Sonate B-Dur - Das Leben am Rhein

Sonata in B flat major ‘Life on the Rhine’ op.9 No.38

Spring, sunshine, warm air ..... What could be more appropriate than a hymn of praise to Germany's largest river, the Rhine!

When I go for a walk along the Rhine with my wife and dog (and we live directly on the Rhine), and our gaze wanders southwards and we see the majestic elevations of the Siebengebirge, I always say to my wife - with a contented sigh - ‘We live where others go on holiday’.

The composition is based on a romantic song:
‘Das Leben am Rhein’ by Johann Joseph Reiff was sung in public for the first time on 5 January 1830 at the foundation festival of the Koblenz Casino. It was first printed in No. 45 of ‘Rheinblüten’, the supplement to the ‘Kölnischer Korrespondent’ of 6 June 1830, and was published in Bonn the following year. It owes its success less to the broad and poetry-free poem than to the melody by Johann Michael Zwing. Through its inclusion in Gustav Braun's ‘ Liederbuch für Studenten (Berlin , 1843) “ 1 and Goepel's ” Lieder- und Kommersbuch “ , as well as in the ” Sammlung ein- und mehrstimmiger Gesänge für den katholischen Gesellenverein ’ , the song penetrated wider circles. In the latter book it can be found with a melody by Karl Freiherr von Perfall , which, according to Hoffmann von Fallersleben, enjoyed considerable popularity. Today, despite its inclusion in the Freiburger Deutsche Kommersbuch, it is seldom sung. ( Stendal , 1919, Die Heimathymnen der Preußischen Provinzen )
e.g. in: Allgemeines Deutsches Kommersbuch - Die Heimathymnen der Preußischen Provinzen (1919) -