Schubert's Erlkönig

Something about this lied makes me shudder every time I hear it. Schubert's composition is complex and unrelenting, depicting the mad dash though the forest, the rain and the despair of the father holding his dying son.

The front page of Schubert's lied, his Opus 1, as it turns out, cannot convey how much emotion is embedded in it.

I recently found this amazing animated version, with the wonderful Ian Bostridge (his Boston recital was one of the best concerts of my life.) The quality is not the best, but stay with it - it's a haunting experience.