Snoer – Elfentanz, from Im Walde, op. 106, No. 4

Description

Elfentanz is part of a set of 5 easy pieces called Im Walde (In the Forest), op. 106.  Elfentanz (Dance of the Elves) by the Dutch harpist-composer Johannes Snoer is a typical short character piece in ABA’ form. It introduces the player, young harpists and adult learners alike, to German Romanticism and the fairy world. The woods are the “Ur” romantic setting of Germanic mythology, where visible animals and invisible creatures of the imagination roam. There is definitely a sense of whimsy at play. The high-pitched rolled chords to 16th-note arpeggios alternate with triplets, in an ever faster, frolicsome tempo. The middle section (B) moves from Eb Major to Cb Major in a determined, squarish rhythmic pattern, as if entering a foggy zone, to bring back the sunnier key and patter of the beginning. Then, with a big arpeggio ringing from the bottom to the top of the instrument, two steps out, the magic scene disappears.