Erlkonig

Question 1

the lied represents___

Answer 1

the perfect union of poetry and music, singer and pianist

Question 2

genre

Answer 2

lied

Question 3

composition date

Answer 3

1815

Question 4

source of text

Answer 4

poem by Johann Wolfgang von Göethe, inspired by German legend of the Erlking, a sinister supernatural elf who dwells in the forest ; anyone who is touched by him dies.

Question 5

song type/form

Answer 5

durchkomponiert

Question 6

performing forces

Answer 6

solo voice and piano

Question 7

key

Answer 7

originally g minor (often transposed to accommodate the vocal range of the performer)

Question 8

meter

Answer 8

c

Question 9

tempo

Answer 9

schnell (German for fast)

Question 10

text summary

Answer 10

on a windswept night a father is riding urgently with his ailing son. The boy sees the erlking. The menacing elf tries again and again to lure away the frightened child. The boy becomes increasingly fearful and agitated despite his father’s attempts to calm and reassure him. Father and son continue their journey with great haste. As they arrive at the courtyard, the father looks down to find his son dead in his arms.

Question 11

piano

Answer 11

• vigorous octave triplets in the right hand depict the horse galloping
• arched melody in the left hand evokes the stormy night and howling wind
• a mood of foreboding urgency and agitation is established.

Question 12

musical setting

Answer 12

• narrator, father, son, erlking
• narrators voice stays in middle register
• the father’s notes are pitched in the lower register; his legato phrases attempt to maintain a calm mood
• the son returns the singer’s voice to the upper register, suggesting his youth and childlike innocence
• the erlking sings in the middle register, addressing the boy with an insincere sweetness that does not fool the child
• the boy’s cries of fear and panic are conveyed through the rising and falling minor second interval, which rises in pitch as the narrative unfolds.
• tension is heightened through the incessant driving rhythm, menacing dissonance and chromatic harmony building toward the dramatic conclusion