“Elfking” Piece Review

Fraz Schubert’s “Erlkonig” (translated to Elfking) was publish in 1815. Because of the string poetic influences of the piece it is considered a ballad. Instrumentation wise, it consist of a single piano and a male baritone vocalist. Both parts are rather demanding of each musician. There are essentially 5 characters in this Ballad. The first character is introduced solely through the piano part with these constant triplet figures in the right hand. This can be exhausting seeing as the piece is in common time. the Left Hand of the piano part adds some melodic contour, typically ascending. The vocalist has the difficult task of experimenting with different tones and timbres to fit the remaining 4 roles. Extreme vocal range and control are evident.  The father figure first enters with rather low baritone range with a heavy timbre to emphasize age in the character. The child responds in a higher rage of melodies and typically a softer coloration to the tone. All the while the piano is working hard to fit the ever changing texture and keeps reverting back to the triplet figures to remind us that we are on a journey with the horse! The next entrance is debatably the most eerie of them all. The child begins to hallucinate visions of a fairy Elf King. The piece takes a sudden turn for the major mode as the elf king entices the young sick child with promises of games and food. The child cries out throughout the piece to inform his dad of the hallucination’s ever growing aggressiveness. And of course by the end of the piece, the child succumbs to his illness. I love how this piece demands a lot from the vocalist and how not only must they have a sizable range, but also must manipulate their established sound to help convey the point of the story.