Franz Peter Schubert’s Der Hirt auf dem Felsen is a work that represents this composer at his creative peak, near
the end of his
life. Schubert wrote
over 600 songs, each of which incorporates imaginative music to depict poetic
texts. Although Der Hirt auf dem Felsen is widely appreciated and performed,
it has received little scholarly attention.
Der Hirt auf dem Felsen is scored for soprano voice, clarinet, and piano. The
song portrays the image of a shepherd who is longing for his lost love. Throughout
the song, it is clear that the protagonist is alone and is yearning to travel
in search of his love. The title of this paper, “The Longing Voice: Schubert’s
Der Hirt auf dem Felsen,” offers the idea that one of the musical voices
represented in the song is struggling in some way. Through a detailed interpretation
of the text and music of this work, I conclude that the clarinet serves as a
representation of the shepherd’s lost love. The longing voice is that of
the shepherd.
The relationship of Franz Schubert and soprano Anna Milder-Hauptmann is very
important to the genesis of Der Hirt auf dem Felsen. Milder-Hauptmann, well known
as Beethoven’s Leonore in the first three productions of Fidelio, was a
friend of Schubert’s and a great admirer of his songs. She asked him many
times to compose a song with very specific features for her to perform in recitals.
After letting years pass, Schubert finally composed Der Hirt auf dem Felsen for
her in 1828. The song is remarkable in part due to its many connections to Beethoven’s Fidelio. Sadly, Schubert died before he was able to present the song to Milder-Hauptmann.
Franz’s brother, Ferdinand Schubert, sent the song to her in the care of
Johann Michael Vogl (her colleague and former teacher) in 1829.
Schubert’s Der Hirt auf dem Felsen relates to two crucial arias from Beethoven’s
Fidelio, “Komm, Hoffnung, Lass den letzen Stern” and “Gott!
Welch Dunkel hier!… In des Lebens Frühlingstagen.” Additionally,
connections can be made between Schubert’s song and Beethoven’s song
cycle An die Ferne Geliebte. From Schubert’s own body of work, connections
can be made between Der Hirt auf dem Felsen and Auf dem Strom, the only other
song he wrote for voice and a wind instrument obbligato. Finally, some connections
can be made between Schubert’s Der Hirt auf dem Felsen and the “Parto,
parto” aria from the first act of Mozart’s opera La clemenza
di Tito.
Schubert was diagnosed with a grave illness before he composed many of his greatest
works, including his Der Hirt auf dem Felsen. Due to this fact, it is very interesting
to relate this song to his personal situation near the time of his death. This
work contains many ideas of nature, love, and religion that are depicted very
graphically with the music and the text. These elements seem extremely poignant
when considered with Schubert’s illness at the time of this piece’s
composition.
“The Longing Voice: Schubert’s Der Hirt auf dem Felsen” discusses
the formal structure of the work and presents many musical examples which serve
to illuminate the composer’s compositional craft. Additionally, this paper
presents a brief criticism of the work and relates it to Schubert’s most
well known song cycles, Die schöne Müllerin and Winterreise. This paper
also briefly discusses two rarely performed orchestrations of the piece, one
by Carl Reinecke and the other by Philip Catelinet.
Franz Schubert’s Der Hirt auf dem Felsen has certainly become a staple
of the clarinet repertoire. This work is an impressive example of Schubert’s
compositional skill and provides an insight into his emotional state near the
time of his death.
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