The Shepherd on the Rock
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"The Shepherd on the Rock" (German: Der Hirt auf dem Felsen), D. 965, is a Lied for soprano, clarinet, and piano by Franz Schubert. It was composed in 1828 during the final months of his life.
Lyrics
[edit]Of the seven verses, the first four and the last came from the poetry of Wilhelm Müller, while verses five and six were attributed to Helmina von Chézy[1] but were written by Karl August Varnhagen von Ense.[2][3]
Background
[edit]The Lied, Schubert's penultimate composition, was written as a belated response to a request from the operatic soprano Anna Milder-Hauptmann, a friend of Schubert. She had requested a show-piece that would allow her to express a wide range of feelings, and he wrote it as thanks for her attempts to stage one of his operas in Berlin.[1] She received a copy of the score from Schubert's brother Ferdinand in September 1829,[4] and the work was published a year and a half after Schubert's death. Milder sang it for the first time at the House of the Blackheads in Riga on 10 February 1830.[5]
Structure
[edit]The Lied has three sections, with clarinet and voice equally challenged. The first, in B-flat major, is warm, as the lonely shepherd on the mountaintop listens to echoes rising from below. The second section grows dark as he expresses grief and loneliness; it starts in G minor, then modulates through A-flat major and A minor to G major. The short last section, returning to B-flat major, anticipates the coming of spring and, with it, rebirth.
Complete text
[edit]Wilhelm Müller – "Der Berghirt" (The Mountain Shepherd) | |
---|---|
Wenn auf dem höchsten Fels ich steh', |
When, from the highest rock up here, |
Varnhagen – "Nächtlicher Schall" (Nightly Sound) | |
In tiefem Gram verzehr ich mich, |
I am consumed in misery, |
Wilhelm Müller – "Liebesgedanken" (Love Thoughts) | |
Der Frühling will kommen, |
The Springtime will come, |
References
[edit]- ^ a b Schwarm, Betsy (September 9, 2013). "Der Hirt auf dem Felsen". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
- ^ T. G. Waidelich: "Der letzte Hauch im Lied entflieht, im Lied das Herz entweicht! – Varnhagens 'Nächtlicher Schall' als letzter Baustein zum 'Hirt auf dem Felsen'." In: Schubert: Perspektiven 8 (2010), p. 237–243.
- ^ a b Varnhagen von Ense, Karl August (1816). Vermischte Gedichte (in German). Frankfurt: Barrentrapp. p. 15. Verses 2 and 1 used by Schubert.
- ^ Keller, James M. (November 2018). "Notes on the Program" (PDF). nyphil.org. New York Philharmonic. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
- ^ "Anna Milder-Hauptmann and 'Der Hirt auf dem Felsen' ". In: Schubert 200, Edited by Ilija Dürhammer, Edition Braus, Heidelberg 1997, ISBN 9783894661939 pp. 165–167.
- ^ Müller, Wilhelm (1824). Sieben und siebzig Gedichte aus den hinterlassenen Papieren eines reisenden Waldhornisten. Lieder des Lebens und der Liebe, vol. 2 (in German). Dessau: Ackermann. pp. 111–112.
- ^ Müller 1824, p. 122, verse 2
Further reading
[edit]- C. Ahrens: "Schuberts 'Der Hirt auf dem Felsen' D. 965 – Lied, Arie oder 'Duett'?" In: Schubert: Perspektiven 5 (2005), pp. 162–182.
- Johnson, Graham (1990). "Der Hirt auf dem Felsen, D965 (program note)". Hyperion Records.
- Mayer, Andreas [in German] (1995). "'Gluck'sches Gestöhn' and 'welsches Larifari': Anna Milder, Franz Schubert und der deutsch-italienische Opernkrieg". Archiv für Musikwissenschaft (in German). 52 (3): 171–204. doi:10.2307/930894. JSTOR 930894.
- Meyer, Andrew D. (4 June 2022). "Der Hirt auf dem Felsen D. 965 Op. 129 Analysis".
External links
[edit]- "Der Hirt auf dem Felsen": Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- First part of the German lyrics, with translations, lieder.net
- Third part of the German lyrics, with translations, lieder.net
- Complete text, with English translation, beverlysillsonline.com
- Review of recording by Helen Donath, Dieter Klöcker, Klaus Donath; Arts Archives 43054-2 (1981)
- Performance of "Der Hirt auf dem Felsen" on modern instruments by Hyunah Yu (soprano), Alexander Fiterstein (clarinet), and Gilbert Kalish (piano), from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in MP3 format