Schumann, Robert

Schumann, Robert

Festouvertüre über das Rheinweinlied Op. 123 (Vocal Score)

The Fest-Ouvertüre is an example of a type of gebrauchsmusik that composers write for specific occasions and that are usually remembered only as long as the affair for which the music was composed. Other examples of this sub-genre by nineteenth-century composers of Schumann’s rank include Beethoven’s Die Weihe des Hauses and Berlioz’s Chant des chemins de fer, the later composed in three days for the opening of a railway line. There has been agreement throughout history that Die Weihe des Hauses is not one of Beethoven’s masterpieces. Works of this nature are performed and published today for their historical associations and who composed them rather than for any inherent musical value. The chorus of the Fest-Ouvertüre features the Rheinweinlied (1775) by Matthias Claudius set to Johann Andre’s original tune. The tenor soloist introduces the chorus with original words by a local doctor and poet Peter Wilhelm Carl Müller (1816-1873) who wrote under the pseudonym Wolfgang Müller von Königswinter. The slow introduction and overture-like orchestral procedure that precedes the chorus is all based on Andre’s theme. A sample verse or two will provide an adequate sense of the text as a whole.

So drink,
And let us on all our ways
friends and joyful be,
friends and joyful be!

And we wish,
Where anyone who remains sad,
To give him wine,
To give him wine!

For more information on the piece:

Read the preface to the full score / das Vorwort zur Partitur lesen > HERE