Dvorak's 'The Water Goblin' is one of a set of 'Symphonic Poems' composed as a set, the idea being that the music tells a story within itself (see previous posts about tone poems, such as Death and Transfiguration). Dvorak bases this piece on a previously written poem by Vodnik. See if you can hear where each part of the story happens in the music.
Firstly, the water goblin is sitting under a tree, merrily preparing for his wedding by sewing some boots and the like. Meanwhile, a mother has had a pretty disturbing dream about the lake, and warns her daughter not to go down there. But the daughter is drawn to the water, almost magically, so that she can wash some clothes. The minute she touches the water, though, the bridge she was sat on falls to bits, she falls in and is abducted by the water goblin. He takes her to his lair underground and marries her with fish as the congregation (I mean, who doesn't?), and they have a child together. One day, the abducted wife is singing a lullaby to the child, and the water goblin doesn't like this. She begs him to be allowed to go back and visit her mother, and the water goblin agrees on three conditions. She mustn't embrace a single soul, she must leave her child behind, and she must return as soon as the bell tolls for evening vespers.
The mother and daughter reunite, and the mother doesn't want the daughter to leave. The goblin gets angry when evening comes and knocks on the door, but the mother tells him to go away. He tries this again, and gets so fed up and angry because he has been left to deal with the child. The mother says 'well bring the child to us then' and so the water goblin does, but, after a storm, when the mother opens her door the third time the goblin knocks, she finds the child, dead and decapitated on her doorstep.
So, it's a cheery tale then...
Musically, the water goblin is introduced by a cheeky motif which repeats throughout the piece. Each character and event has its own section or theme. Try to look out for the knocks on the door, the idea of the number 'three' being significant in the music and see if you can spot the themes for each of the characters.
This piece is a prime example of how music can tell a story that already exists rather than creating its own. As was pointed out to me after I played this last weekend, a piece like this allows its emotional content to be inferred rather than handed to the listener on a plate, something far removed from the idea of an abstract symphony whose primary function is to explore more of an emotional narrative. It's funny, because I really enjoyed listening to this piece. When I came to play it, I found it very difficult and perhaps irritating, but by the time it came to the performance, I was very much aware of the cleverness of Dvorak's instrumentation, development of ideas and structure, which allowed me to renew my appreciation for it.
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