A Study of Music History and Comprehensive Analysis of Erlkönig

This essay provides an overview of music history, tracing its evolution from the medieval period to the modern era, highlighting key periods such as the Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, and Romantic periods. It emphasizes the development of musical instruments and changing perspectives on music's role in society. The essay then focuses on Franz Schubert and his famous song "Erlkönig," offering a detailed analysis of the ballad's narrative, musical features, and emotional impact. It discusses the different vocal pitches representing the father, son, and Erl-king, as well as the piano's role in creating mood and atmosphere. The analysis also touches on the challenges of performing and interpreting the piece, underscoring Schubert's skill in translating text into music and the piano's significant role beyond mere accompaniment. The essay concludes by reflecting on Schubert's legacy and the lessons that can be learned from his compositional techniques.

Running head: Music 1
Music
Student’s Name
Institution

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Music origin is hard to be traced despite it becoming a special part of human being’s life.
Its growth was however influenced by a couple of circumstances as we will see it below. The
instruments also accompanying the music have also undergone a huge evolution. They have been
seen to advance as the technology is advancing and with the invention of new genres of music.
From 400 AC to date music has gone a significant change that cannot just be assumed. To begin
with is the medieval stage that took about 100 years. This stage was characterized by instruments
made of wood such as a flute string instruments that were not complicated. The next period was
referred to as renaissance and it took about 200 years up to 1600 AC. Here the perspective
people had for music had really changed and music could be viewed as an entertainment tool too.
The instrument used had also graduated also to another level with the introduction of an
instrument such as brass lyre and violin. Baroque period came immediately after the Renaissance
stage and it existed for 150 years before it was outdone by the classical period. The baroque
stage was mainly characterized by an invention of more instruments which were more advanced
than those in the previous stage such as the harpsichord among others. A classical period
followed and dominated for about 70 years. One of the main characteristics of this period is that
the orchestra became bigger in size since it accommodated more instrument and more creativity.
The romantic stage started in 1820 and lasted for about 80 years. It is in this period where we
meet some of the renowned artists such as Schubert and many others. The music in this era
emphasized mystery, nature, and emotions among others. This period welcomed the period we
are in currently commonly known as the modern period. This period began around the 19th
century and has been characterized with its advancement of instruments to cope with the fast
growing technology.

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Franz Schubert has remained to be one of the greatest icons in the history of music
especially in the study of the romantic era of music. He lived for only 31 years but most
amazingly, by this time he had written about 600 artistic songs. By the age of 11, Franz was
already in music. He wrote the song “Erl- king” in the year 1815 at the age of 18. This song
comes from the famous poem entitled in the same way by one of the German legends in poems
called Johann W Von Goethe. This song is a masterpiece as it is one of the leading ballads that
has ever been written. Ballad is a genre of music that involves a narrative song that performed
and passed to the audience by means of mouth. This song was only made for two people and that
is the pianist and the performer but it carries a lot in the four minutes of its performance (Franz
Schubert: Erlkönig 2018). This narrative tells of a boy who was on his way home on a horseback
together with his father. The boy frets when they encounter Erl-king, a mighty supernatural
being. The father, however, cannot see this being and ends up thinking they are just imaginations
of the child. Erl-king, however, takes the child without the father's consent only to find the child
died when he finally reaches home.
From the music, one of the easily identified features is the running of the horse that is
re4presented by the staccato chords played by the right hand simultaneously with the left hand
which brings about the mood of urgency and unlucky. Though the narrator is one, the parts of the
father, the son and the Erl-king can easily be identified and differentiated. Whenever the boy
speaks, a rise in vocal pitch can be identified which help in bringing the picture of unmanageable
fear. Contrary, the father speaks with quite a lower vocal pitch and with a steady voice every
time he is consoling his child. A difference will also be identified in the Erl-king voice where it
is somehow sweet in the beginning as we start with an intention of deceiving the child but later
changes to be a bit harsh when the child refuses to give in to his deception (Montgomery, 2003).

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The pianist variation can also be easily identified. In this case, he is praying in the key of G. He
plays if G major when the Erl-King is speaking and later goes to G minor in the part of the father
and the son. There is also some additional bass notes that come with a horrific mood. Analyzing
this music is, however, a challenging task as it very rich with a lot of styles in it. It’s not easy to
break differentiate the different styles used in the music to represent the different characters and
moods (Hoffer, 2009). The performance of this music too is not easy because of the different
vocal variations and the difficult involvement in playing the piano. The last event is when the
father arrives and realizes that the child is dead. Here the piano stops to signify an end of events.
There is also a somber mood that is displayed in here as the father is mourning for his son.
Lastly, the piano resumes at ones to show the end of the narration.
Franz remains to be one of the great legends who ever existed. His work is very special
from other because of the skills displayed in the composition. Through his work, we can learn
when setting text in music that the mood. The atmosphere and the imagery in the poem must be
translated well to bring about the intended meaning. It is also important to come up with a
melody that is in line with the mood in the poem to preserve the meaning of the poem. The
musical effect also is applied well so as to pass the important words found in the poem. The
piano, in this case, ceases to just be an accompaniment to the vocalist and becomes a partner in
the performance since it plays a significant role too.

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References
Franz Schubert: Erlkönig. (2018). YouTube. Retrieved 25 June 2018, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JS91p-vmSf0
Hoffer, C. (2009). Music listening today. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Schirmer.
Montgomery, D. (2003). Franz Schubert's music in performance : compositional ideals,
notational intent, historical realities, pedagogical foundations. Hillsdale, NY: Pendragon
Press.