Jade Marino

MUL 4066

Professor Fouché

27th January 2021

Style Sheet #3: Erlkönig

Johann Carl Gottfried Loewe vs. Franz Schubert

Melody

Melodic contour and Phrase length: Loewe and Schubert chose to invoke the suspense of the

song into the melody in different ways. Loewe chose shorter, quicker phrases that fly by and

create an eerie tone with the help of eighth notes and chromaticism. Loewe builds suspense by

building the pitches throughout each measure, choosing to raise the suspense by raising the pitch

both stepwise and chromatically. This is seen in mm. 1-9, where the pitches travel from the

bottom to the top of the staff, back down to the bottom of the staff, and back up again, taking the

audience’s suspense level with it. This raising of pitch is seen again in mm. 17-20 as the fearful

child describes the Elf King for the first time; the sudden rise in pitch indicates a rise in

suspense. Schubert however, chooses to manipulate the suspense through melodic contour by

creating lengthier phrases (5 measures or so, in contrast to Loewe’s 2 measure phrases). Schubert

also chooses to keep these introductory phrases (mm. 15-19) in the lower-mid range of the staff,

where he then moves the melody to the mid-high range of the staff. This works to slowly build

suspense overtime, whereas Loewe uses the melodic equivalent to “jump scares.”

Harmony

Tonal vs. Atonal and Contrasts of Major of Major/Minor: Both Loewe and Schubert set their

compositions in the key of G minor. Loewe’s composition proves to be a bit more harmonically
adventurous throughout than Schubert’s. There are even moments of atonality, especially at the

beginning of Loewe’s composition during the introduction of the father and son. The son’s

entrance seems to float around G minor, though leaving the tonal center a bit ambiguous in m.

17. The ambiguity of these atonal areas can possibly signify the uncomfortable and hesitancy of

the son as he tries to identify the intentions, and even reality, of the Elf King. Schubert however,

stays relatively true to the home key throughout the beginning of the piece. The tonal centers do

shift upon the entrances of different characters, specifically the Elf King in Schubert’s, who

rotates between B-flat major, C major, and E-flat major. In both compositions, the composers

chose to portray the Elf King in major keys and therefore provide sharp comparison to the minor

keys of the father, son, and narrator. This is an interesting but clever choice being that the “evil”

character exists in the major key in order to appeal to the child, whereas the other characters stay

in minor due to their frightened state and dark setting.

Rhythm

Tempo: Both composers chose to set their compositions of “Erlkönig” to a “fast” tempo

(“Allegro” for Loewe, “Schnell” or “fast” for Schubert). The mutual tempo marking for this

piece perhaps maintains the true character of the piece in that it is intended to be anxiety-

inducing and suspenseful to reflect how the son and father characters are feeling.

Rhythms that Reinforce Text: In Schubert’s composition, similar to the contrast of major and

minor, the father, son, and narrator have longer rhythmic patterns, telling their story with quarter

notes and half notes, whereas the Elf King is a bit more rhythmically playful. This is seen in mm.

64-70 in Schubert’s composition. The addition of eighth notes and triplets may be a tactic of the

Elf King to seem more appealing and playful to the boy, whose own rhythms are more

straightforward and drawn-out in comparison to emphasize the seriousness and danger of his
situation. Loewe however, takes a more conversational approach to the rhythm. Whereas

Schubert’s rhythms are drawn out to enforce the storytelling aspect of the piece, Loewe utilizes

rhythmic patterns to highlight the conversational nature of the piece, such as the quick call-and-

response of the father and son in mm. 15-17.

Accompaniment

Text illustration and Motives: In both compositions, the piece starts out with a repeating line of

eighth notes (in Schubert’s composition) or sixteenth notes (in Loewe’s composition) in the

accompaniment, though they both hold the same value due to the difference in time signature

(Schubert’s in 4/4, whereas Loewe’s is in 9/8). These fast, almost galloping, rhythmic patterns

reoccur throughout both pieces in their respective forms and set the suspenseful tone of the piece

as well as reflect the entrance of the horse’s hooves. Schubert however, continues this repeating

pattern throughout the piece while Loewe associates this galloping accompaniment with the

father and son’s parts, though often removing it when the Elf King speaks. This absence of the

repeating sixteenth note pattern during the Elf King’s dialogue reflecting hooves can be seen in

the Elf King’s initial entrance in mm. 23-35, where the piano recedes to a more legato feel and

the repeating sixteenth notes die away. They then return in m. 36 when the son speaks again,

therefore always reminding the audience of the setting and the son’s panic.

Poets/Texts

Text settings: Though both composers chose the same text, they chose to set it differently.

Schubert chose to emphasize the storytelling aspect of the poem by Goethe through his smoother

vocal texture, rhythm, and accompaniment, perhaps aided by his choice to set the piece in 4/4.

Loewe however, chose to set the poem in 9/8, therefore making the piece a bit more jumpy and

dance-like, which inherently emphasizes the conversational aspect of the poem. Being that there
are four different characters at play in this poem, Loewe chose to highlight the actual dialogue of

each character, as opposed to Schubert’s more story-like setting. Though both are dramatic

pieces, Schubert builds drama by steadily increasing intensity, whereas Loewe maintains a high

level of intensity through rapid-fire dialogue and rhythm.

Choice of text: The choice to set this particular text to music for Schubert was perhaps primarily

fueled by his love of stylistic exploration and range of musical characterization. The opportunity

to set four, even five if the horse is included, characters to music most likely satisfied his taste

more evoking musical drama from a text and in-depth attention to detail. In comparison, this text

catered to Loewe’s similar taste for dramatic flair in musical composition, as well as his affinity

for texts relating to the supernatural. Being that the Elf King appears as some supernatural figure,

only seen by the boy and perhaps representing oncoming death, Loewe was most likely drawn to

the unique characterization of such a character.