Matching Schubert to Shakespeare

An easily-recognizable melody from a Schubert aria is a good starting point to detect same or similar melodies in a large music library. With mHashup one can efficiently scroll to the beginning of the melody and determine the desired length.

TEST

Schubert's 'Ständchen' recorded by German soprano Emmy Bettendorf (1895-1963) was tested with the melody starting 26.5 seconds into the track, and a length of 11 seconds which takes it to the end of its melodic sequence.

The instantaneous results reveal many strengths of the AudioDB system. The closest match, at a distance of 0.014.., highlighted as under the 0.02 set threshold, proves to be the same Emmy Bettendorf recording, though by examining the metadata, the title 'Serenade' indicates a different publisher. The system has effectively found a duplicate of the same melody, and we can deduce that the Emmy Bettendorf recording had been published by at least two different record companies.

The next closest match, by Swedish tenor Jussi Björling (1911-1960), is the same melody, though an octave lower. This is followed by British tenors Webster Booth (1902-1984) and Frank Titterton (1893-1956). Note that the matching melody recorded by Titterton is located at 98 seconds in the track, as it is the second instance of that same melody in the track. The recording by John McCormack, 112 seconds into the track, is the same melody, but this time at a different pitch, a semitone higher. The system can therefore accurately deliver similar melodic patterns, regardless of pitch or octave.

The first 6 tracks listed are versions of the same piece 'Serenade' or 'Ständchen'. Having run out of the exact same melody, the system will match melodic sequences which are similar to the sampled melody. In recordings by Gerhard Hüsch and Lotte Lehman we can detect a similar style and rendition of another Schubert piece, useful for comparison with the chosen melody. This gives an indication that the library contains files which have a similar feel to the queried one.

The final match offers a surprise finding: a reading of Shakespeare's 'Henry V' by Welsh poet W J Gruffydd. On analysis, the similarity between Gruffydd's melodic reading and Schubert's melody becomes apparent. A discovery of this type of match is significant not only for musicologists, but for cultural anthropologists, linguists and dramatists.

-- MichelaMagas - 31 Oct 2008

• mHashup Schubert case: