"Prometheus" (D. 674) is an intensely dramatic art song composed by Franz Schubert in October 1819 to a poem of the same name by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
The lied was written for bass voice in the key of B♭ major, but the key moves repeatedly through various major to minor tonalities, ending in C major. In Goethe's dramatic declamation by Prometheus, which would be set again, with very different effect, by Hugo Wolf, "with his alternations of ariosos and recitatives, Schubert created a miniature oratorio", observes Edward F. Kravitt.
Among many other lieder by Schubert, Max Reger also created an orchestration for "Prometheus".
For the text, see Prometheus (Goethe)Voice and pianoSchubert: Goethe-Lieder,
Thomas Quasthoff (bass-baritone), Charles Spencer (piano),
RCA Records, 1995
Schubert: Goethe-Lieder,
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (baritone),
Jörg Demus (piano),
Deutsche Grammophon, 1999
Schubert: Goethe-Lieder, Vol. 1, Ulf Bästlein (bass-baritone), Stefan Laux (piano), Naxos Records, 2000
Voice and orchestra (Max Reger)Schubert arranged by Reger: Songs, Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra,
Dennis Russell Davies (conductor),
Dietrich Henschel (baritone), MD&G Records, 1998
Schubert arr. Reger: Orchestral Songs,
Klaus Mertens (baritone),
Camilla Nylund (
soprano),
NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover,
Werner Andreas Albert (conductor), cpo Records, 1998
Schubert: Lieder With Orchestra,
Thomas Quasthoff (bass-baritone),
Anne Sofie von Otter (
mezzo-soprano),
Chamber Orchestra of Europe,
Claudio Abbado (conductor), Deutsche Grammophon, 2003
