Erlkönig, op. 1, D 328

Question 1

What is the genre of <i>Erlkönig</i>?

Answer 1

<i>Lied</i>

Question 2

When was <i>Erlkönig</i> composed?

Answer 2

1815

Question 3

What is the source of text for <i>Erlkönig</i>?

Answer 3

poem by

inspired by German legends of Erlking, a sinister supernatural elf who dwells in the forest;

anyone who is touched by him dies

Question 4

What is the song type/structure of <i>Erlkönig</i>

Answer 4

<i>durchkomponiert</i>

Question 5

What are the performing forces of <i>Erlkönig</i>?

Answer 5

solo voice and piano

Question 6

What is the key of <i>Erlkönig</i>?

Answer 6

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

Question 7

What is the time signature of <i>Erlkönig</i>?

Answer 7

C

Question 8

What is the tempo for <i>Erlkönig</i>?

Answer 8

<i>Schnell</i> (German for “fast”)

Question 9

What does the son see when he and his father is riding on a windswept night in <i>Erlkönig</i>?

Answer 9

the son see the Erlking

Question 10

What does the Erlking begin to do in <i>Erlkönig</i>?

Answer 10

He tries to lure away the frightened child

Question 11

What are do the son and his father express in <i>Erlkönig</i>?

Answer 11

the boy becomes increasingly fearful and agitated, his father tries to calm and reassure him

Question 12

What happens when the father and son arrive at the courtyard?

Answer 12

the father looks down to find his son dead in his arms

Question 13

What is heard in the right hand of the <b>Piano Introduction</b> from <i>Erlkönig</i>?

Answer 13

vigorous octave triplets

Question 14

What is heard in the left hand of the <b>Piano Introduction</b> from <i>Erlkönig</i>?

Answer 14

arched melody

Question 15

What mood does the <b>Piano Introduction</b> from <i>Erlkönig</i> establish?

Answer 15

fear, suspense, agitation

Question 16

How does the voice depict the narrator’s voice in <i>Erlkönig</i>?

Answer 16

middle register

Question 17

How does the voice depict the father in <i>Erlkönig</i>?

Answer 17

lower register;

<i>legato</i> phrases show his attempt to maintain a calm mood

Question 18

How does the voice depict the son in <i>Erlkönig</i>?

Answer 18

upper register, suggests youth and childlike innocence

Question 19

How does the voice depict the Erlking in <i>Erlkönig</i>?

Answer 19

middle register,

addresses boy with <b>insincere sweetness</b> that doesn’t fool the child

Question 20

How is musical contrast achieved when the Erlking speaks to the boy the first two times in <i>Erlkönig</i>?

Answer 20

softer voice and accompaniment,

quarter notes suggest sneaky voice

Question 21

How is the boy’s panic conveyed musically as he cries “Mein Vater, mein Vater” in <i>Erlkönig</i>?

Answer 21

loud dissonance,
high voce,
shifts to minor tonality,
8th notes more apparent

Question 22

How does Schubert build musical tension throughout the rest of <i>Erlkönig</i>?

Answer 22

dynamic differences,
theme differences,
more lyrical,
major - minor tonality,
modified <b>strophic</b>

Question 23

How is Erlking’s true nature revealed in <i>Erlkönig</i>?

Answer 23

soft voice becomes more rough,
8th notes more apparent,
louder

Question 24

What is the chord during the arrival of Ab major triad in <i>Erlkönig</i>?

Answer 24

super tonic triad <b>Neapolitan chord</b>