Franz Schubert: Schäfers Klagelied, D 121

The musical composition Schäfers Klagelied, translated as “Shepherd’s Lament”, was first published by Franz Schubert (1797–1828) in 1814. It set to music the 1804 poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) Da droben auf jenem Berg, which related the lament of a shepherd over his lost love. Otto Deutsch identified the composition as Schubert’s first song to be performed in public, created when he was still a teenager. By all accounts it was an instant success and helped launch the young composer’s career. It creates a pastoral, melancholy scene that would have been familiar to its early–18th century audience. It is a small masterpiece in the guise of a work song or a simple pastoral composition. This song has been described as “a priceless little object of virtù”.