Erlkönig (Schubert)

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Schubert's Der Erlkönig sung by Ernestine Schumann-Heink (recording from 1913)

Erlkönig ( Opus 1, German directory 328) is the setting for voice and piano of the ballad of the same name by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe composed by Franz Schubert . The composition was created in just one day in 1815, published in 1821 and premiered on March 7, 1821 in the Theater am Kärntnertor in Vienna .

Musical analysis

Schubert's autograph of the 3rd version with lighter accompaniment

The Erlkönig is available in four different versions by Schubert's hand, whereby the third version is notated with a simplified piano accompaniment without triplets in the right hand. The original (for medium voice) is in the key of G minor , music publishers also publish transposed editions for high and low voice. In terms of genre, the Erlkönig can be classified as a thoroughly composed art song , and it can also be viewed as a sound speech . The tempo is fast ; only in the last two bars does it change to the andante .

structure

  • Bars 1–15: Piano prelude
    In the right hand, repeated, accented octaves illustrate the “rapid ride through the night” or the palpitations of the nervous son. On the left, ascending small scales and descending triad breaks in G and C minor.
  • Measure 16–57: setting of the 1st and 2nd verses
    The son's excitement is represented by leaps in intervals such as fifths and sixths. The father calms the son down, which is clear from the low register of the singing voice.
  • Bar 58–72: setting of the 3rd stanza
    The lures of the Erlkönig and his flatteries are modeled on the performance designation dolce, major keys, legato , sotto voce and smaller melisms.
  • Bar 72–85: setting of the 4th verse The
    fear and excitement of the son increase, which is musically illustrated by the chromaticism , an increase in the singing voice and a shortening of the note values.
  • Measure 86–96: setting of the 5th stanza.
    New description of the Erlkönig's world. Here the curling of the Erlkönig becomes more intense. In addition, Schubert goes into the word-tone relationship by rewriting the dance of the daughters in     major through arpeggios that seem like dancing .
  • Bar 97–116: setting of the 6th stanza
    The excitement of the son and his fear of the Erlkönig are reflected in the rising pitch and the chromatics of the singing voice as well as in the diminution of the note values.
  • Measure 117–131: setting of the 7th stanza
    The luring of the Erlkönig now becomes an urging. He threatens the boy, which is characterized by the repeated eighth note triplets, chromatics, seventh chords and dissonances (nones). The dynamic increases up to three times the forte in bar 123. The section ends with a double line as a caesura (bar 131).
  • Bars 132–147: setting of the 8th stanza
    Here too, Schubert creates tension (     accelerando ) through the agogic and the “storming equestrian motif ” . The key of A flat major ( Neapolitans of G minor) initially seems to indicate a conciliatory ending. But the hope turns out to be deceptive. The recitative in the song, the fermata in bar 147 and the changed tempo designation Andante emphasize the tragedy and the mourning for the death of the son clearly. An interesting outline suggestion comes from Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau , who formally describes the Erlkönig as a rondo .

Musical interpretation

The feelings that Schubert interprets much more strongly than the ballad include: fear (high register of the singing voice, tone repetitions, motifs of sighs , dissonances in the piano, bars 123–130), desire of the Erlkönig (bar 64 melisma singing voice, major key , Arpeggios ), longing (chromatic and decrescendo , mm. 77ff.), Excitement (high register of the singing voice, shortened note values, ascending chromaticism, mm. 97ff.), Threat (accelerando, tone repetitions, mm. 135ff.) And security (mm. 30ff, major, half notes singing part). Through the major-minor dualism, Schubert contrasts the opposing worlds of Erlkönig and father / son. The drama and tension inherent in the ballad are musically modeled by Schubert, even increased, which is underlined by the range of dynamics , the increase in agogic , chromatic and dominant seventh chords in various reversals, which had a terrifying effect on Schubert's contemporaries. Typical characteristics for the music of the Romantic era are virtuosity (fast repeated octaves in the piano), strong expressiveness, exhaustion of the musical range, the creation of tension and the juxtaposition of dream world / fantasy and reality / rationality.

Criticism / appreciation

Schubert's teacher Wenzel Ruzicka was particularly fascinated by the dissonances in the Erlkönig, which he considered “necessary” for a suitable text-based setting. The first performance of the setting in 1821 was successful; there was "stormy applause from the large audience," as Joseph von Spaun , a visitor, reports. The numerous testimonials (literary, musical, artistic) show the popularity of the ballad from the time it was created until today. Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau appreciates the piano accompaniment in the setting, which he describes as a “compositional life of its own”: Important motifs such as the repeated octaves appear here, and an eerie, tense atmosphere is created. Fischer-Dieskau also praised the “great tragedy” of the setting.

Joseph von Spaun sent the setting to Goethe in the hope of getting encouragement from him for a print. However, he sent it back without comment, as he categorically rejected Schubert's form of the thoroughly composed song .

Wilhelmine Schröder-Devrient , however, performed the Erlkönig again in front of Goethe in 1830, whereupon he is said to have said, according to a report by Eduard Genast :

Many thanks for this great artistic achievement! I heard this composition once before, where I didn't want to accept it at all, but presented like this the whole thing turns into a visible image. I would also like to thank you, my dear Mrs. Genast, for your characteristic company.

Interpretations (selection)

  • Ian Bostridge : 25 songs by Franz Schubert . Emi Classics 2006
  • Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau / Gerald Moore : Schubert songs. EMI 1951. New admission to Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft 1968
  • Hans Hotter / Gerald Moore: Lieder Recital 1956/57 . Testament (grade 1 music distribution) 2000
  • Anne Sofie von Otter : Schubert Lieder with Orchestra . Chamber orchestra of Europe. Claudio Abbado 2003
  • Thomas Quasthoff / Charles Spencer: Schubert. Goethe songs . Rca Red Seal (Sony Music) 1995
  • Heinrich Schlusnus : Erlkönig . Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft 1933
  • Elisso Wirsaladse : Schubert, Piano Sonate D850; Brahms, Piano Sonata No. 1; Liszt, Thee Etudes de Concert; Schubert, Moment Musicaux D780 No. 2; Schubert / Liszt, The Erlkönig . Recorded in London 1993. CD Verlag Classic Live

Arrangements of Schubert's Erlkönig

In the area of ​​arrangements, the piano transcription by Franz Liszt based on Schubert's song should be mentioned as well as a transcription for solo violin by Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst . In 1997 Hans Werner Henze created Erlkönig. Orchestra fantasy on Goethe's poem and Schubert's Opus 1 .

The German a cappella band Maybebop arranged Schubert's Erlkönig with the four singers in the various roles on the 2013 album Less Are More .

In 2018 Café del Mundo released an arrangement for two flamenco guitars on the album Beloved Europa .

In it, the flamenco singer Rosario la Tremendita takes on the voice of the Erlkönig in a duet with the bass-baritone Henryk Boehm.

literature

  • Werner-Joachim Düring: Erlkönig settings. A historical and systematic investigation. Bosse, Regensburg 1972 (sheet music: 1977), ISBN 3-7649-2082-3 .
  • Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau: On the trail of the Schubert songs. Brockhaus, Wiesbaden 1971, ISBN 3-7653-0244-9 .
  • Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau: Schubert and his songs. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart 1996, ISBN 3-421-05051-1 .
  • Hans Joachim Moser: The German song since Mozart. Berlin & Zurich 1937.
  • Werner Oehlmann (Ed.): Reclams Liedführer. 6th edition. Reclam, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-15-010680-8 .
  • Norbert Schläbitz: Romanticism in Music. Schöningh, Paderborn 2007, ISBN 978-3-14-018072-6 .
  • Franz Schubert: Chants for a voice with piano accompaniment . Volume 1. Edited by Max Friedlaender . Peters, Frankfurt a. ao J.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau: Schubert and his songs . Stuttgart 1996, p. 77
  2. ^ Otto Erich German : Franz Schubert. List of his works in chronological order. Small edition due to the new edition in German edited by Werner Aderhold , Walther Dürr , Arnold Feil . Bärenreiter, Kassel / dtv, Munich 1983, ISBN 3-7618-3261-3 / ISBN 3-423-03261-8 , p. 92.
  3. ^ Norbert Schläbitz: Romanticism in Music . Paderborn 2011, p. 50
  4. ^ Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau: In the footsteps of the Schubert songs . Munich 1976
  5. ^ Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau: In the footsteps of the Schubert songs . Munich 1976, p. 66
  6. ↑ Werner Oehlmann: Reclam's song guide . Stuttgart 1993, p. 193
  7. ^ Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau: Schubert and his songs . Stuttgart 1996, p. 78
  8. ^ Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau: Schubert and his songs . Stuttgart 1996, p. 79
  9. ^ Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau: In the footsteps of the Schubert songs . Munich 1976, p. 168
  10. ^ Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau: In the footsteps of the Schubert songs . Munich 1976, p. 68
  11. ^ Walther Dürr, Andreas Krause (Ed.): Schubert Handbook . 3. Edition. Bärenreiter, Kassel u. a. 2010, ISBN 978-3-7618-2041-4 , pp. 67 .
  12. ↑ Werner-Joachim Düring: Erlkönig settings. A historical and systematic investigation . Gustav Bosse, Regensburg 1972, ISBN 3-7649-2082-3 , p. 109 .