The Shepherd on the Rock

"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.

"The Shepherd on the Rock", Schubert's autograph
Pauline Anna Milder-Hauptmann

Lyrics

Of the seven verses, the first four and the last came from the poetry of Wilhelm Müller, while verses five and six were written by Helmina von Chézy[1] or possibly Karl August Varnhagen von Ense.[2]

Background

The Lied was written as a belated response to a request from the operatic soprano Pauline Anna Milder-Hauptmann, a friend of Schubert. She had requested a showpiece 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.[3] 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

The Lied has three sections, with clarinet and voice equally challenged. The first 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. The short last section anticipates the coming of spring and, with it, rebirth.

Complete text
Wilhelm Müller – "Der Berghirt"

Wenn auf dem höchsten Fels ich steh',
In's tiefe Tal hernieder seh',
Und singe.

Fern aus dem tiefen dunkeln Tal
Schwingt sich empor der Widerhall
Der Klüfte.

Je weiter meine Stimme dringt,
Je heller sie mir wieder klingt
Von unten.

Mein Liebchen wohnt so weit von mir,
Drum sehn' ich mich so heiß nach ihr
Hinüber.

When, from the highest rock up here,
I look deep down into the valley,
And sing,

Far from the valley dark and deep
Echoes rush through, upward and back to me,
The chasm.

The farther that my voice resounds,
So much the brighter it echoes
From under.

My sweetheart dwells so far from me,
I long hotly to be with her
Over there.

Varnhagen – "Nächtlicher Schall"

In tiefem Gram verzehr ich mich,
Mir ist die Freude hin,
Auf Erden mir die Hoffnung wich,
Ich hier so einsam bin.

So sehnend klang im Wald das Lied,
So sehnend klang es durch die Nacht,
Die Herzen es zum Himmel zieht
Mit wunderbarer Macht.

I am consumed in misery,
Happiness is far from me,
Hope has on earth eluded me,
I am so lonesome here.

So longingly did sound the song,
So longingly through wood and night,
Towards heaven it draws all hearts
With amazing strength.

Wilhelm Müller – "Liebesgedanken"

Der Frühling will kommen,
Der Frühling, meine Freud',
Nun mach' ich mich fertig
Zum Wandern bereit

The Springtime will come,
The Springtime, my happiness,
Now must I make ready
To wander forth.

References
  1. Schwarm, Betsy (September 9, 2013). "Der Hirt auf dem Felsen". brittanica.com. Encyclopedia Brittanica. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  2. 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.
  3. Schwarm, Betsy (September 9, 2013). "Der Hirt auf dem Felsen". brittanica.com. Encyclopedia Brittanica. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  4. Keller, James M. (November 2018). "Notes on the Program" (PDF). nyphil.org. New York Philharmonic. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  5. "Anna Milder-Hauptmann and 'Der Hirt auf dem Felsen'". In: Schubert 200, Heidelberg 1997, pp. 165–167.

Sources
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