Rhineland settings

The publisher J. M. Dunst opens the first volume of his Lieder collection Rhein-Sagen und Lieder (Rhine-Myths and Songs) with a patriotic note to the reader:

The title page promotes different facets of the Rhineland: an old man symbolises wisdom and poetic wealth; a harpist represents the artistic strand; a graceful woman illustrates beauty and skilfulness; a hunter reflects the wide landscape; and a ruler demonstrates the Rhinelanders’ confidence and pride (Fig. 4.1).

Kinkel’s Rhineland Lieder, with their folk-like themes, underline the impression of Rhein-Sagen und Lieder as a patriotic collection for the wider public. Alongside such famous nineteenth-century composers as Carl Loewe, Heinrich Marschner, and Felix Mendelssohn, Dunst published in his first volume Kinkel’s settings of Heine’s ‘Der Rheinstrom’ (The River Rhine) and ‘Kölln’ (Cologne). Both Lieder refer to unique Rhineland appearances as an allegory for the lyrical I’s beloved. In ‘Der Rheinstrom’, the lyrical protagonist sees in the river’s characteristics his beloved’s malice, a tone which points to Heinrich Heine’s fondness for ironic turns. The lyrical I in ‘Kölln’ associates his beloved with the Cologne Cathedral image of the Virgin Mary.

Kinkel’s two Lieder ‘Der Rheinstrom’ and ‘Kölln’ fulfil two typical Romantic criteria: they combine the themes of Rhineland patriotism and love, and they confirm Dunst’s representation of the Rhineland as a friendly, bright and mystic region.