| Description: | Praising with much beautiful speech is the opening line of the poem "The Richest Prince" by Justinus Kerner. The setting of this poem is considered the unofficial state anthem of Württemberg.
Justinus Kerner wrote the text in 1818 as a ballad in honour of Eberhard im Bart (1445-1496), the first Duke of Württemberg. The text is sung to the melody of the folk song In des Waldes tiefsten Gründen, which was created long before by an unknown composer and first published in a songbook in 1801. The melodic similarities with the Marseillaise are striking. The earliest joint imprint of the text and the melody appeared in 1823.
Kerner drew the material for his ballad from the historical saga of the Diet of Worms in 1495, at which Eberhard was elevated to the first Duke of Württemberg by King Maximilian I in recognition of his achievements. According to the humanist and reformer Philipp Melanchthon, the princes present at the banquet argued about the riches of their lands, from which Eberhard is said to have emerged victorious. For although his land of Württemberg was poor, his prince could trust his people without reservation, for even in the deepest forest he could lay his head to sleep "in the lap of every subject" without having to fear attacks on life and limb.
The song of the Württembergers, which later became the Württemberg state anthem, shows that the count in the beard was very popular with the population and enjoyed great respect among the princes of the empire. Centuries later, Eberhard still embodied the ideal of the people-oriented and just father of the country in a peaceful state.
The spread of the hymn in songbooks and song pamphlets increased by leaps and bounds in the 1840s. Until the middle of the 20th century, it was often printed in school songbooks as well as in general songbooks. Today, the historic Landeslied is rarely performed officially.
Between 1879 and 1881, the sculptor Paul Müller created the Eberhard Group, which refers to Kerner's poem... |
Sign up today to download piece.
See what NeoBarock used to make this recording