魔王

「魔王」は、シューベルトが1815年、18歳のときに作った歌曲です。詩はゲーテ。暗く風の強い夜、父親が子どもを腕に抱いて馬を走らせていると、子どもにだけ「魔王」の姿が見え、声が聞こえます。歌手はひとりで、語り手・父・子・魔王の4つの役を歌い分けなければなりません。Schubert wrote "The Erl-King" in 1815, when he was 18. The poem is by Goethe. On a dark, windy night, a father rides on horseback, holding his son in his arms. Only the child can see the Erl-King and hear his voice. One singer must sing four roles: the narrator, the father, the son, and the Erl-King.

ピアノは曲のほとんどで、馬のひづめのように速い音を休まず打ち続けます。魔王はやさしく甘い声で子どもをさそい、子どもはおびえて「お父さん、お父さん！」と叫びます。その叫びはくり返されるたびに音が高くなり、恐怖が強まっていきます。最後に家に着いたとき、子どもは父の腕の中で息をひきとっていました。For most of the song, the piano pounds out fast notes without a break, like a galloping horse. The Erl-King tempts the child with a sweet, gentle voice, while the frightened boy cries, "My father, my father!" Each time he cries out, his voice goes higher, and the fear grows. When they finally reach home, the child in his father's arms is dead.

友人シュパウンによると、シューベルトは詩を読みながら興奮し、あっという間に楽譜に書きとめたそうです。1816年、友人たちはこの曲をふくむ歌曲の楽譜集をゲーテに送りましたが、返事はありませんでした。1821年、歌手フォーグルが演奏会で歌って大成功し、同じ年に友人たちの協力で「作品1」として出版されました。According to his friend Joseph von Spaun, Schubert became excited as he read the poem and wrote the music down very quickly. In 1816, his friends sent Goethe a volume of songs on his poems, including this one, but he never replied. In 1821, the singer Johann Michael Vogl performed it at a concert with great success, and that same year, with help from friends, it was published as Schubert's Opus 1.