Im Herbst, da Muss Man Trinken

Drinking Song from the Opera Der Vampyr by Heinrich Marschner

Oct 13, 2009

Analysis of the structure, history, and purpose in the story of "Im Herbst, da muss man trinken," the drinking song (quartet, later quintet and chorus) from Der Vampyr.

"Im Herbst, da muss man trinken" ("One must drink in the fall") is a drinking song from the second act of Heinrich August Marschner's 1828 opera Der Vampyr. The number is sung by characters who are largely irrelevant to the story, although they have a few lines of dialogue earlier in the act, and could easily be omitted without any confusion of the plot.

At the same time, the drinking song is one of the most memorable of the opera's numbers. Although it does not serve to advance the plot, it does provide a moment of needed comic relief in the midst of serious events.

The libretto of Marschner's opera Der Vampyr, written by Wilhelm August Wohlbrück, was based on the short story "The Vampyre" by John Polidori (erroneously credited to Lord Byron) and various theatrical adaptations which were popular at the time. The first of these adaptations was the 1820 French play Le Vampire, written by Pierre François Carmouche, Achille de Jouffroy, and Charles Nodier.

This play was translated and adapted by James Robinson Planché into his 1820 English play The Vampire, or The Bride of the Isles. Planché changed the relationship of the main characters to father and daughter instead of brother and sister, as well as adding more comic elements. He introduced the character McSwill, a servant of little consequence to the plot who exists mainly to sing drinking songs.

It is the character of McSwill which ultimately led to the inclusion of a drinking song in Der Vampyr. Wohlbrück's most immediate influence, the 1821 German adaptation of the play by Heinrich Ludwig Ritter (Der Vampyr oder die Todten-Braut), included three comic servants instead of just one. From there it was simple to add a fourth comic, drunk servant to form a quartet.

"Im Herbst, da muss man trinken" is sung by four servants: Blunt (Bass), Green (Baritone), Scrop (Tenor), and Gadshill (Tenor). It takes place after the tense moments of Aubry's realization that he cannot break his oath to not reveal Ruthven's identity as a vampire and Emmy's agreement to go off with Ruthven, and ends suddenly with the discovery of Emmy's body. All of the men are still drunk from Emmy's wedding earlier in the day.

The drinking song is in four verses. Each verse begins with Toms Blunt declaring that one must drink in a certain season, and the others echoing his words. The first verse explains that "one must drink in the fall" because the "blood of the grape" ("der Traube Blut") is fresh. "One must drink in the winter," they go on to say, because it is cold and alcohol will warm them. "One must drink in the summer," then, because it is warm and the alcohol will cool them off. Finally, "one must drink in the spring" because "it is neither hot nor cold."

What follows is first a reprise of the chorus which opened the second act: "Juch! Das ist 'ne Fröhlichkeit, Alles schwimmt in Seligkeit!" ("Yes, this is happiness! All swim in bliss!"). Then Suse, Toms Blunt's wife, enters and scolds them, telling them that they will amount to nothing ("Ja, ich sag' euch, alle, alle, Alle, alle taugt ihr nichts!").

"Im Herbst, da muss man trinken" is a brief moment of comic relief in an otherwise serious opera (albeit one with a happy ending). It's also a very catchy tune, and easily extracted from both the plot and the following quintet and chorus. For this reason, the humorous quartet is the opera’s most-loved and most well-preserved piece. The audience demanded an encore at the premieres in Leipzig and London. Despite the opera's relative lack of popularity, "Im Herbst, da muss man trinken" has remained a favorite of German singing societies well into the present day.

The copyright of the article Im Herbst, da Muss Man Trinken in German Opera is owned by Amelia Hill. Permission to republish Im Herbst, da Muss Man Trinken in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.