As ballade settings of text by the pseudo-Celtic bard Ossian go, Schubert's Lodas Gespenst (Loda's Ghost) (D. 150 ) from January 1817 is better than most. Of course, the competition in this particular category is fairly dismal: Kolmas Klage, Shilric und Vinvela, and Die Nacht are among the worst of Schubert's ballads. But not only is Lodas Gespenst among the best composed of all Schubert's setting of James Macpherson's Ossian poems, with some of the best music and some of the best transitions, it is also one of the shortest and one of the fastest paced. As the still-thrilling ghost story hurtles to its conclusion, Schubert's music gradually accumulates both tempo and tension over the course of its eight fast verses, starting with a recitative and ending with a triumphal hymn. Part of the success must be attributed to Macpherson's text which is more prose-poem than poem and which relies less on misty atmosphere and more on character and confrontation. But the larger part of the success is Schubert's music which refuses to tarry and instead moves purposefully towards the final verse. Although the song lacks the insight and compassion of Schubert's more characteristic songs, Lodas Gespenst is surely one of his most effective ballads.

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