Goethe's texts Schubert sent a fair copy of this song to Goethe in 1816.
A second version of this setting was published by Anton Diabelli in 1825 as No. 2 in Schubert's Op. 19, dedicated to Goethe. The earlier version was not published before it was included in the Franz Schubert's Works edition in 1894. In the New Schubert Edition both versions were published in Series IV, Volume 1.

"Mignon" (Kennst du das Land?)

Like Schubert's four songs Op. 62, also D 321, "Kennst du das Land? " for voice and piano is based on Goethe's Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship, in this case Book III, Chapter 1. Schubert composed it in 1815. It was first published in 1832.

Songs from ''Wilhelm Meister''

Op. 62 – D 877, Song cycle Gesänge aus "Wilhelm Meister"
D 877, alternative versions:

Earlier settings of the same texts

Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt