"The Shepherd on the Rock" (German: Der Hirt auf dem Felsen), D. 965, is a famous lied for soprano, clarinet, and piano by Franz Schubert. It was composed in 1828 during the final months of his life. While officially classified as a lied, it could just as easily be described as a work of chamber music.
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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 Karl August Varnhagen von Ense (and not by Helmina von Chézy).[1]
The lied was written as a belated response to a request from the operatic soprano Pauline Anna Milder-Hauptmann, a friend of Franz Schubert. She had requested a showpiece that would allow her to express a wide range of feelings. It was published a year and a half after Schubert's death. Milder had sung it for the first time at the House of the Blackheads in Riga on 10 February 1830.[2]
The lied is multi-sectional with the clarinet and the voice equally challenged. The first section is warm as the lonely shepherd, high on the mountain top, listens to the echoes rising from below. The second section becomes quite dark as the shepherd expresses his all encompassing grief and loneliness. The third and last section is a sign of hope as the shepherd anticipates the coming of Spring and with it rebirth.
Wilhelm Müller – Der Berghirt [1]
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.
Varnhagen – Nächtlicher Schall [2]
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.
Wilhelm Müller – Liebesgedanken [3]
Der Frühling will kommen,
Der Frühling, meine Freud',
Nun mach' ich mich fertig
Zum Wandern bereit