Schubert’s setting of Psalm 23 “Gott ist mein Hirt” (“The Lord Is My Shepherd”) D 706 was originally intended for a quartet of female voices, but already performed by women’s choirs regularly in the 19th century. It was composed by Schubert in December 1820 for the pupils of the singing class of Anna Fröhlich at the Vienna Conservatory, who performed it regularly from 1821 onwards in the concerts for conservatory exams. The first public performance took place in 1828 at the Vienna Musikverein, again four years later it was published posthumously by Diabelli. With this piece, Schubert ended a personally unsuccessful year 1820 in which he was plagued by a compositional crisis and even received a warning for “slandering the authorities.”
The lyrical and multi-layered piano accompaniment of Schubert’s original is interpreted in a colorful way in the arrangement by Hans Zender for an orchestra with instruments such as marimba, glockenspiel, mandolin and celesta, thereby giving the piece a special appeal. The choral score with piano part can also be used for this arrangement.