Erlkönig, by Franz Schubert
Listening Guide
Performed by baritone Dietrich Fischer Dieskau and pianist Gerald Moore.
Composer: Franz Schubert
Composition: Erlkönig (in English, The Erlking [or the Elfking])
Date: 1815
Genre: art song
Form: through-composed
Nature of Text: See Text and Translation Below
Performing Forces: solo voice and piano
What we want you to remember about this composition:
- It is an art song that sets a poem for solo voice and piano
- The poem tells the story of three characters, who are depicted in the music through changes in melody, harmony, and range.
- The piano sets general mood and supports the singer by depicting images from the text.
Other things to listen for:
- Piano accompaniment at the beginning that outlines a minor scale (perhaps the wind)
- Repeated fast triplet pattern in the piano, suggesting urgency and the running horse
- Shifts of the melody line from high to low range, depending on the character "speaking"
- Change of key from minor to major when the Erlking sings
- The slowing note values at the end of the song and the very dissonant chords
ErlkönigThe Erlking
Wer reitet so spät durch Nacht und Wind?
Es ist der Vater mit seinem Kind;
Er hat den Knaben wohl in dem Arm,
Er faßt ihn sicher, er hält ihn warm.
Mein Sohn, was birgst du so bang dein Gesicht? -
Siehst, Vater, du den Erlkönig nicht?
Den Erlenkönig mit Kron und Schweif? -
Mein Sohn, es ist ein Nebelstreif. -
"Du liebes Kind, komm, geh mit mir!
Gar schöne Spiele spiel ich mit dir;
Manch bunte Blumen sind an dem Strand,
Meine Mutter hat manch gülden Gewand."
Mein Vater, mein Vater, und hörest du nicht,
Was Erlenkönig mir leise verspricht? -
Sei ruhig, bleibe ruhig, mein Kind;
In dürren Blättern säuselt der Wind. -
"Willst, feiner Knabe, du mit mir gehn?
Meine Töchter sollen dich warten schön;
Meine Töchter führen den nächtlichen Reihn,
Und wiegen und tanzen und singen dich ein."
Mein Vater, mein Vater, und siehst du nicht dort
Erlkönigs Töchter am düstern Ort? -
Mein Sohn, mein Sohn, ich seh es genau:
Es scheinen die alten Weiden so grau. -
"Ich liebe dich, mich reizt deine schöne Gestalt;
Und bist du nicht willig, so brauch ich Gewalt."
Mein Vater, mein Vater, jetzt faßt er mich an!
Erlkönig hat mir ein Leids getan! -
Dem Vater grausets, er reitet geschwind,
Er hält in Armen das ächzende Kind,
Erreicht den Hof mit Mühe und Not;
In seinen Armen das Kind war tot.
The Erlking
Who's riding so late where winds blow wild
It is the father grasping his child;
He holds the boy embraced in his arm,
He clasps him snugly, he keeps him warm.
"My son, why cover your face in such fear?"
"You see the elf-king, father?
He's near! The king of the elves with crown and train!"
"My son, the mist is on the plain."
'Sweet lad, o come and join me, do!
Such pretty games I will play with you;
On the shore gay flowers their color unfold,
My mother has many garments of gold.'
"My father, my father, and can you not hear
The promise the elf-king breathes in my ear?"
"Be calm, stay calm, my child, lie low:
In withered leaves the night-winds blow."
'Will you, sweet lad, come along with me?
My daughters shall care for you tenderly;
In the night my daughters their revelry keep,
They'll rock you and dance you and sing you to sleep.'
"My father, my father, o can you not trace
The elf-king's daughters in that gloomy place?"
"My son, my son, I see it clear
How grey the ancient willows appear."
'I love you, your comeliness charms me, my boy!
And if you're not willing, my force I'll employ.'
"Now father, now father, he's seizing my arm.
Elf-king has done me a cruel harm."
The father shudders, his ride is wild,
In his arms he's holding the groaning child,
Reaches the court with toil and dread. -
The child he held in his arms was dead.
Timing
Performing Forces, Melody, and Texture
Text and Form:
Piano introduction
Opens with a fast tempo melody that begins low in the register, ascends through the minor scale, and then falls. Accompanied by repeated triplet octaves. The ascending/descending melody may represent the wind. The minor key suggests a serious tone. The repeated octaves using fast triplets may suggest the running horse and the urgency of the situation.
Performing forces are voice and piano in homophonic texture from here to the end. Melody falls in the middle of the singer's range and is accompanied by the repeated octave triplets.
Narrator: Who rides so late through night and wind?
The key switches to major, perhaps to suggest the friendly guise assumed by the Erlking. Note also the softer dynamics and lighter arpeggios in the piano accompaniment
The Erlking: Lovely child, come with me…
Back in minor the melody hovers around one note high in the singer's register; the minor mode reflects the son's fear, as does the melody, which repeats the same note, almost as if the son is unable to sing another
Son: My father, father, do you not hear it…
Back to a major key and piano dynamics for more from the Erlking
The Erlking: My darling boy, won't you come with me…
Back to a minor key and the higher-ranged melody that hovers around one pitch for the son's retort.
Son: My father, can you not see him there?
Melody lower in range and return of the louder repeated triplets
Father: My son, I see well the moonlight on the grey meadows…
Momentarily in major and then back to minor as the Erlking threatens the boy
The Erlking: I love you…if you do not freely come, I will use force…
Back to a mid-range melody; the notes in the piano get faster and louder.
Narrator: The father, filled with horror, rides fast
Piano accompaniment slows down; dissonant and minor chords pervasive; song ends with a strong cadence in the minor key; Slowing down of the piano accompaniment may echo the slowing down of the horse. The truncated chords and strong final minor chords buttress the announcement that the child is dead.
Narrator: They arrive at the courtyard. In his father's arms, the child was dead.