The poem Der Erlkönig (Erlking) by the Romantic poet Goethe tells the story of a father and son riding through the night and the death of the child as he is snatched away by the Erlking, a supernatural being. It was written in 1782.
You can find Richard Wigmore’s translation of the poem here: https://oxfordsong.org/song/erlk%C3%B6nig-2
Goethe’s friend Beethoven sketched a version in 1795, and twenty years later super-Beethoven fan Schubert also set the words.
He composed it when he was about 17/18, and it was first performed privately five years later in December 1820, and then in concert in 1821, quickly making him famous in Vienna.
Listen to the opening of by Schubert.
The piano sets the mood with its minor key, pounding triplets and rumbling bass depicting the galloping horse and the mounting anxiety.
There are four roles – they each have different music – what do you notice about their music?
- The Narrator
- The Father
- The Son
- The Erlking.
How successful do you think Schubert’s setting of this poem is? What would you have done differently?
The poem was also set by other composers:
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