Under the pretext that he must go off and invite another guest to the festivities, Oluf makes ready to depart to the kingdom of the elves. The valedictory song in which Oluf's fair bride and the dark-haired elf girl, the cheerful wedding ambiance and the hero's schism between duty and desire, are contrasted, is one of the piece's musical climaxes. Oluf's mysterious horseback ride through a moonlit landscape is a tone painting with an orchestral movement of the highest order.
In part two, the elf girls dance while the elf king's daughter seeks to beguile Oluf in almost supernatural tones. Rejected by Oluf, she inflicts a mortal wound on him, and he flees through the woods to a dramatic orchestral accompaniment. Back at the wedding scene, Oluf perishes in front of his bride and all the guests. Here Gade ends the work with surely the most beautiful choral version ever of Ingemann's "The sun rises in the East" ("I Østen stiger solen op").
Inspired by a fraud
It was actually a hoax which brought composer Niels W. Gade's romantic creativity to the boil. As a 22-year-old, he became deeply inspired by a collection of medieval Celtic poems, which had just been published in England. Moved by these poems, Gade composed his Ossian Overture (Ossian-ouverture) for a musical competition - and won. The fact that it later turned out that the author of the poems was a cheat and a swindler, who had written the texts himself, does not, however, diminish Gade's splendid musical achievement.
Folksongs and legends
Fifteen years later, in 1854, Gade's eyes and ears were opened to the world of Danish folksongs and legends. And here again his romantic interests are very much in evidence - the occult, the mysterious and the passionate combined with light, peace of mind and joy. The Elf King's Daughter is a choral and orchestral work, which recounts an ancient folk tale in words and tones.
Tones creating pictures
The tone painting in Gade's orchestral music is capable of doing something like today's film music does for screen mega-dramas such as Lord of the Rings or Star Wars. When we close our eyes, we can see everything before us.
Finn Gravesen is an author and editor, his latest work being "Who owns the music?" ("Hvem ejer musikken?") (2006) commissioned by the Ministry of Culture.
Niels W. Gade. Drawing by Edvard Lehmann.