Schubert was only about seventeen when he wrote this song, and it has some

of the mock-horror and playfulness that teenagers still show when they

trade ghost stories. Sudden drops in the vocal line or stops and starts in

the music seem very close to the way that a teller will drop his or her

voice or whisper "shhh" just when the scary bit comes up. The references

in the Matthisson poem to the dead having no griefs or sorrows now are not

given any more emphasis than the rest of the poem, keeping the spirit (sorry)

of the poem in the mock-horror tone.

The often short, choppy phrases evoke the image of ghosts dancing, rather

jerkily, and the "ravens fly from the ruined abbey" in a series of quick

scales from the piano. Schubert was clearly having fun here, and given the

right performers, so will the listener.

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