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"Der Erlkönig" ("The Erl King"; often called just "Erlkönig") is a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. It depicts the death of a child assailed by a supernatural being. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (pronounced [gø tə]) (August 28, 1749 – March 22, 1832) was a German writer, politician, humanist, scientist, and philosopher. ...
The poem has been used as the text for lieder (art songs for voice and piano) by many classical composers; a list appears here (http://www.recmusic.org/lieder/get_text.html?TextId=6381). Of these, the most famous is undoubtedly the one by Franz Schubert, his op. 1 D. 328 (see section below). It was Schubert's most popular song during his lifetime. More recently, the poem has been reinvented by the German band Rammstein as the song "Dalai Lama". Lied (plural Lieder) is a German word, literally meaning song; among English speakers, however, it is used primarily as a term for European classical music songs, also known as art songs. Typically, Lieder are arranged for a single singer and piano. ...
Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (January 31, 1797 – November 19, 1828), was an Austrian composer. ...
Rammstein is a German band formed in 1993. ...
Dalai Lama is a song by the band Rammstein, released in 2004 on the album Reise, Reise. ...
Goethe's poem begins with a young boy being brought to either the court or back to his home by his father, perhaps a farmer or some sort of peasant. The meaning is somewhat ambiguous, as the word Hof has the double meaning of "court yard" or "farm house".
The poem begins by giving the impression that the child is simply dying from a strange disease, and is seeing death as a figment of his imagination. As it proceeds, the poem takes an ever darker twist, and it ends with the death of the child.
One story has it that Goethe was visiting a friend when, late one night, a dark figure carrying a bundle in its arms was seen riding past the gate at high speed. The next day Goethe and friend were told that they had seen a farmer taking his sick son to the doctor. This incident (along with the legend) is said to have been the main inspiration for the poem.
Text | Original German | English Translation | | Wer reitet so spät durch Nacht und Wind?
Es ist der Vater mit seinem Kind;
Er hat den Knaben wohl in dem Arm,
Er faßt ihn sicher, er hält ihn warm.
"Mein Sohn, was birgst du so bang dein Gesicht?"
"Siehst, Vater, du den Erlkönig nicht?
Den Erlenkönig mit Kron und Schweif?"
"Mein Sohn, es ist ein Nebelstreif."'
"Du liebes Kind, komm, geh mit mir!
Gar schöne Spiele spiel' ich mit dir;
Manch' bunte Blumen sind an dem Strand,
Meine Mutter hat manch gülden Gewand."
"Mein Vater, mein Vater, und hörest du nicht,
Was Erlenkönig mir leise verspricht?"
"Sei ruhig, bleibe ruhig, mein Kind;
In dürren Blättern säuselt der Wind."
"Willst, feiner Knabe, du mit mir gehn?
Meine Töchter sollen dich warten schön;
Meine Töchter führen den nächtlichen Reihn,
Und wiegen und tanzen und singen dich ein."
"Mein Vater, mein Vater, und siehst du nicht dort
Erlkönigs Töchter am düstern Ort?"
"Mein Sohn, mein Sohn, ich seh es genau:
Es scheinen die alten Weiden so grau."
"Ich liebe dich, mich reizt deine schöne Gestalt;
Und bist du nicht willig, so brauch ich Gewalt."
"Mein Vater, mein Vater, jetzt faßt er mich an!
Erlkönig hat mir ein Leids getan!"
Dem Vater grauset's, er reitet geschwind,
Er hält in Armen das ächzende Kind,
Erreicht den Hof mit Mühe und Not;
In seinen Armen das Kind war tot. | Who rides so late, through night and wind?
It is the father, with his child;
He has the young lad clasped in his arms,
He holds him securely, he holds him warm
"My son, why do you hide your face?"
"Father, don't you see the Elf King?
The Elf King, with his crown and cape tail?"
"My son, it's just a strip of fog."
"You lovely child, come with me!
So many lovely games I will play with you.
Many colorful flowers are by the shore,
My mother has many golden robes."
"My father, my father, can't you hear,
The promises the Elf King is whispering to me?"
"Be quiet, stay quiet, my child;
It's just the dry leaves rustling in the wind."
"Fine lad, will you come with me?
My daughters will tend to you;
My daughters will put you to bed every night,
And cuddle and sing and dance you to sleep."
"My father, My father, can't you see over there?
The Elf King's daughters at that dreary place?"
"My son, my son, I see it clearly,
It's just the old weeping willows so grey."
"I love you, your beautiful figure excites me;
And if you're not willing, then I will use force."
"My father, my father, he's grabbing me!
The Elf King has done something terrible to me!"
The father shudders, he rides swiftly,
He holds in his arms the moaning child.
He arrives at the farm with pain and distress.
In his arms, the child was dead. |
The Franz Schubert composition Franz Schubert composed his lied The Erlking in 1815 for solo voice and piano with a fast tempo. The text comes from the Goethe poem. Schubert revised it three times before publishing his fourth version in 1821 as his Opus 1. It was first performed in concert on December 1, 1820, at a private gathering in Vienna and received its public premiere on March 7, 1821, at Vienna's Kärntnertor Theatre. Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (January 31, 1797 – November 19, 1828), was an Austrian composer. ...
Lied (plural Lieder) is a German word, literally meaning song; among English speakers, however, it is used primarily as a term for European classical music songs, also known as art songs. Typically, Lieder are arranged for a single singer and piano. ...
1815 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...
1821 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...
December 1 is the 335th (in leap years the 336th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...
1820 was a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...
Vienna (German: Wien [viːn]) is the capital of Austria, and also one of Austrias nine federal states (Bundesland Wien). ...
March 7 is the 66th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (67th in Leap years). ...
1821 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...
The four characters — narrator, father, son, and the erlking — are sung by one vocalist using different vocal ranges.
- The narrator is sung in middle range and minor mode.
- The father is sung in low range and minor mode, calming his son from the son's fears.
- The son is sung in high range, minor mode and frightened.
- The erlking is sung, pianissimo, in medium range and major mode.
The Erlking starts with the piano rapidly playing minor octaves in triplets to simulate the horse's galloping; this motive reoccurs throughout the piece. Each of the son's pleas grow louder and higher pitched, than the previous ones. Near the very end of the piece the music slows down and the piano stops before the final, "In seinen Armen das Kind war tot." The piece then ends with two dramatic chords. A minor scale in musical theory is a diatonic scale whose third scale degree is an interval of a minor third above the tonic. ...
In music, dynamics refers to the volume or loudness of the sound or note, in particular to the range from soft (quiet) to loud. ...
In music theory, the major scale (or major mode) is one of the diatonic scales. ...
For the numerical computation software, see GNU Octave. ...
In music, pitch is the perception of the frequency of a note. ...
In music and music theory a chord (from the middle English cord, short for accord) is three or more notes sounding simultaneously, or near simultaneously over a period of time. ...
Notes The legend of the Erlkönig appears to have originated in fairly recent times in Denmark and Goethe based his poem on "Erlkönigs Tochter" ("Erlkönig's Daughter"), a Danish work translated into German by Johann Gottfried Herder. The Erlkönig's nature has been the subject of some debate. The word is often translated into English as "Elf-King", but the name "Elf-King" is rendered in German as Elfenkönig, not Erlkönig ("Alder King"). It has often been suggested that Erlkönig is a mistranslation from the original Danish ellerkonge or elverkonge. A legend (Latin, legenda, things to be read) is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude. ...
Johann Gottfried Herder Johann Gottfried von Herder (August 25, 1744 – December 18, 1803), German poet, critic, theologian, and philosopher, is best known for his influence on authors such as Goethe and the role he played in the development of the larger cultural movement known as romanticism Biography Born in Mohrungen...
Another interpretation says The Erlking is based on the legend that whoever is touched by the king of elves must die. For the head of state, see Monarch. ...
For alternate meanings, see Lightning (disambiguation). ...
According to German and Danish folklore, the Erlkönig appears as an omen of death, much like the banshee in Irish mythology. Unlike the banshee, however, the Erlkönig will appear only to the person about to die. His form and expression also tell the person what sort of death they will have: a pained expression means a painful death, a peaceful expression means a peaceful death. The banshee (pronounced /ˈbænʃiː/) is a creature in Irish mythology, the word being derived from the Old Irish ben síde, modern Irish bean sídhe or bean sí, fairy woman (bean, woman, and sidhe, being the tuiseal ginideach or possessive case of fairy). They are remnants of the Tuatha Dé Danann. ...
Although many of the manuscripts containing texts relating to Irish mythology have failed to survive, and much more material was probably never committed to writing, there is enough remaining to enable the identification of four distinct, if overlapping, cycles: the Mythological Cycle, The Ulster Cycle, the Fenian Cycle and the...
See also In German and Scandanavian myth, an erlking is a mischievous or malevolent sprite which often targets children. ...
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