Franz Schubert’s “Erlkönig”

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Schubert’s “Erlkönig” is a lied ballad based off of the poem “Erlkönig” by Johann Wolfgang Van Goethe. A lied ballad is a type of miniature composition (Greenberg, 209) in which a narrative piece (usually a poem) serves as the fundamental subject matter for a song. Miniature compositions are composed for a solo voice and/or piano and usually do not last more than a few minutes. The poem “Erlkönig” tells the story of father who is riding through a forest on horseback carrying his son home. His son keeps complaining about the “Erlkönig“ or Elf King who is whispering to him and trying to take him away, but the father ignores him. The father attempts to save his son from the Elf king, but it is too late and his son dies in his arms.

A miniature composition is intended to invoke a single emotion or state of mind. The overwhelming affect created by this piece is one of suspenseful anticipation. This is created by the piano keys playing in a quick, almost continuous manner (0:01) along with the drawn out bass line that immediately follows it (0:03). The voices of the characters also have an eerie element to them, especially those of the Elf-King and the son. Throughout the piece tension is build up by the piano and vocal components and is not fully resolved until the ending when the continuous alternation of the piano keys stops (3:29) and the boy is announced dead with a final exit from the piano (3:38).  According to Greenberg, the continuous piano keys from 0:01 are meant to represent the gallops from the horse’s hoofs (Greenberg, 210).

There is one vocalist in this piece who portrays 4 distinct characters of the story: the narrator, the father, the child, and the Elf King. This is a huge task for the vocalist, as he must attempt to embody four sentiments. Since the same vocalist is singing, differences in character are denoted through slight pitch and stylistic variations. The narrator comes in at the very beginning and end of the story (0:22, 3:11) and his voice is low and melodic. The father first comes in at 0:51, his voice is much lower and oftentimes has a rough or angry sound to it (1:54). The son first appears at 0:58, his voice is higher than his father’s and has a timid and anxious quality to it (1:43). The Elf King first appears at 1:21 and has the most distinctive voice of the four characters. The Elf-King’s voice is low, but very smooth and soothing because he is trying to persuade the young boy to come with him. However, at 2:57 the voice of the Elf King changes quickly from piano to fortissimo, in order to demonstrate him becoming angry and leaping down to grab the child.

Personally, I was pleased to shift from large instrumental forms to small vocal and instrumental forms, because I felt that I was better able to grasp the musical content and focus more on how musical elements create affect. I also enjoy that miniature compositions are not absolute music and fall closer into the category of program music, or music that is meant to communicate emotion.

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