Lob der Tränen. By Franz Schubert (1797-1828) By Valérie Duchâteau www.valerieduchateau.com Composed in 1818, Lob der Tränen or "Eloge des larmes" is one of Franz Schubert's most popular "lieds" (poems sung in the Germanic language and accompanied by the piano). Although proposed here in an arrangement for solo guitar, the key of D major has been retained. From measure 5 onwards, the musical theme is intimate and melancholic, but with a hint of hope at the end of each sung phrase, thus leaving a feeling of appeasement (measure 9). The entire piece is inhabited by this skillfully measured ambiguity and its subtle borrowings from relative keys. Bar 28, the continuity of triplets from the beginning is broken by a succession of sextuplets using the open strings as a harmonic carpet above which the melody stands out. Schubert then offers a variation of his theme before repeatedly deploying a sparkling A major arpeggio. The piece closes with the recapitulation of the introductory motif