Franz Schubert: Der Erlkönig

Schubert’s Der Erlkönig has a prominent place in our general course on “Classical music,” Discovering Music. Many people tend to think that the music we  call “classical” is all about big orchestras playing symphonies and concertos. Those things are important, of course, but the blockbuster works don’t tell the whole story.

I place “classical” in quotes because it can be a confusing term with multiple meanings. It refers on the one hand to a specific era within the time of the Enlightenment, roughly 1750-1820, and typified by composers like Mozart and Haydn. But the term is frequently used to refer more generally to any serious and enduring music, or high art associated with formal training.

Like his contemporary Beethoven, Schubert helped to usher in the Romantic era. Schubert composed large-scale works, but he made his mark composing songs—German Lieder. “Song” may sound less serious, more like folk or popular music, but you should not underestimate the mastery involved.

Erlkönig is a prime example of how the Romantic era can be distinguished from the Classical era that preceded it. The Enlightenment with its emphasis on reason and rationality was over. The shock of the Napoleonic Wars created a very different mindset in Europe. There was a fascination with the supernatural, apparent in literary works by E.T.A. Hoffmann, the Grimm brothers, and Edgar Allan Poe.

The ballad Erlkönig by Goethe tells of a father carrying his sick son by horseback seeking help as Death (the Elfking) stalks the boy. Schubert brings out the voices of the frantic father, the frightened son, and the soothing and beckoning Elfking. And underneath it all is the incessant pounding of hoofs in the piano part.

The young baritone, Philippe Sly, is a newcomer, but one that has caught our attention. The piano accompaniment requires considerable skill and endurance, and Maria Fuller turns in a superior performance.

Refer to the text as you listen.