Schubert's setting of Franz Grillparzer's poetic adaptation of a portion of the Book of Exodus is one of his most unusual, most demanding, and most successful dramatic works. Composed in March 1828, Mirjams Siegesgesang (Miriam's Song of Victory) (D. 952) is essentially a pocket oratorio for soprano, chorus, and piano in ten verses. From its majestic opening verse in festive C major replete with dotted rhythms to its fugal closing verse, the spirit of Handel haunts Mirjams Siegesgesang, the only time in his work in which the influence of the earlier composer's music can extensively be heard in Schubert's music. But the central verses are clearly Schubert's own, albeit Schubert at his most theatrical. The second and third verses' pastoral F major; the fourth, fifth, and sixth verses' stormy C minor; the seventh and eighth verses' self-righteous E minor are far more effectively dramatic than anything in any of his operas. This structure is matched by Schubert's demands on the soprano: an amazingly high tessitura and virtuoso technical display, along with the power to ride over a big chorus and the stamina to sing through nearly 20 minutes makes the part of Miriam one of the most difficult in all of Schubert's songs and works for the stage. But it all works brilliantly: Schubert's command of large-scale form and expressive content is more secure in Mirjams Siegesgesang than in any of his operas, and the work is more musically and emotionally effective than any of his operas.

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