Der König von Thule (Liszt)

Tchaikovsky Research

Der König von Thule (Фульский король) is a ballad for voice with piano by Franz Liszt [1], which Tchaikovsky orchestrated in 1874 (TH 186 ; ČW 416).

Instrumentation

Arranged for solo baritone voice, and an orchestra consisting of 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets (in B-flat), 2 bassoons + 4 horns (in F), 2 trumpets (in F), 3 trombones + violins I, violins II, violas, cellos, and double basses.

Movements and Duration

There is one movement: Allegretto (A-flat major, 99 bars), lasting around 4 minutes in performance.

Text

The German text is a setting of Gretchen's song from Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832).

History

According to a note on the manuscript score, Tchaikovsky made the arrangement at the request of the baritone Ivan Melnikov on 22 October/3 November 1874.

Publication

Tchaikovsky's arrangement was published for the first time in 1970 in volume 59 of Tchaikovsky's Complete Collected Works, edited by Irina Iordan, with the original Italian words and a Russian translation by S. Zayaitsky and A. Yefremenkov.

Autographs

Tchaikovsky's manuscript arrangement is now preserved in the National Library of Russia in Saint Petersburg (ф. 834, No. 8 [view]).

Dedication

The arrangement is dedicated to Ivan Melnikov (1832–1906), who in April 1874 had premiered the role of Vyazminsky in Tchaikovsky's opera The Oprichnik.

Related Works

The ballad Es war ein König in Thule was written for voice and piano by Franz Liszt (1811–1886) in 1842, and revised in 1856.

Notes and References

  1. The title of Liszt's original ballad was Es war ein König in Thule.