Gesang der Geister über den Wassern, or Song of the spirits over the water, is the title of a number of pieces by Franz Schubert, based on the poem of the same by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. This particular rendition, for male choir and orchestra, has two versions: of the first (formerly catalogued as D. 704) only a fragment is extant. The second version, known as D. 714 or Op. 167 is the most played, and arguably the most popular of all of Schubert's settings of this text. The two versions were written in 1820 and 1821, and published in 1891 and 1858 respectively. The work is in German, and it calls for male chorus, two violas, two cellos, and double bass. There are at least two more settings to this text by Schubert, named D. 538, and D. 705.
