Going along with
our spooky sounds of Halloween this week, today let’s listen to a few pieces
that are associated with creepy stories that you may or may not be familiar
with. First up is Dvorak’s Noonday Witch.
Inspired by the poem “Polednice” by Karel Jaromir Erben which was based on the
noon demon “Lady Midday” found in Slavic mythology, the story behind the music
relates to a mother who warns her young son to behave or she will summon the
noon witch. When he continues to misbehave, the witch appears, terrifying the
mother. In fear and attempts to protect her child, the mother holds the boy
close, accidentally smothering him to death. You can listen to Dvorak’s musical
interpretation of this terrifying tale here:
Another haunting
story comes from Goethe’s poem “Erlkonig” that Schubert (along with many other
composers) set to music. This piece for voice and piano tells of a father and son
riding on horseback through the night. As the son cries out in fear of the
approaching, yet enticing Erl King, the father hushes him to silence, not
believing the boy’s story. When the horse arrives to their destination, the
father finds the boy dead in his arms. Schubert does an excellent job at
conveying the different characters in this poem. The Erl King who is an
enticing character, sings in a major key in order to sound positive and
convincing. The father too sings in a major key, ignorant of the impending doom
of his child. The boy and the narrator, on the other hand, aware of the
ultimate fate, sing in an eerie and sorrowful minor key. You can listen to
Jessye Norman sing this magnificent piece here. Can you hear the racing of the
horse’s hoofs in the piano?
Lastly, let’s
listen to the famous “Sacrificial Dance” from Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring.
Do you remember
what happens during this primitive ballet? A girl is chosen as a sacrifice and
must dance herself to death. You can watch a scene from this opera here. Notice
the irregular meter and frequent alterations of notes and rests in Stravinsky’s
music that help to depict this scene:
