Erlking for Horn Quartet

Franz Schubert composed the song "Erlking" ("Erlking") in 1815 at the age of 18. The first public performance of "Erlking" in 1821was a huge success, and it has since become one of the most performed pieces of music ever composed. The music is based on Goethe's 1782 poem "ErlkAnig" that tells the supernatural story of the Erlking (king of the fairies) who torments a child being carried by his father on horseback through a forest at night. The chromatic and sometimes dissonant tension of the music builds feverishly until it abruptly ends when the father realizes the child has died in his arms. This arrangement for horn quartet captures all the drama of Schubert's original song for voice and piano. Melodies and accompanimental figures are distributed to every player to preserve the intensity of Schubert's original virtuosic piano and vocal parts. It is a perfect conclusion to any concert since the audience will likely break out into a "rapturous applause" just like the first performance in 1821.