"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.

Music

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. Goethe's dramatic declamation by Prometheus 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".

Recordings