Erlking (Erlkönig D. 328)

Franz Schubert composed the song “Erlking” (Erlkönig”) in 1815 at the age of 18. His friend Joseph von Spaun reported that it was written one afternoon in just a few hours. After some revisions, Schubert published the piece in 1821 as his Opus 1. By the time he died in 1828, Schubert had published 100 works and written over 990 compositions. The first public performance of “Erlking” in 1821was a huge success, and it has since become one of the most performed pieces of music ever composed.
 The music is based on Goethe’s 1782 poem “Erlkönig” that tells the supernatural story of the Erlking (king of the fairies) who torments a child being carried by his father on horseback through a forest at night. Only the child can see the Erlking so the father tries to comfort his son. The music changes mood dramatically, shifting from major to minor, as it reflects the frantic child and the calming tones of the father. The chromatic and sometimes dissonant tension of the music builds feverishly until it abruptly ends when the father realizes the child has died in his arms.
 This arrangement for horn quartet captures all the drama of Schubert’s original song for voice and piano. Melodies and accompanimental figures are distributed to every player to preserve the intensity of Schubert’s original virtuosic piano and vocal parts. It is a perfect conclusion to any concert since the audience will likely break out into a “rapturous applause” just like the first performance in 1821.