jan 1, 1815 - "Elf King" ("Erlkönig) by Franz Schubert (1815)

Description:

One piece that stood out during the Romantic Era was "Elf King" ("Erlkönig) by Franz Schubert, composed in the year 1815. Schubert composed this to tell the story of a young boy who kept seeing an elf king while his father could not see it. It was inspired by a ballad, and it shares the folk music style in both the music and tale. To be more specific, it was a continuation of a poem written by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Due to the emotional and dramatic narrative of the poem, Schubert felt a deep connection with the story which led him to create “Elf King” in only a few hours.

Prior to his creation of the song, all his efforts of making music were fruitless. That was until his friends pushed him to continue with the composition of this song (Brown, 2024). Not only that but his deep connection to the story shows how the Romantic Era of music truly made an impact on people all around the world. This was due to its connection with experience and individualism.

Going back to the song itself, it was made as a single movement piece and is played as a small ensemble written for voice and piano. As for musical musical elements that stand out throughout the song, the dynamic range is medium as the notes go from high to low. The texture is thick as the song has many layers. The timbre of the singer’s voice is rough as they use high registers of their voice. The form of the song has repetition (A B).

Overall, the song "Elf King" ("Erlkönig) composed by Franz Schubert, connects to the Romantic Era as it conveys a story with emotional expression and individualism. This can be seen with Schubert’s connection to the story and when the young boy is feeling emotions of fear and confusion. How only he can see the Elf King while his father is unable to. This can be heard in the wavering melody and abrupt tone of the song.

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