Franz Schubert
Erlkönig
Short instrumentation: 1 1 2 1 - 2 0 0 0 - timp, str
Duration: 4'
Bearbeitung: Max Reger
Text von: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Solos:
mittlere Stimme
Instrumentation details:
flute
oboe
1. clarinet in B
2. clarinet in B
bassoon
1. horn in F
2. horn in F
timpani
violin I
violin II
viola
violoncello
contrabass
Schubert - Erlkönig for medium voice and orchestra
Printed/Digital
Translation, reprints and more
Franz Schubert
Schubert: Erlkönig G minor - D 382Orchestration: für mittlere Stimme und Orchester
Type: Partitur
Sample pages
Audio preview
Work introduction
Georg Friedrich Haas wrote about Erlkönig:
“Goethe’s Erlkönig is one of the most horrifying poems in all of world literature. At its centre is an unspeakable tragedy, the death of a child. Also shocking is the language of the poem: it omits any description of the boy’s suffering. The very objectivity of Goethe’s language is chilling.
In Schubert’s setting of Erlkönig, he makes a fundamental change to the poem by using music to illustrate the story from the perspective of the dying child. The boy’s emotions - helplessness, fear, desperation, pain - are brought to life in the song and its piano accompaniment. Schubert’s contribution is to add a measure of empathy for the stricken child.”
Near the end of his short life, Reger undertook a number of orchestral arrangements of Schubert Lieder. The scoring attests to the German composer’s mastery; the instrumental voices remain in the background, coming to the fore only at moments of dramatic outburst, leaving the listener with the impression of hearing scenes from music dramas.
Reger’s important arrangements have enriched the repertoire of orchestra Lieder.