Seek info (and chords?) to Schubert's "Who is Sylvia"

[David Hamilton Cox]

Yesterday I was really taken with a song called "Who is Sylvia",
on a recording by The King's Singers. It is credited to Franz
Schubert and Shakespeare; I found the words in the latter's
"Two Gentleman of Verona," but I was not able to find any mention
of the song in my Schubert biography. There was a mention of
a song called "To Sylvia" in the text, but no mention in the
index of works of that song or "Who is Sylvia" or anything else
that would connect to this work. Can anyone tell me anything
about the composition of this song? What led Schubert to set
this song from the play to music?

I would like to be able to adapt this song to guitar, a rather
ambitious effort for me, considering the only version I have
(a capella), my musical experience, and the trickier musical
idioms that a composer like Schubert has at his disposal. I
figured out the melody on the piano, and the chords to the
first two lines, thus: (All major triads)

(A) (E) (D) (A)
Who is Sylvia? What is she

(E) (A) (E) (A)
That all our swains commend her

Simple enough so far, my good old friends tonic, dominant and
sub-dominant. Then it quickly turns ugly. That is, my attempts
to figure out the harmony to this divine melody turns ugly.
If anyone can help suggest how I could figure out the remaining
chords, I would be most grateful. Also, can someone recommend
a recording that would have the original arrangement of the
song, which I assume is for voice and piano.

Thanks!!

-David Cox

[Marcel Riedo]

dc...@nyx.cs.du.edu (David Hamilton Cox) wrote:
> Yesterday I was really taken with a song called "Who is Sylvia",
>on a recording by The King's Singers. It is credited to Franz
>Schubert and Shakespeare; I found the words in the latter's
>"Two Gentleman of Verona," but I was not able to find any mention
>of the song in my Schubert biography. There was a mention of
>a song called "To Sylvia" in the text, but no mention in the
>index of works of that song or "Who is Sylvia" or anything else
>that would connect to this work. Can anyone tell me anything
>about the composition of this song? What led Schubert to set
>this song from the play to music?

The words of the Schubert Lied "An Silvia" D891 are a German
translation from "Two Gentlemen of Verona". The song is part of Franz
Schubert Lieder with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Gerald Moore, DG.