Romanticism Exhibition

Romanticism and Parliamentarianism

Song lyrics.

Part 1
1. Gebet by Theodor Körner, comp. by B.[ernhard] Klein
2. Die Liebe [from the opera-ballet Anacréon], comp. by [Luigi] Cherubini
3. ‘Freiheit, du mein Losungswort!’ poem by F. [iedrich] Stoltze, comp. by B.[ernhard] Schädel
4. Vaterlandslied [by Carl Rinne.], comp. by [Adolf Eduard] Marschner

Part 2
1. Drinking Song [from the opera Le comte Ory by Gioachino] Ros[s]ini with orchestral accompaniment
2. Einklang, poem by J.[ohann] N.[epomuk] Vogl, comp. by J. Just
3. Deutsche Volkshymne, poem by Fr.[iedrich] Stoltze, comp. by [Ludwig] Gellert
4. ‘Horch auf mein Volk!’ poem by H.[einrich] Hoffmann, comp. by W.[ilhelm] Speyer [= Speier]

Part 3
1. Auf der Wanderung, poem by Hoffmann v. Fallersleben, comp. by [Johannes] Dürrner
2. Bundes-Lied [by Leopold Lenz.], comp. by L. Lenz
3. Das deusche Parlament, poem by H.[einrich] Weissmann [= Weismann]
4. Des Deutschen Vaterland, poem by [Ernst Moritz] Arndt, comp. by W.[ilhelm] Speyer [= Speier]
Schleswig-Holstein etc.

An evening of entertainment by the Frankfurter Liederkranz on the Mainlust, 7th August 1848 (first page)
(Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Grimm-Nachlass, Nr. 415)

The sessions of the National Assembly were accompanied by cultural events and soirées providing entertainment. As this programme from the estate of Jacob Grimm shows, male-voice choirs like the Frankfurter Liederkranz founded in 1828 were very popular.

Especially interesting is the preponderance of patriotic and political texts in the programme. Some of the works date from the Napoleonic Wars (Theodor Körner, Ernst Moritz Arndt) and one is from the 1820s (Hoffmann von Fallersleben). Most, however, are poems from the period of the March Revolution and hence almost contemporary. There was also a strong local element, as both Heinrich Hoffmann and Friedrich Stoltze were natives of Frankfurt. Hoffmann, moreover, was a member of the ‘Pre-Parliament’, while Ernst Moritz Arndt was himself a deputy of the National Assembly.