Franz Schubert: The Shepherd On The Rock: High Voice: Vocal Work

The Shepherd on the Rock D. 965 for Voice Clarinet and Piano-The Shepherd on the Rock composed in the final year of Schubert’s life was in a certain sense a commission. The opera singer Anna Milder-Hauptmann the first Leonore in Beethoven’s Fidelio had asked Schubert in letters written between 1824 and 1825 to write a grand scene for voice for her. Yet he only finally started work on it in autumn 1828. He used three different poems as the basis for his work combining them to form an equally brilliant and atmospheric musical scene.The Clarinet adds to its particular charm sometimes joining in as a soloist at other times following the voice like an echo - ensuringSchubert’s Shepherd a special place in the repertoire even today.